Does The GameTruck You Want To Hire Even Have Insurance
Price vs. Value
Is Saving Money Worth Not Being Protected?
I want to bring to your attention something that I am noticing more and more in our area, and I know from being in the industry, that the average parent is unaware of.
My concern is that I am seeing a lot of low cost, inexpensive GameTruck Birthday party trucks rolling around our neighborhoods. I am concerned because the average parent assumes that all GameTruck companies are basically the same, and therefore they naturally gravitate to the lower priced options.
I completely understand the need to save a dollar if, and when we can, but when thinking about utilizing the fairly new birthday party industry called GameTruck’s, there is somethings that 99% of parents don’t even think about asking or checking on, but …… they need to be aware of. That one thing is…. “insurance “One of the ways that low price competitors have a low price, is by not having ANY or Enough insurance to cover you in the event that your child or a guest gets hurt on their truck!!!!
If a GameTruck did have adequate or any insurance, there is absolutely Nooooooooooooooo Way that they could provide a mobile service for $299. The cost of insurance alone to cover GameTruck’s would not support such a low price. I have been in the GameTruck industry for almost a decade now, and my monthly insurance costs average nearly $800 per month. At $199 per party, I would have to do (4) parties to cover that cost alone! This is not taking into consideration all of the other various expenses associated with our type of business.
No… this is not a sexy topic, but when it come to our kids and their safety, you need to know if the inexpensive Game Truck that you hired to save a buck even has insurance.
WHAT IS A GAMETRUCK ANYWAY?
For those unfamiliar with the term GameTruck , let me catch you up to speed. A Gametruck can be as small as a Sprinter Van
Or as long as our 30ft Mobile V.I.P. Trailer
Either way, the idea is to load your child and their friends into one of these video game units and have a 2-hour video game party.
Regardless of the format that the GameTruck arrives in, the company that you hire will have at least (2) of the (3) forms of insurance. The price of these policies should be factored into the price of the party.
This is where we get to the heart of this article, these 3 types of insurance are Business liability insurance – Commercial Vehicle Insurance and Inland Marine Insurance, and can be very expensive to acquire and maintain, thats because the GameTuck industry is still very new to the insurance companies. Insurance companies see GameTrucks as risky, because there is a very short track record of what to expect from a Gametruck company. If you couple the (3) separate insurance policy’s with all of the reoccurring costs of owning a “Mobile” business, it would look like this:
- Fuel for the Pickup Truck Or Sprinter
- Fuel for the generator
- Pickup Truck / Sprinter / Trailer Maintenance
- Video Gaming system purchase or replacement
- Video game CD / software purchases (New games always coming out)
- Video game controllers and there constant replacement
- Wear & Tear on multiple tires (usually 4 on Sprinter / 10 or more for Big Trailers & the Pickup Truck
- Employee Labor $$$
- Trailer storage
- Advertising $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
- Website design and content maintenance & updating
- Business Office rental & lease
You can quickly see how expensive it can be to operate a GameTruck business.
How Does This Impacts You!!!!
With all the aforementioned expenses associated with running a mobile video game truck, it is very easy and tempting, for some business owners to forgo purchasing or maintaining insurance. This puts you and your kids, and all the guests at risk if something goes wrong. If a GameTruck company doesn’t have insurance to cover you in the event that there is an accident on their truck, then there is no financial protection in place for you.
Why Would A Business Owner Take The Risk?
If you go back to the bullets that break down all the cost associated with the Gametruck industry, and couple that with companies charging ridiculously low, unrealistic and unmaintainable prices like $199 for 2 or more hours. You can see how quickly a Gametruck can run through money, and end up robbing Peter to pay Paul. Those who choose to play Russian roulette with business insurance are not necessarily evil or malicious people, but they may see this as an option to stay afloat.
When faced with not making enough sales to keep the lights on, because they are trying to “out price” others in the GameTruck industry with a unsustainably cheap price, some Gametruck business owners stoop to their primal instincts to survive.
My Advice?
If it looks to good to be true!!!!!! It probably is!!!!! As tempting as it maybe to want to hire a inexpensive Game truck, I would steer clear of low price leaders. They won’t be in business for long making penny profit, and they won’t be able to purchase all the latest games and equipment when it comes out, and finally the chances that they don’t have ample…. (if any) insurance is very high. The economics just don’t support it!
Instead when shopping for a GameTruck Party for your child, see how long the company has been around, check out what their reviews are like, and don’t be afraid to ask from PROOF of having recent and up to date insurance. If they don’t return your call, or give you some lame excuse as to why they can’t provide their insurance information, then runnnnnnnnnn!!! They are giving you all the warning signs that you need!
Below Is a list of the (3) types of insurance that any GameTruck you hire should have.
Business Liability Insurance
What most people don’t realize is that these types of mobile businesses can be difficult and very expensive to insure. For example, these video game truck businesses legally needs to have business insurance just to operate.
Business liability insurance protects a company and/or business owner in the event of a formal lawsuit or any third-party claim. This type of insurance covers the business from lawsuits, so if your child gets hurt on one of the trucks, there is some financial protection for the consumer.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
This type of business insurance covers automobiles used for business, including company cars, and a wide variety of commercial trucks. Again the cost of this insurance will be passed along to the client in the form of the final party price.
Inland Marine Insurance
This refers to coverage that protects your business equipment and tools in transit or at a location This type of insurance is to cover the business from loss, in case of an accident, thief or vandalism. This doesn’t really effect the consumer, except for the cost of this insurance policy is rolled into the cost of the party.
If you are in the market for a Video GameTruck, and you still have question, feel free to reach out to me personally at 678-206-9810, my name is Corey Hall and I am the owner / operator of our family owned Gamer vs Gamer video game birthday party service.