# town of brookhaven, ny insurance reqiuirement



## enosez (Dec 14, 2009)

Anyone else out there frustrated with the Town of Brookhaven (Crookhaven) NY insurance requirement change.

I went to drop off my paperwork by the due date and I'm informed that the town has a new insurance requirement.

All certificates of insurance must include "includes all snow plowing activities".

Well my truck isnt registered as commercial so on my policy I cant get that endorsement..

GOOD WORK CROOKHAVEN!!!!

Good luck this year, hope its not a snowwy year as most contractors dont have commercial insurance.

Anybody else seeing this???


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

if you have one what do you care about anyone else? Not it's up to the town to enforce it or just collect money from the permits like most towns.


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## CS-LAWNSERVICE (Sep 3, 2011)

enosez;1348432 said:


> All certificates of insurance must include "includes all snow plowing activities".
> 
> Well my truck isnt registered as commercial so on my policy I cant get that endorsement..
> 
> GOOD WORK CROOKHAVEN!!!!


You use your truck for snow plowing commercially and its not registered as a commercial vehicle and you complain about the city actually wanting you to be legal?
Are you going to complain that some dumb a$$ is suing you and your insurance will not pay when you get into an accident heading to do commercial work in your improperly registered and improperly insured truck?

Perhaps some one here will feel sorry for you but I am not sure why you would even post your not legal and then complain about the township.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Read to fast, I thought it was registered as commercial,not isn't.


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## enosez (Dec 14, 2009)

CS-LAWNSERVICE;1348500 said:


> You use your truck for snow plowing commercially and its not registered as a commercial vehicle and you complain about the city actually wanting you to be legal?
> Are you going to complain that some dumb a$$ is suing you and your insurance will not pay when you get into an accident heading to do commercial work in your improperly registered and improperly insured truck?
> 
> Perhaps some one here will feel sorry for you but I am not sure why you would even post your not legal and then complain about the township.


NO YOU'RE NOT UNDERSTANDING!

Here you can be an owner/operator and dont have to be licensed commercially.
There is/and was no requirement for only commercial vendors.

I'm not asking anybody to feel sorry for me nor am I complaining about not being legal. You are not understanding.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

First you need to know,no matter what State your in you need to have commercial truck insurance while plowing for money. And it must have snowplowing endorsement on it,That's what the town wants.


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

Did you used to live in Erin Ontario Canada............?


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## tailboardtech (Feb 28, 2010)

grandview;1348712 said:


> First you need to know,no matter what State your in you need to have commercial truck insurance while plowing for money. And it must have snowplowing endorsement on it,That's what the town wants.


 



enosez;1348432 said:


> Well my truck isnt registered as commercial so on my policy I cant get that endorsement..
> 
> GOOD WORK CROOKHAVEN!!!!


Really??? In Maryland or any municipality you better have commercial insurance i am sure its the same thing everywhere. they are just trying to keep there liability in check since you don't have commercial insurance and if something happened, who do you think it will fall back on?


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## snoway63 (Dec 29, 2009)

As far as i understand here on long island you always needed commercial insurance for plowing with any town, If not your just asking for trouble by not having it one accident and your life is ruined by lawsuits always better safe then sorry


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

snoway63;1348843 said:


> As far as i understand here on long island you always needed commercial insurance for plowing with any town, If not your just asking for trouble by not having it one accident and your life is ruined by lawsuits always better safe then sorry


We are assuming he is plowing town roads. He might be just getting a plow permit like a lot of places have now and he just needs to show proof of insurance.


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## LunchBox (Oct 28, 2010)

I've have seen plenty of guys plow for towns around me without commercial plates.


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## ShorePower (Dec 26, 2009)

No plow permit exists in Brookhaven. Thing is the Town of Brookhaven pays lower rates than most private companies. They may have not been so critical of insurance requirements in the past. Just happy to find plow owner/ drivers that are willing to work cheap then wait to get paid. Ultimately, no auto insurance co. will cover damage once a plow is on the truck. I put in a collision claim after first installing a plow on my personal truck. After the adjuster came out, I received notification that the policy was canceled for using the truck in a commercial purpose.I Had to add it to my commercial policy with the other trucks.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

So you don't want to get insurance.?


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## turfbuilders (Dec 29, 2009)

I would have to disagree with working cheaply for the town. I run 4 trucks for them and seem to be treated pretty good. I get a bunch of hours, get called out every storm and yeah may have to waited a little while for the money. You just to need to plan for it but at least I don't have to worry if I am going to get paid. 
Brian


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## ShorePower (Dec 26, 2009)

turfbuilders;1350236 said:


> I would have to disagree with working cheaply for the town. I run 4 trucks for them and seem to be treated pretty good. I get a bunch of hours, get called out every storm and yeah may have to waited a little while for the money. You just to need to plan for it but at least I don't have to worry if I am going to get paid.
> Brian


That could be the case. I have not plowed for Brookhaven. I have spoken to a few guys that do , and from what I could figure they were earning about 20-30 /hr less than in the private plowing market. The number of hours they plow may make it worth it. Some members on this site have made complaints of waiting more than 60-90 days for payment from Brookhaven.


