As a resort owner, you have put in your sweat, blood and tears making sure your guests are happy, your grounds are in pristine shape and your employees are content; making sure your business is a success. From the rustic resort in the woods to the waterfront lodge, campground or RV park, there are so many unique things about your resort. Your coverage should be as unique as you. But what coverage do you need and why do you need it?
First, you need to protect what you've built. Your buildings, your cabins, restrooms or docks for example are all things you want to have coverage on. This is your property coverage. When you are talking to your agent, make sure you discuss all the buildings on your property to make sure everything that needs coverage has coverage. This includes garages where you might store stuff, fish cleaning houses, maintenance sheds, etc.
Along with the physical structures, you have business personal property that needs to be covered. This includes equipment you use to run your business - such as computers, furniture, tools, etc. Basically things you can move that you use in the scope of running your business. This could also include property out in the open, depending on the coverage needed. That could include lawn chairs, picnic tables, play sets, etc.
There is also inland marine coverage. This would cover larger items such as back hoes, large lawn tractors, tools if they needed to be scheduled, etc. Higher value items should be scheduled under your inland marine to make sure there are no gaps in coverage. Make sure to have that discussion with your agent. Discuss what should be a scheduled item on your inland marine to items that will be covered under your business personal property.
There are some additional coverages you also may want to discuss with your agent. Such as crime coverage, cyber protection or business interruption coverage. These coverages are just as important as the physical damage coverage to your property. These could cover you in the event of a dishonest employee skimming money, a cyber attack that resulted in a breach of customer data to a storm that makes your business inoperable.
You also need to make sure your employees are protected from injury on the job. You absolutely need workers compensation. There are hefty fines that you could end up with if you don't have a workers comp policy in force. If an employee is injured on the job that causes major medical issues/visits, you don't want those costs to be paid out of pocket. Some work comp claims last for years. If you don't have a policy in force, not only could you be looking at large fines, you could be looking at paying that employee for years of lost wages, pain and suffering, medical bills, etc. Not a risk you want to take.
And with that, that leads us right into you liability coverages. General liability is protection against injury and damage claims against your business. If a guest were to be injured at your facility and they can proof negligence on your part, that's where your general liability coverage would come into play. Again, some liability claims can pay out large amounts. You don't want to incur those out of pocket expenses.
You might also need commercial auto coverage if you have vehicles you use to for your business. Maybe you offer a shuttle service to get to and from activities. Some think that this type of coverage would come of your property or liability coverage, but that is not the case. If you have vehicles then you need to have commercial auto coverage in place. Again, you don't want to be caught with an out of pocket expense that could get pretty spendy.
Those are just the basics of what coverage you might need to have in place. Every resort is different and has different requirements when it comes to insurance. Perhaps you need some watercraft liability because you have an exposure if you rent boats or jet skis. Maybe you sell alcohol on your premises. Then you would need liquor liability coverage. Perhaps you have some very unique trees or landscaping that might need extra coverage. Do you have a zip line or adventure park? That is another exposure that needs a very specific type of liability coverage.
Another policy you should have is a commercial umbrella policy. This gives you additional liability protection and covers anything you carry liability on up to a certain amount. This policy could be the difference between having to shut down due to a high liability claim you have to pay on or being able to remain open.
The combination of things you have built and provide is what keeps your guests coming back, year after year. You offer your guests an experience when they stay at your resort, campground or lodge. You've created a business, built your business, put money into creating that experience for your guests. Have that talk with your agent. Make sure everything is covered. There is nothing worse then having a claim and finding out your policy didn't cover that type of loss. Don't get in a situation where you have high out of pocket losses.
Give us a call! Let's spend the time together to make sure you have no gaps in your coverage. Let's have a cup of coffee and go over every inch of your property. Let's talk about values of equipment to hazards you might not see that could be a potential claim waiting to happen. Together, let's Protect What's Beautiful. Protect What's Important.
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