Campgrounds, RV Parks and Resorts Commercial General Liability Insurance
No matter what business you are in, general liability and property insurance are a necessary means to keep the open sign on the front door. From protecting yourself against slip and falls to make sure your property has sufficient limits, there isn't one facet of your business that shouldn't or can't be protected with the proper insurance policy.
This is especially true for RV parks, campground, resorts, and lodge owners because running a business in the outdoor recreation industry has its set of challenges aside from a risk management program. There are so many unique exposures for RV Parks/Campgrounds that it takes a unique commercial insurance professional to evaluate all the risks perils an owner might face. One of the key essential coverages to start with would be Commercial General Liability insurance.
Commercial General Liability is a coverage that any and all businesses should carry. General liability insurance protects you and your business from third party claims associated with bodily injury, property damage, medical bills and personal injury that your RV park, campground, or resort is shown to be somehow responsible because of negligence and therefore liable to another.
Some examples of exposures that RV park owner’s face and what your campground owner liability policy may cover would include:
- Boat rentals
- Gasoline sales
- Cabin rentals
- Liquor liability
- Marinas or dock liability
- Pool or spa liability
- Swimming beach liability
- Petroleum sales
- Walking trails
- Golf Cart rentals
Imagine a guest is sitting in their camp chair outside their RV enjoying a nice sunny, breezy afternoon when all of the sudden a gust of wind knocks a branch off the tree that an employee of yours started to work on but didn't have time to finish the day before, and falls on the guest causing a head injury that required stitches. Now they have to be rushed to the hospital via ambulance, and their once fantastic vacation has taken an ominous turn. Chances are they are from out of state; this could mean the visit to the hospital for stitches and X-rays may be out of network for their insurance and be a costly trip. The bodily injury limits of your general liability policy could kick in and cover the costs for treatment. Let's say that this particular guest is none too happy about the loss of vacation time and hospital stay and decides to sue you for negligence for not taking proper care of the tree the branch fell out of. Well now you have a lawsuit on your hands, and if you have the proper general liability coverage, it will pay for the cost to defend the litigation.
Of course, an injury claim is not the only risk with a tree branch falling. Imagine a tree fell over on somebody's brand new $100,000 rig that would be as or maybe even more costly damage to fix. Luckily, your General Liability coverage has a limit for property damage, and you would have a bucket of money to pull from to pay for the repairs to your guest's camper. Okay so you maintain all your trees, and you think that is not something you have to worry about? Do you have a mini golf course? Imagine someone getting hit with a stray golf ball or a stray going through a windshield of a vehicle; insurance may help pay for this situation as well. Now you see the types of liability risks you could face, but what about your property?
RV Park Owners need to also take into consideration coverage for all the structures and fences as well. Do you have picnic tables with permanent awnings on them? Let's imagine a storm rolls through, and the wind rips all the roofs of all these, all 30 of them. That's pretty costly expense to come up with all at once. That is where your property coverage will step up and help to pay for damages after your deductible is made. You may also have to deal with a situation where you have to close the park until repairs are made, losing out on revenue as well. Loss of business income on your general liability policy would help you get through those months that you are shut down after a covered loss. If you maintain the grounds yourself, you also need coverage for all your equipment. This would be covered under the contents or business personal property portion of your property policy.
Give us a call and find out how we can become a trusted advisor to your recreational camping business.