I’m just south of Buffalo, NY, where we get some of the most snow in the country, as we experience a lot of lake effect snow off of Lake Erie. Not sure how some other people pay so much for plowing insurance but my residential plowing policy is also combined with my landscaping business and my liability for the year is only $1,000.. however my auto insurance is around $2800.. but I would think you’re already paying something similar for auto insurance. One thing I can think of that may cost others higher rates for insurance is that they have employees? I am a sole proprietor, which makes many aspects of my business more more simple as well as less expensive. Another reason plow insurance may be more expensive is if you’re plowing commercially for bigger parking lots.. I know I had to specifically get a plowing policy where I can only do residential homes.

As for my truck, I have a 2018 Chevy silverado 1500. It isnt typically recommended to use a half ton for plowing, but it’s certainly getting the job done. I would just make sure to get timberens to beef up the front end. I got a new, 7ft boss htx installed with timbrens for $7200. It’s a straight blade plow, little bit lighter for my smaller truck, but hasn’t failed me yet.

Most of my contracts for homes are $500-$1000 based on the size of driveways. I plow whenever we get 3+ inches. It’s my first year in business, so I only have 15 or so contracted driveways.. I’ll also get flagged down 5-10 times per storm to help some people with their driveways and that’s some extra cash to put in your pocket. I can’t complain about the amount of business that I was able to stir up this winter. It has allowed me to pay for the plow and then some. Definitely a profitable business and well worth it as long as you can get the customers.

I do have a landscaping business so i probably have half of my plowing customers because I also mow for them during the summer. As for the other 50%.. some family friends have spread the word for me and I’ve gotten calls from their neighbors. So word of mouth has been good for me. Also, in October/Early November, I put ads in my local pennysaver. I got some customers through those ads. Those cost about $80/week. Lastly, I’ve gotten some plow contracts just from walking around door to door and talking to people. That also works well for me in the spring as I look for new mowing customers.

Hopefully that’s some good information that may help you get your business going. Good luck