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## turfbuilders (Dec 29, 2009)

yes it is true that you will may not make as much money as working privately, and yes the hours do make up for some of it. It is a different animal and if you can wait usually 45-60 days for payment, it can be profitable. I do know that getting in that I won't get paid right away, but I am ok with that and plan accordingly. I also have a couple of trucks that plow privately so that helps and at I one point I only plowed privately. I got tired of chasing money with the town you will get paid and that is something that I don't have to worry about. Everybody is different and this is an avenue that I am happy to go down.
Brian


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## L.I.Mike (Dec 28, 2002)

I plow for the Town of Islip as a contractor. My truck does not have commercial plates but I follow their rules on insurance and never had a problem.


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## enosez (Dec 14, 2009)

Me too LI Mike..
Thing was that a couple of storms Islip didnt call in yet Brookhaven did, so I figured I put my name in there too..


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## enosez (Dec 14, 2009)

*Insurance*

Look, I'm not an insurance agent.
I get the paperwork from the town asking for certain documents.
Insurance being one of them.
No where does it say commercial insurance.
I pass along that request to my insurance agent who is fully aware of what I'm doing and I get a certificate of liability.
I submit it to the town and never had a problem till now.

For those that dont know, the Town of Brookhaven or Crookhaven as it is known does things.......lets just say a little different.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

If your plowing for money anywhere you need truck insurance. And I see you have GL.What is the big deal about getting what you should have for this business your in?


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

enosez;1353282 said:


> Look, I'm not an insurance agent.
> I get the paperwork from the town asking for certain documents.
> Insurance being one of them.
> No where does it say commercial insurance.
> ...


Then your agent is an idiot and I'd fire him in a heartbeat.

When you get into an accident and have a claim, you'll be wanting to beat down his door.

....


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## enosez (Dec 14, 2009)

So be it.....
If I need commercial insurance then that's what I'll get.

This whole experience has been a learning experience for me, thus the reason for posting.


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

enosez;1353359 said:


> So be it.....
> If I need commercial insurance then that's what I'll get.
> 
> This whole experience has been a learning experience for me, thus the reason for posting.


There is just so many "other" things that could go wrong that isn't necessarily tied to a general truck policy.

For Example.

a.) Even if you aren't using your plow and just shoveling snow, or even using a snow blower you have risk. You could catch a rock and hit someone, break a window on a car, break house windows, and so. You would need to have business GL to cover those costs.

b.) Your plowing snow and you hit a gas meter next to a house that was buried in a snow bank. (has almost happened to me a couple of times.) That's a nasty bill you would want insurance to cover.

c.) Somebody gets behind your truck during a snow storm for a little "pay day". Either on foot or in a car.

d.) Or, let's just take the extreme circumstance. Your plowing a commercial lot, you have a seizure and loose control and run into a building, causing a fire, and burning the place down causing massive damage.

Not only are you protecting yourself, but you are protecting your clients.

....


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## jsyl7 (Feb 13, 2011)

ive always had to have commercial insurance or business insurance to be covered for snow plowing.....and all the towns where im from require commercial insurance it seems odd that they never required it until now


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## roofrat (Nov 23, 2011)

Brookhaven will tell you untill they are blue in the face you don't need commercial insurance. My current and another insurance company have advised me my current insurance would cover me if I was in an accident but will not put it in writing. Commercial insurance will cost an additional 1 to 2k a year. Anyone get the letter signed without having commercial? As we get closer to the snow coming I think the town of brookhaven will have to revisit this new policy as they won't have enough private contractors.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Why do you guys worry about if they want it or not? I would have it to protect myself.How come your agent won't sell you the right insurance or backup what they say? time to get some new agents there!


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## ThePetersAgency (Nov 24, 2011)

*Seasonal Plow Insurance*

If anyone needs help with insurance give me a call. Quotes are free if you got the time,
I have a small insurance brokerage and helped my plow boss (yes i moonlight) get situated with the town. And yes you need commercial insurance with a plow endorsement.
The problem is no company will put a plow endorsement on a personal policy. 
GMAC is now offering a seasonal rate. If your not getting this then your missing out. My mission is to save you money and if your already getting a fair deal I will be the first to tell you.
The Peters Agency
1490 Montauk Highway
Mastic, NY 11950
(631)772-4777
Ask for Wayne!!


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## EdNewman (Jan 27, 2004)

Most of he guys plowing for the towns here on Long Island are owner operators driving personal trucks. Because the prevailing wages for a driver or operator are so high compared to what the towns pay, they can get any company with employees to do it. It would be a losing proposition.


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## Birdturd9726 (Feb 22, 2008)

if any one is looking to work privately shoot me a text at 631-335-4058 with what you have. i have large lots in rocky point, miller place, ronkonkoma, oakdale, syosset, east meadow. Thanks


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