consumer fireworks liability insurance

[taner89]

i know ive already posted something like this but i have been reading on the net and what im getting from it is. is that you only need insurance liability if your shooting in a community. someone please correct me if im wrong

[Pyro Nation]

From my understanding is close to what u just said. Like the ATF 54 license. If u are getting paid to do a show there are different rules from just doing the show for free.

[taner89]

thats what i mean. im shooting at my house witch is 3 mile from any other house and that makes it completly my problem if something happens at my house. atleast thats how i see it

[Pyro Nation]

I posted this on the other question about the central PA permit, but will post here for ya:

I know from what my home insurance company told me. If I have a party at the house and doing some fireworks and something happens that causes some fire damage to the house. As long as it was not intentional it will be covered by the home insurance policy

[fogle22]

I posted this on the other question about the central PA permit, but will post here for ya:

I know from what my home insurance company told me. If I have a party at the house and doing some fireworks and something happens that causes some fire damage to the house. As long as it was not intentional it will be covered by the home insurance policy

You are correct, assuming your fireworks display was not for profit. As long as you did not intent to cause the damage/injury, your homeowner's policy will cover you for property damage and provide liability insurance if you injured someone or damaged their property.

[$/\/\0|<E]

Good luck getting your insurance company to cover anything fire or injury related .... I'm not understanding why you need any insurance for consumer fireworks if its at your house .. If you're looking to make a buck on a fireworks show at your house there are many ways to do it without including fireworks as something you're charging for ...

I buy a few kegs - $15 a head can easily clear half your investment this way . Some places will cut deals if you buy 2 or more kegs ..

Raffles

[taner89]

what im getting at is. even for my private show do i need the million dollor liability to have the permit?

[Pyro Nation]

No Taner...I have done this for the past 8 yrs. If it is at your house you do not need it. If not getting paid for it.

[shellshocker]

No Taner...I have done this for the past 8 yrs. If it is at your house you do not need it. If not getting paid for it.

Really, How did you pull a permit? My guess is you didn't. I haven't found a municipality yet that doesn't require insurance. State minimum is a $500 bond. How did you avoid that? To shoot fireworks in PA legally you need a permit. To get a permit you need insurance. I think you'll have a tough time getting your homeowners insurance to cover anything from an illegal fireworks show.

[taner89]

i hope i dont have to pay it

[Pyro Nation]

Well, I been doing shows since 2004 and Fire Chief always signs the permits no problem. The first one was the hardest. Had to show plans, layout's, what type of firework etc..., but ever since I have had no issues with anything

[fogle22]

Assuming your do not have some buy-off-the-internet insurance company insuring your home, your likely covered. Your policy is likely an "all risk" policy. This means your policy covers every loss, except that specifically excluded. So, unless your homeowner's policy specifically excludes a loss resulting from an illegal act, your homeowner's policy WILL pay for damages or injury. The regular ISO format for insurance policies, which all major insurance companies follow, does not have such an exclusion.

Call your agent and ask. If he says your covered, your covered...it's called estoppel.

[taner89]

lol. i just wanna know what its gonna cost me to actually get a consumer permit. and i would like to know all the steps in doing so. if someone could post please.

[Pyro Nation]

Some will charge 50 or more. I can only tell ya what it cost me and mine is $50

[taner89]

yea that sounds reasonable to me

[jknepp1954]

Taner - our Pa. State law says you must put up a $500 bond - so that is what you must do.
NOW however, unfortuneately, our wacky Pa local AHJ's had some "brilliant" bonehead devise a "model plan" to deal with permits in which they have decided on their own to make it $1 mil insurance, so that is where this is coming from. Does your area require this? Ask them... you may get lucky and only need to pay the $500 (and you get this back after your show BTW).
And if you are really lucky - some don't even require the bond or insurance (keep your fingers crossed)
I had said on another post of yours to pm me and i will give you my phone number and we can talk - cause this can be complicated.
Joyce

[tgis81]

I ran into this issue for my sister's wedding. Although it was NOT on my property. We had it at a very large park with enough room to shoot up to 6" shells. The AHJ is who will make the call regarding what they require. You need to talk to your AHJ. The town where my show was, which coincidentally was also the town that I am a police officer in, required me to attend a Borough council meeting, request in writing, and have a full council vote to allow it. And because it was not on my property, I had the park manager there to acknowledge that I had the park rented for that day. Council seemed to be ok with me signing off as taking the responsibility for the shoot, but the Park Manager required me to have liability insurance.

Since all the insurance I was able to find was extremely costly (too much for me or my family to put out just for one show), we looked to a pyro company that operates from my area that is owned by a friend of mine. Since I'm a Class B shooter, we made a deal with the company for me to help set up/tear down and act as lead shooter (under the supervision of the company owner). This saved us a chunk of money, and placed the fireworks under his company, allowing his company insurance to cover the shoot. Without the liability insurance, the park manager would not allow fireworks at the event. Needless to say, it went excellent and everyone loved the fireworks. The show consisted of everything from Concumer 1.75 shells, NOABs, B.O.S.S. cakes, Class B 3", 4", and 6" shells, and some Thunderkings. People really didn't expect the 6" shells.

Now if you have the property to do your show, maybe it would be a little easier. But the AHJ (the town/borough, etc where the shoot will be) is the one that will have to tell you what you need to provide.

I have heard some people say that if you have an ATF Type 54 (allowing you to possess the fireworks - of course properly stored if Class B) and your town doesn't have a written firework ordinance, then what law is being broken if you shoot them on your property? HOWEVER, being in law enforcement, I am one who ALWAYS runs things past the AHJ first, rather than assuming it's ok... because I will guarantee that someone will be calling the police saying they hear gunshots or they will be complaining about the fireworks and noise. In that case the police will respond and it's going to be more comforting for you to say "I have a permit approved by council/fire dept/etc". My police chief responded to my show. I pulled down my nomex and said "hey Chief, I have a permit. Wanna watch?" And he did. Go to your next council meeting and ask. Request a fireworks permit for whatever date it is. If they need insurance, etc, they will tell you before giving the permit.

[taner89]

ok ill do that. thanks alot everyone.