Carting, waste hauling, and garbage collection businesses face a lot of perils. Employee error can result in the spill of pollutants. Business operations can cause injuries or property damage to someone. Employees might sustain injuries or diseases.
You want comprehensive coverage to cover the risks that greatly endanger established and startup garbage collection businesses. To provide protection, carriers underwrite carting or waste hauler insurance. In this guide, know what this is, how much premiums cost, where to get the best coverage, and more.
Carting insurance is a coverage especially underwritten for businesses in the waste hauling industry.
It doesn’t function on its own but provides protection through the different business insurance policies a policyholder can remove or add to its terms.
Also called valet trash, waste management, waste disposal, garbage collection, or waste recycling insurance, you’re eligible for this specialty coverage if you own a:
Residential waste collection business
Medical waste collection business
Scrap collection and recycling business
Electronics recycling business
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Aligned Insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Products and completed operations aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | Excluded |
| Advertising injury coverage aggregate limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Tenant’s legal liability coverage limit | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No | No |
| Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage included? | Yes | No | No |
| Equipment breakdown floater included? | No | Yes | No |
| Can you get a certificate of insurance online? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes | No |
| Deductible | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Your waste disposal business’s operations can result in accidents that result in third-party bodily injuries or property damage. Waste hauling insurance protects you against this exposure through its general liability policy.
About 100% of waste haulers purchase general liability insurance. The table above compares the features of general liability insurance from companies that provide coverage for garbage and waste collection businesses.
Carting liability insurance kicks in when your waste disposal business is sued for personal injuries or property damage by a client, vendor, a random person, or any other third parties.
Understanding how general liability insurance for carting business primarily works is a walk in the park. You only need to remember that:
It covers the medical treatment of the person who files a bodily injury claim against your business
Reimburse the losses of third parties whose property got damaged because of your waste disposal business’s operations
Cover attorney fees, administrative costs, court judgements, and other legal expenses
General liability insurance doesn’t cover claims filed by employees, partners, and other individuals who are part of your business’s daily operations.
Also, it doesn’t cover your business’s liability for auto accidents or errors and omissions.
Water treatment plants will require your waste hauling and garbage collection business to have a $1 million-$2 million general liability coverage. It’s a plus if your general liability insurance has an environmental liability endorsement.
| CoverWallet (Best) | NEXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $10,000/$25,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $20,000/$50,000 |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No |
| Deductible | $500 | $500 |
Employees of your waste disposal business are expected to observe the highest level of care while working. However, mistakes happen sometimes. This can result in a costly lawsuit if someone sustained financial or economic losses as a result.
Shield yourself from this exposure by adding a professional liability policy to your garbage collection insurance. The table above compares the features of professional liability insurance from companies that cover waste haulers.
Professional liability insurance for carting companies kicks in when a claim is filed because an employee of your business caused economic or financial losses by committing any of the following:
Negligence
Misrepresentation
Missed deadlines
Violation of good faith
Violation of fair dealing
Inaccurate advice
Breach of confidentiality
So how does professional liability insurance work? This type of waste disposal insurance policy provides monetary compensation for the economic or financial losses of the claimant. It will also cover the cost of attorney fees, administrative costs, and other legal expenses.
Carriers underwrite professional liability insurance as a claims-made policy or occurrence policy.
Occurrence professional liability insurance provides coverage regardless of when you decide to file a claim. That said, you can decide to report a covered peril on the time it happened or some time after it has occured.
Claims-made professional liability insurance, on the other hand, will only help if you decide to file a claim at the time a covered peril happens. This insurance doesn’t allow for any long delays in the claim reporting period.
An excess liability policy is offered as an optional inclusion to your waste management insurance program.
Buy excess liability insurance to shield yourself from out of pocket costs when your general liability policy or professional liability policy exhausted its limits or can’t fully cover a claim.
Excess liability insurance provides backup funds to your general liability or professional liability insurance. Here’s an example for you to understand:
Suppose your waste disposal business faces a $3 million negligence lawsuit. Your professional liability insurance only has $2 million. And so, there’s still $1 million that needs to be accounted for, which excess liability insurance can cover.
