When you are building or expanding your park, knowing how to use business insurance to your advantage will help you achieve your goals and avoid major headaches. Here are five areas you will want to address: 

  1. Make Sure your Expansion Project Doesn’t Leave you Paying the Bills for your Contractors Claims 
    With camping more popular than ever parks across the country are looking to expand by adding sites, lodging and special features. When its tough to get a contractor to call you back, you may hesitate to ask for proof of insurance. Don’t hesitate – getting proof of current Workers Compensation Insurance and being listed as additional insured on the General Liability policy of your contractor can save you money and aggravation. Click to view some horror stories of claims gone wrong that result when you don’t require your contractors to have insurance. 
  2. Navigating Insurance in New Construction Contracts  
    The contract with your General Contractor should clearly define the liabilities transferred to the GC and his subcontractors during the construction process.  Include the coverage limits and the clauses that you require in the project bid requirements. This ensures that the GC insurance costs are properly factored into the bids received. Again, you want their insurance to cover you. You also want to make sure that any insurance requirements that apply to the GC apply the subcontractors. Certificates of insurance are just one part of the process; the key is to set up the GC contract correctly. Marshall & Sterling helps their clients with an insurance contract review of clauses and the insurance limits that are best practices for new construction projects.   
  3. Don’t Forget to Update Your Insurance 
    Adding a new feature? Purchasing a $50,000 backhoe? Adding $200,000 worth of cabins? If you haven’t contacted your insurance agent to update your policy text, call or email her right now. When you wear a lot of hats it can be easy to forget to add an expensive feature. Its more common than you may think. 
  4. Successfully Obtain Financing  
    Your lender will require proof of insurance for mortgage and construction loan closings. Getting ready to apply for financing? Give your business plan a boost by including an estimate on your annual business insurance expense. Each Campground is unique and so are the insurance costs, so this is one area where asking your peers may not be very accurate. To get an annual insurance estimate tailored to your park, contact an insurance professional at Marshall & Sterling. 
  5. Insuring your Business During New Construction 
    You do have a liability exposure as the landowner of a campground under construction. During this phase you will purchase an Under-Construction policy to protect you from lawsuits for liability arising from the premises. A requirement will be that all contractors and subcontractors are listing your business as Additional Insured. After construction is complete you will transition to a specialty campground insurance policy for your buildings, grounds and operations. 

Ready to build or expand your park? Learn why more parks and industry leaders are switching to Marshall & Sterling Insurance by connecting with us today! Start the conversation here: www.marshallsterling.com/arvc