Whether we want to believe it or not, winter is coming. With the cold in New England comes lots and lots of snow and in order to be prepared, especially for business owners, it’s time to look into people who can plow your property! With hiring someone comes commercial policies and those can be a bit tricky… So I decided to bring in a professional to fill us in and give us some advice.
Oxford Insurance Agency, Inc. provides quality coverage with personalized service delivered by knowledgeable insurance professionals. They are extremely affordable and offer insurance solutions to individuals, families and businesses within the local community and throughout Massachusetts.
Ross at Oxford Insurance Agency is a pro when it comes to commercial policies. He says the number one thing to look for when you are hiring someone is to make sure that they have coverage, and not only general coverage, but coverage for snow plowing specifically. The easiest way to be sure of this is to ask them for a certificate of insurance. Makes sense right? This will be a document that clearly states what type of coverage they have and what their limits are. Snow plowing will be listed separately on there due to the fact that it is a separate form of coverage.
It’s totally normal to not know what you’re looking at when you get forms like this and that’s ok! That’s what the professionals are for! At Oxford, you can send over the form for them to look over because it is more important for them that you understand what you are getting to make sure it’s the best fit for you.
The second most important thing is to put a contract in place. A lot of times you will hear of people shaking on it, but in reality, a handshake doesn’t hold up in court. This is why it is important to establish a contract. The contract can help you and the contractor as well. Ross suggests all of his clients bring this contract to a lawyer to review.
Lastly, if you are going to have people working on your property, it is SO important to make sure that they have workers comp. If someone gets hurt while working on your property and they do not carry workers comp, it could come back to you and cost you a pretty penny as a business owner.
I hope this helped prepare you a bit for the upcoming winter season! If you have any questions you can reach out to Ross at (508) 499-5055. As always, if you have any real estate needs, give me a call!