Understand that excess liability insurance doesn’t provide any type of protection against claims. It only supplements the limits of your general liability or professional liability policy. That said, you can’t use this type of valet trash insurance to cover settlements and legal defense expenses.
Excess liability insurance is purchased in increments of $1 million. It’s possible for waste haulers insurance programs to offer this as part of general liability insurance or professional liability insurance.
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| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Aligned Insurance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $110,000 | $15,000,000 |
| Contents coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $15,000 | $15,000,000 |
| Outdoor signs | Excluded | $2,500 | Included |
| Accounts receivable | Excluded | Excluded | Included |
| Money and securities | Excluded | $2,500 | Included |
| Lock and keys | Excluded | $2,500 | Included |
| Business interruption floater | Excluded | Included | Excluded |
| Equipment breakdown floater | Excluded | Included | Excluded |
| Inland marine insurance floater | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded |
| Employee dishonesty floater | Excluded | $500 | $10,000 |
Commercial property insurance is a coverage for the tangible assets of your waste hauling business. The table above compares the features of commercial property insurance for waste hauling.
This type of carting business insurance protects your business property against the following perils:
Sinkhole collapse
Fire
Theft
Vandalism
Sprinkler leakage
Burst pipes
Volcanic action
Civil commotion
Riot
Winds
Hail
Snow
Aircraft
Impact
Vehicles
The primary function of commercial property insurance is to cover your commercial building. It will:
Reimburse losses if your commercial building’s structures such as flooring, roofing, siding, and signage sustain damage
Reimburse losses if your commercial building is destroyed
The second function of commercial property insurance is to recover financial losses if the valuables inside your waste hauling company’s office get damaged or destroyed because of the perils above.
Business interruption insurance provides help when an economic crisis, relocation, or renovation results in the temporary closure of your waste hauling business.
In practice, this insurance covers taxes, bills, loans, mortgages, payroll, and other operational costs while your business isn’t generating income.
Remember that business interruption insurance doesn’t cover government-mandated closures, wars, and pandemics.
Your waste hauling business surely uses front loader garbage trucks, side loader garbage trucks, rear loader garbage trucks, or roll-off trucks.
It’s unthinkable for your business to operate without these vehicles. If you’re looking for garbage truck insurance, then what you'll need is a commercial auto insurance policy.
Commercial auto insurance offers several types of coverage which takes care of undesirable outcomes associated with using vehicles for commercial purposes. Such coverages are:
Auto liability coverage-Auto liability coverage pays the medical costs of third parties injured by your waste disposal business’s garbage truck. It will also provide refunds if properties were damaged
Physical damage coverage-Physical damage coverage helps you repair or replace the parts of your business’s garbage truck without incurring losses. Carriers underwrite this as a collision or comprehensive policy. Collision physical damage coverage takes care of parts repair or replacement if the garbage truck sustained damage by colliding with a vehicle or object. Comprehensive physical damage coverage, on the other hand, will cover expenses if fire, theft, vandalism, lightning, and other covered perils damaged the garbage truck
Rental reimbursement coverage-Rental reimbursement coverage refunds the money that you spend to hire or rent a garbage truck because the one that you own is being fixed
Underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage-Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage kicks in when your garbage truck gets involved in an accident caused by a driver with no insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance. It will cover the medical costs he’s obligated to cover.
Medical payments coverage-Medical payments coverage can be included in commercial auto insurance if you’re in a fault state. This covers medical treatment and ambulance fees if your garbage truck caused an accident or got involved in one, and its driver and passenger sustained injuries
Personal injury protection-Commercial auto insurance can have personal injury protection coverage if you’re in a “no-fault” state. It pays for rehabilitation, lost wages, and medical treatment expenses of the driver and passenger if your garbage truck got involved or caused an accident
Auto liability coverage doesn’t provide protection if it's proven that your garbage truck caused an accident for reasons that are criminal in nature.
Physical damage coverage in commercial auto insurance doesn’t cover damage because of a rollover. Additionally, you can’t use it to cover the repair or replacement of your garbage truck’s aftermarket parts.
