Powder Coating Insurance

Question:

Hello! We are a small custom powder coating shop in Louisiana with two employees, my wife and I.  We have been in business for more than 25 years, doing powder coating for 15 years. This is our first insurance renewal period since 9/11, and suddenly the insurance companies don’t know how to classify “powder coating.”  They are classifying us as “surplus insurance,” and the quotes are astronomical for general liability insurance.  Our agent told us to ask other powder coaters some questions about their insurance.  Since you’re the expert, we would like to pose the questions to you:

1. Where do the powder coating shops get their general liability insurance?

2. Is it through a company or a broker?

3.  Can our Louisiana agent get access to this market?

Every powder coating shop would probably have a different answer to the first question, but if you could give any answers, we would have someone to call to get answers to questions 2 and 3. Thank you for your input in this matter. K. N. & S. N.

Answer:

I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of custom coaters having liability insurance problems that are peculiar to powder coating. You may just be having problems securing insurance from your specific insurance carrier post September 11. But one thing about the Powder Coating Clinic, we don’t shy away from a challenge. So let’s ask the readers to provide some guidance. Are there any job shops out there in PF land that can offer some insight? If so, drop me a line, and I will publish your suggestions.