Cemetery Business Insurance
Getting insurance for your cemetery is essential.
Cemeteries need financial protection from any number of things, including claims for property damage, personal injuries, and trademark infringement.
For example, someone could claim that you mishandled their loved one’s remains, or visitors to your cemetery may cause extensive damage to the grounds.
We’ll help you find the most personalized and affordable coverage for your unique business.
Recommended: Next Insurance is dedicated to matching small businesses with the right policy at the best price.
Best Insurance for a Cemetery Business
General liability insurance is — generally speaking — one of the most important insurance policies for cemeteries.
Some of the risks general liability insurance covers are:
- Bodily injury
- Property damage
- Medical payments
- Legal defense and judgment
- Personal and advertising injury
In addition to general liability insurance, your cemetery can benefit from other types of insurance:
- Workers’ compensation insurance
- Commercial auto insurance
- Commercial umbrella insurance
Generally speaking, companies selling business insurance fall into one of two categories: traditional insurance companies or online insurance companies.
- Traditional insurers — This type of insurer is familiar to many people and includes well-established companies like Allstate and The Hartford. It’s hard to go wrong with a traditional insurance company that offers high-quality coverage. However, an equivalent policy from an online insurer will likely cost less.
- Online insurers — Unlike traditional insurers, online insurers don’t sell policies using agents who work in traditional offices. Rather, they sell insurance using AI over the internet. This means they can charge less for the same quality coverage and provide it faster as well.
Let's Find the Coverage You Need
The best insurers design exactly the coverage you need at the most affordable price.
Cost of General Liability Insurance
On average, cemeteries in America spend between $400 - $700 per year for $1 million in general liability coverage.
Compare the average cost of general liability insurance for a cemetery business to other professional industries using the graph below.
Several factors will determine the price of your policy. These include your:
- Location
- Deductible
- Number of employees
- Per-occurrence limit
- General aggregate limit
You may be able to acquire general liability insurance at a discounted rate by purchasing it as part of a business owner’s policy (BOP) rather than as a standalone policy.
A BOP is a more comprehensive solution that includes multiple forms of coverage, such as business interruption and property insurance.
Find the Best Rate
Discover the best coverage at the lowest rate in our cheapest business insurance review.
Common Situations That General Liability Insurance May Cover for a Cemetery Business
Example 1: While exploring your grounds, a visitor falls into a hole, breaks a leg, and decides to sue your business for not marking the hole. General liability insurance would pay for your legal defense fees and any required settlement.
Example 2: As you take a potential customer on a tour of your cemetery, you turn around to tell him something and he runs directly into you, falls down, and sustains a concussion. He asks you to pay for his medical treatment. General liability insurance would cover his medical bills.
Example 3: As an employee brings equipment out to a grave using an all-terrain vehicle, he accidentally runs over a visitor’s bag and crushes the expensive camera equipment inside. General liability insurance would pay to replace the visitor’s damaged property.
Other Types of Coverage Cemetery Businesses Need
While general liability is the most important type of insurance to have, there are several other forms of coverage you should be aware of. Below are some of the most common types of coverage:
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most states require businesses to carry workers’ compensation insurance for their part-time and full-time employees. This coverage protects your employees if they become injured at work or fall ill after a work-related accident. It not only covers an employee’s medical bills and lost wages if they need time to recover, but also any disability or death benefits stemming from a work-related accident.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Any vehicle you use primarily for business requires commercial auto insurance to protect the vehicle, driver, and others on the road in the event of an accident. Be sure to select a policy that covers not only accident-related vehicle repair costs and medical treatment for anyone injured, but also sufficient protection for any business equipment and supplies you carry in your vehicle.
Professional Liability Insurance
While you strive to provide clients with guidance that will make a hard time in their lives go as smoothly as possible, there’s always a chance someone might claim you made a mistake that caused them injury. If a client sues your business based on your professional services, professional liability insurance would cover your legal fees and any required settlement.
Commercial Umbrella Insurance
While your general liability insurance policy covers most claims, some accidents or lawsuits may be so catastrophic that they threaten to exhaust the limits of your primary coverage. Commercial umbrella insurance protects you from paying out-of-pocket for any legal fees and awarded damages that exceed your primary policy.
Additional Steps To Protect Your Business
Although it’s easy (and essential) to invest in business insurance, it shouldn’t be your only defense.
Here are several things you can do to better protect your cemetery business:
- Use legally robust contracts and other business documents. (We offer free templates for some of the most common legal forms.)
- Set up an LLC or corporation to protect your personal assets. (Visit our step-by-step guides to learn how to form an LLC or corporation in your state.)
- Stay up to date with business licensing.
- Maintain your corporate veil.
Cemetery Business Insurance FAQ
Yes, absolutely. You will need to first get a quote from an online business insurance provider like Next Insurance. Next allows you to then purchase a policy immediately and your coverage will be active within 48 hours.
A typical business owner’s policy includes general liability, business interruption, and commercial property insurance. However, BOPs are often customizable, so your agent may recommend adding professional liability, commercial auto, or other types of coverage to your package depending on your company’s needs.
"Business insurance" is a generic term used to describe many different types of coverage a business may need. General liability insurance, on the other hand, is a specific type of coverage that business owners need to protect their assets.
You should purchase business insurance for your cemetery before accepting any business. Otherwise, the cemetery’s long-term financial health will be at risk because you’ll have no financial protection from legal judgments or other liabilities.
Local laws also may require various types of business insurance, such as workers’ compensation or commercial auto.
Not necessarily. Certain exceptions may be written directly into your cemetery business insurance policy, and some perils may be entirely uninsurable.
Yes, an LLC is meant to create a legal barrier between your business and your personal assets and credit. If you haven’t formed an LLC yet, use our Form an LLC guide to get started.
An LLC doesn’t protect your business assets from lawsuits and liability– that’s where business insurance comes in. Business insurance helps protect your business from liability and risk.