5 Things To Know About Guide And Outfitter Insurance

Can guide and outfitter insurance protect your outdoor business? Any outdoor industry business brings its own set of unique risks, and guide and outfitters are no exception. Whether you’re a guide taking customers hunting, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, kayaking, or rafting, you need insurance protection designed for your specific outdoor business.

Here are 5 things you should know about guide and outfitter insurance.

Guide and Outfitter Insurance is Designed for Your Business

There’s a reason you chose to build a business in the outdoor industry. To connect with nature, spend your days outdoors, introduce people to the wilderness that you love, to preserve national parks for future generations. People in the outdoor industry have different motivations driving them as they build their businesses. And they have different risks than business owners in other industries.

An e-commerce business owner doesn’t have to worry about watercraft liability. A coffee shop owner doesn’t need to worry about expensive equipment falling overboard, off a cliff, or off a horse. An electrician doesn’t need to worry about valuable hunting dogs getting lost or injured.

But these are all risks that a guide or outfitter could face on any given day.

That’s why guide and outfitter (G&O) insurance is different than a standard business insurance policy - it’s designed around the specific risks you face in your outdoor operations.

Guide insurance is custom tailored to your outdoor business, providing coverage for premises rented to you, liability coverage for watercraft, and protection for the equipment and tools you need to survive in the great outdoors.

 

G&O Insurance Protects Your Clients and Their Property

Taking clients elk hunting in the foothills of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains or rafting on the scenic California Salmon River can be dangerous. G&O insurance can help you protect your clients and their property when they’re in your care.

G&O insurance includes general liability coverage against third-party injuries and property damage. If one of your inexperienced clients gets injured, general liability coverage can help pay for medical payments and even legal costs in the event of a lawsuit.

G&O insurance also includes property coverage for your clients’ personal property. If one of your guests’ has an expensive personal item stolen or destroyed during your expedition, you’re covered.

G&O Insurance Protects Your Equipment

Your business assets hit the road (trail, and water) with you every day. A standard commercial property insurance policy is designed to protect business property that stays in one place. But G&O insurance is designed differently. It provides inland marine coverage for the assets that you transport over the water, through dense forests, and across steep terrains.

G&O insurance also provides liability coverage on boats that you use to transport hunters or carry food and equipment. Watercraft liability is designed to shield you against the high-costs of a third-party injury or property damage resulting from the use of a boat or other watercraft in the course of your operations.

G&O Covers Guide Animals

Animals are often an important part of a guide and outfitter business. Horses and mules can carry clients and supplies for scenic tours and fishing or hunting trips. Dogs are often used on hunting expeditions. But what happens when a rider gets injured from falling or jumping off a horse, an animal gets lost, or a bystander is injured when being passed by a pack train?

G&O insurance is designed to cover animals, such as horses, mules, hunting dogs – and other animals used in your guide and outfitter activities – with general liability and property coverage for the hardworking animals who help you build your business.

You Can Customize Your G&O Insurance Even Further

Not only does guide and outfitter insurance provide coverage designed specifically for the risks of a guide and outfitter business, you can also customize your insurance protection with additional coverage options.

Guide and outfitter insurance coverage is designed to include:

• General liability protection
• Damage to premises rented to you
• Medical payments
• Guides as additional insureds
• Watercraft liability
• Coverage for dogs
• Liquor liability
• Property coverage for dogs and horses in your care
• Personal property for others
• Inland marine coverage for equipment, tools, guns, saddles, and tack
• Cyber protection

When your business needs additional coverage, you can custom-tailor guide and outfitter coverage to meet the specific needs of your business. You may want to add:

Workers’ compensation insurance can protect your employees from work-related injuries or illness. You may not need workers’ comp if you use independent contractors to help you run your business, but if you have actual employees on the payroll than you most likely need this essential business coverage.

Commercial auto insurance can cover the vans, SUVs, trucks, or other autos that your business owns, rents, leases, or uses. But what about other vehicles? You can add RV insurance to provide coverage for recreational vehicles such as trailers, motorhomes, camper vans, or bus conversions.

Let the guide and outfitter insurance professionals at Aegis Insurance Markets help you design the perfect coverage for your specific outdoor business. Aegis is headquartered out of Truckee, California in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. We’ve built a business insuring outdoor industry professionals, and we know the specific risks you face in your guide and outfitters business.