If your waste disposal business has two or more garbage trucks as well as other heavy equipment such as dump trucks, snow plows, and tractors that need to be insured, find an insurance company that sells fleet insurance.
Fleet insurance is just a specialized form of commercial auto insurance which covers 2-15 commercial vehicles under one insurance contract.
The commercial auto insurance coverages we discussed above are still offered in a fleet insurance policy.
You must introduce an MCS90 endorsement to commercial auto insurance if your waste disposal business collects and hauls:
Toxic wastes
Flammable wastes
Infectious wastes
Radioactive wastes
Corrosive wastes
So what is an MCS90 endorsement anyway? An MCS90 endorsement serves as proof that you have the minimum liability coverage mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Act of 1980.
It also compels an insurance company to provide coverage to perils excluded in your garbage truck’s auto liability coverage.
Note that MCS90 isn’t an insurance policy. It’s just a guarantee that your waste disposal business can cover costs if its garbage truck injures people or spills pollutants. An insurance company that provides coverage through MCS90 endorsement can compel your business to reimburse what they spent.
Employees working for your waste disposal business are highly exposed to sharp objects and infectious materials. And so, it’s easy for them to sustain work-related injuries or diseases.
Workers' compensation insurance allows you to easily cover unexpected costs if an employee asks for financial help upon sustaining a work-related injury or disease. Specific expenses covered are:
Medical expenses-Workers compensation insurance helps your waste disposal business pay for an employee's ambulance fees, emergency room fees, and other medical expenses
Hospitalization-You can use workers' compensation insurance to cover bills if your waste disposal business’s employee is admitted to the hospital to receive intensive medical attention
Medication-Workers compensation insurance provides the funds an employee can use to buy any medicines prescribed by the attending physician
Rehabilitation-If your employee needs rehabilitative care, workers' compensation insurance will pay for therapist fees, rehabilitation equipment, and other associated expenses
Lost wages-Workers compensation insurance covers lost wages if your waste disposal business’s employee can’t work due to a work-related injury or disease. Coverage for lost wages is a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage
Death benefits-Death benefits are provided by workers' compensation insurance if your employee dies due to a work-related injury or disease. It will pay funeral expenses and provide an allowance to dependents
Workers' compensation insurance is a legal requirement unless your waste disposal business is operating in Texas.
Failure to get workers' compensation insurance will result in stiff fines and penalties. That’s why it’s better to purchase the policy even though it’s expensive.
Your garbage and waste collection business utilizes several roll off dumpsters. They might get damaged during use. And this is why insurance companies sell some policies that can be used as a roll off dumpster insurance.
The first of these policies is tools and equipment insurance. Tools and equipment insurance is an add-on to general liability or commercial property insurance that grants a $10,000-$25,000 reimbursement in case your roll off dumpster gets damaged or destroyed by theft, vandalism, and other covered perils.
Another one is inland marine insurance. This can be used as a roll off dumpster business insurance if the roll off dumpsters you own have to be moved through a tractor truck. If your roll off dumpsters get damaged during the trip, then inland marine insurance will reimburse your losses.
You can use a general liability policy as a dumpster rental insurance. This will help take care of costs if the renter sustains bodily injuries or property damage because your dumpster is defective. Coverage also applies if it’s their fault but try to put the blame on you.
Pollution liability coverage is also helpful as a dumpster insurance for rentals. In case of spillage of the debris or other wastes loaded, this will cover the costs for environmental restitution if the renter can’t take responsibility.
