July 23, 2023
A customer rented a skid steer indicating he needed it for some light construction work at a job site. The rental store employee went through the full checkout procedure as per their store process and had the customer sign the rental contract. The skid steer was loaded on the customer’s trailer, and the customer went merrily on his way.
A few days later the rental store received a call from the site manager reporting the unit had been damaged and the rental store employees needed to come get it. When the employees arrived at the job site, they discovered that someone had run the skid steer into a wall causing the wall to collapse on the unit. It was a miracle no one was injured. It was unclear if the crew was trying to demolish the wall or if they had just been careless.
The rental store manager tried to file a claim with the rental customer’s insurance carrier directly, but they proved less than helpful. The rental store needed this skid steer as it was in high demand. The rental store manager filed a claim through her own insurance. She used her re-rent coverage to get reimbursed for renting a substitute skid steer to rent out while hers was down. She was sure to obtain a rental contract as this was required for that coverage to apply. Luckily, she had recently met with her agent and learned that her policy had this coverage.
Once the claim concludes, the rental store’s insurance carrier will seek to recover what they paid out from the at fault party’s carrier as per the terms of the customer’s signed rental contract.
Check with your agent to see if your policy has a specific coverage.
This item, provided by ARA Insurance, Overland Park, Kan., contains safety tips and is intended to help readers better understand and manage risk. For more safety and risk management information, customers of ARA Insurance can log on to ReSource. Access is free, so if you haven’t signed up yet, contact your agent or call 800-821-6580.
