In the Wizard of Oz Dorothy and her friends were afraid to follow the yellow brick road through the forest. They imagined the awful things the “lions and tigers and bears” might do to them. What do skid steers, scissor lifts and bulldozers have to do with Oz? Nothing. Its Halloween. Work with me.
Like most general contractors, you probably don’t own much mobile equipment. You rely on your subcontractors’ equipment and expect them to be insured for the losses these potentially dangerous beasts can cause. But, what if your sub’s general liability policy gets canceled and you’re not notified? What if your sub has an accident so serious, you get sued too? And what if you have to rent or borrow a bulldozer to complete a job and your employee operator has an accident? In any one of these claims, someone could be badly hurt or their property damaged or destroyed and you could be held responsible.
Good news! There is coverage for Mobile Equipment under the RWC Insurance Advantage’s general liability policy. Mobile equipment means land vehicles designed for use mainly off public roads, including vehicles on crawler treads and other vehicles, self-propelled or not, that are used to provide mobility for permanently mounted machinery like power cranes, shovels, loaders, and the like. Vehicles designed mainly for use on public roads are NOT mobile equipment. Example, a truck with a manlift attached to it is a truck and not mobile equipment. A manlift mounted on crawler treads or its own wheels is mobile equipment.*
You don’t have to request anything or pay extra premium for mobile equipment coverage. It’s included automatically in your RWC Insurance Advantage general liability policy.
Now that you know more about your exposure to mobile equipment liability claims, we hope you will review your operations with an eye to identifying all of your areas of risk. Our SAFETY CHECKLIST can help identify many other kinds of liability hazards. Click here to view online, or click here to download the pdf.
You may not be able to follow the yellow brick road to perfect liability loss control, but identifying your areas of risk is definitely a good start. Call us to review your coverage needs at 1-866-454-2155 or, email us at info@rwcinsuranceadvantage.com.
(Ps. This article has been about liability; insurance for injuries or damage mobile equipment may cause others. For damage to or loss of your owned mobile equipment, the RWC Insurance Advantage also offers Contractor’s Equipment Coverage through Zurich, a world leader in Inland Marine property insurance. Click here to learn more.)
*This article does not provide a full explanation or definition of Mobile Equipment or general liability coverage. Please refer to your policy for details or contact us as noted above.