Finally, equipment breakdown insurance can also help. This type of dumpster rental business insurance will cover repair or replacement expenses if the dumpster you own gets damaged due to the error of the renter.
| Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Deductible | |
|---|---|---|---|
| General liability insurance | $47 | $564 | $0-$500 |
| Professional liability insurance | $72 | $864 | $500-$1,000 |
| Workers compensation insurance | $89 | $1,068 | $2,000-$5,000 |
| Commercial property insurance | $50 | $600 | $1,000-$2,000 |
| Commercial auto insurance | $95 | $1,140 | $500-$1,000 |
The average carting insurance cost is $47 per month or $564 per year for a $1 million general liability insurance. This assumes that your waste hauling and garbage collection company has 5 employees and generates $500,000-$750,000 per year. Factors that affect the cost of premiums are:
Business history
Claims history
Revenues
Number of employees
Type of garbage and waste collection provided
You might want to get a further idea about the cost of premiums by taking a look at this table that shows the rates of the best carting insurance companies for waste haulers and garbage collectors:
| Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXT | $33 | $396 | Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for waste and garbage collection businesses |
| CoverWallet | $35 | $420 | Carting insurance quotes comparison online |
| Tivly | $36 | $432 | Comparing carting insurance quotes over the phone |
| Aligned Insurance | $45 | $540 | Carting insurance policies with high limits |
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
Making a decision is easier if you have prior information about the choices. That said, we’ve reviewed the best carting insurance companies.
Proceed below to know their pros, cons, and rate of a $1 million general liability insurance. Some of the reviews come with interlinks that take you to a company information page where you can get quotes or read first-hand comments about the companies we reviewed.
Best overall
Get an online proof of insurance and send as a text message, email, or social media post
Fastest general liability insurance for waste and garbage collectors
Great customer service and reputation
Issues an online proof of insurance instantly
Outstanding value for money
Bundle two or more insurance policies and get a 10% discount
Couldn’t find any
NEXT grants coverage for waste and garbage collection businesses that only deal with non-hazardous materials. It offers three options-basic, premiere, and deluxe.
You get general liability insurance bundled with professional liability insurance from NEXT’s basic plan. This is the cheapest and doesn’t provide a lot of coverage.
The most comprehensive option is deluxe. Deluxe gives you general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, tools and equipment insurance, workers compensation insurance, and commercial property insurance. Commercial property insurance can be added as an optional policy.
Best for: Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for waste and garbage collection businesses
Average cost: $33 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Stable rates
Compare carting insurance quotes online
Cancel your policy anytime
Easy online policy management
Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
CoverWallet offers coverage for waste and garbage collection companies doing hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Policies offered are general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, commercial property insurance, and professional liability insurance.
CoverWallet is an insurance broker. This means that the policies you purchase from this company are underwritten by its partners. Nonetheless, CoverWallet issues certificates of insurance and allows you to manage your coverage online.
To get covered, use CoverWallet’s online quotation tool to compare quotes and buy insurance online.
Best for: Carting insurance quotes comparison online
Average cost: $35 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Responsive customer service
A partner of many reputable insurance companies
Call and compare quotes over the phone
You need to call to get a quote
Tivly (formerly CommercialInsurance.NET) can grant coverage if your waste and garbage disposal company is involved in the intrastate and interstate trucking of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes. Policies you can get are general liability, commercial property, and other business insurance policies. Call Tivly now and compare carting insurance quotes over the phone.
Bes for: Comparing carting insurance quotes over the phone
Average cost: $36
Our rating: 10/10
High coverage limits
Can grant coverage if your company has operations in Canada
Employee benefits insurance offered as part of general liability insurance
Online quotation platform isn’t very intuitive
Aligned Insurance is a good fit if your carting company is big. Though expensive, this company is worth it as its coverage limits exceed $2 million. For example, your general liability insurance from Aligned Insurance offers $5 million coverage and additionally offers employer’s liability and employee benefits liability coverage.
Best for: Carting insurance policies with high limits
Average cost: $45 per month
Our rating: 9/10
Use anyone except Employers. Period. They are non-transparent and shameful. After I complained long enough to warrant a call from a supervisor, the supervisor called back from a PRIVATE NUMBER (no caller ID), left a message that they are not reversing their decision (without any communication with me), and failed to leave a phone number for me to call back. She was hiding! They also fact find via email and phone calls, which is terrific for speed and communication. However, after setting a precedence of email or phone calls, they send time sensitive information via email, without any heads up... they are hoping you miss it and forfeit via expiration. Evil policies. Go elsewhere.
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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