UBP pays by the year (around 650 I think...) for general liability insurance, no directors or child molestors coverage.  This covers activities inside the shop only, bikes that leave are not insured.  No paid staff so no workers comp.

We had to get insurance to make good on our rental/license agreement that requires 1,000,000 of coverage.  We met a broker who helped "pitch us" to insurance companies. We were turned down by more than a few before we finally got coverage.

more on the wiki:
http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Insurance

good luck,
Brian

On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 12:41 AM, Jason Tanzman <jtanzman@riseup.net> wrote:
I'm new to this list but it seems like an awesome community of shared knowledge!

Here is another question that our shop is dealing with - insurance and liability questions.  We have recently expanded to a substantially larger space; in the past we operated out of a large garage/warehouse area, with very low rent, one paid staff member (hired as independent contractor), and no insurance.  We are growing substantially and we want to make sure we protect all of our customers/volunteers/clients from issues if someone was hurt on one of our bikes or at our shop.

But - it seems really expensive, how do community bike shops pay for it?  How much do you pay per month for liability insurance?  Do you have volunteer lawyers giving legal advice?  Do you pay workman's comp for your staff, or do you hire staff as independent contractors?  We want to make sure we do this right and protect our people, but it's expensive and hard.  Any information is helpful!!

-Jason
_______________________________________________
Thethinktank mailing list
Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org
http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org



--
Urban Bike Project of Wilmington
1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building)
Wilmington, DE 19801

Hours:
Thursday 6:30-9:00
Saturday 1:00-4:00

Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org