So I guess they went to a vendor that does have the insurance and you lost a customer?
The extra insurance thing has happened to me as well. I carry $2,000,000 professional liability, injury, vehicle, etc.
For a $5,000 job it isn’t worth it if they insist that I have $5 million. That is pretty rare though. When it does come up I just cross it out, put $2 million in and initial it.
I did pass along an special insurance cost (Marine/Water) to one client with their approval once. And for a two-day job, but you have to pay for the entire year.
And some customers are worth not having.
Nope. I talked to the individual within the company who would be my customer (and who realized that the type of insurance was unnecessary), and he knocked some sense into the purchasing people.
I’d given them a fair price (without including any unnecessary insurance) and had they held firm I would have walked away rather than charitably fund their operations for them.
What just slayed me though, was that they thought there was a difference between “them paying” for my insurance and “me paying” for it.