These are the questions that everyone getting into or considering entering the industry ask inevitably:
- Who do I go to for insurance?
- What does it cost?
- What companies out there offer Mobile Axe Throwing insurance?
All good questions. Buckle up- we’re getting into it.
(A quick note- I’m just going to cover the general liability coverage here. There are all sorts of insurance you may or will need, from property to auto. There is endless content written on the web about these. This won’t touch on them.)
The Mobile Axe Throw industry is relatively new- this is universally understood.
Insurance generally shy away from any risky activity, and there hasn’t been a lot of time for this to simmer. Most of the insurance companies who are going to insure you are offering higher premium insurance to companies who fall outside of that comfort zone. These are usually going to be Specialty Insurance companies.
So what does that mean? It means that after reading this, you need to do your research on every potential company because each has their own specific coverage and contract language, and you need to know if that’s going to work with the way you plan to operate.
In our research on pricing for Mobile Axe Throwing insurers, we pulled quotes of anywhere from $1,700-$9,000 based on our criteria.
It’s important to remember that every company is different and you’re going to get different quotes from others dependant on a number of factors.
I’m going to list every insurer who I found as well as others have suggested, but this list is no by no means comprehensive. I’m going to do my best to update this as more become available.
- Worgess Insurance – Kyle@worgess.com
- Cossio Insurance – Carol@cossioinsurance.com
- Leavitt Group – Marvin_aga@Leavitt.com
- Axe Throwing Insurance – Brett@axethrowinginsurance.com
- Great Lakes Insurance – Alec@greatlakesins.com
- Zodiac Insurance – dwash@zodiacinsurance.com
- Northeast Insurance
- Unique Insurance – Licensed for Illinois, Indiana, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Tennessee
Unconfirmed-
- Mesa Underwriting
- Scottsdale Insurance
Factors On Pricing And Availability:
(This is by no means all inclusive. There are a large number of factors, and they vary by carrier)
Company Revenue
- Many insurance companies charge you a rate relative to your company’s revenue.
Location
- Insurance agencies are licensed in various states, and that affects where they’re able to provide coverage.
Minimum Age of Throwers
- Some of these companies have a hard limit on how young your axe throwers can be while others price differently (in some cases, significantly different) dependant on your minimum age of thrower allowed.
Number of Throwers Supervised by Coach
- This question (coupled with others of its ilk) are difficult to answer before you get started with running the unit. Do you see expansion in your future? Running 4+ lanes at a larger event? It’s worth talking through with your agent because many of these are money factors which scale up or down your annual charge.
Protection for bystanders
- Are spectators going to be in danger of an axe deflecting their way?
Certificate of Insurance (COI)
These documents are used to lay out your policy in front of a prospective event or location interested in you. Many fairs, festivals and bars/breweries need to see this before going through with booking you on site. These are going to be pivotal in convincing an event runner who is on the fence about axe throwing, and you
Your insurance company is going to require information about the event and the location, and will send you a copy of the document that you can then forward to the event runner. Do yourself a favor and keep a copy of these documents saved for the next year!
Waivers
Another question that come up often among tentative owners is whether or not they should implement waivers in their process. Waivers are absolutely, 100% a necessary part of Axe Throwing, and every competent insurer will require them.
The way you choose to implement the waivers is, to a degree, up to you. There are a number of waiver services that allow you to access scanable QR codes for quick downloading on site on a phone, compile your list of customer emails into your email services, email customers with a confirmation that the waiver has been logged, and much more.
Bottom Line
I’ve laid out a decent opening volley, but you need to do your homework. There are a lot of ins and outs of this process, and it’s worth taking the time to come away with at least a basic understanding of the business.
Our company uses Worgess Insurance to cover our axe throwing side, and they have been amazing in response times regarding questions and COI requests for what its worth. Let them know that you heard about them from Odyssey Axe Throw!
That said, everyone has different needs regarding insurance, and all this is meant as a fluid guide and not the bible on Axe Throwing insurance.
Next Time: On-Trailer vs. Stand-Alone Axe Units
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Great article