What Insurance Do Landscapers Need?
You’re getting ready for spring landscaping season. If you own a landscaping or lawncare business, you know there are risks that come with your job. You need landscapers’ insurance to protect your business.
Landscaping insurance helps protect you financially against lawsuit claims, such as third-party injuries (client/supplier) and property damage (clients/supplier).
What is landscaping insurance?
Landscapers’ insurance is a package of insurance coverages that helps protect you and your landscaping/lawncare business. It’s designed for the risks that you can face as a landscape contractor.
How much does landscaping insurance cost?
There is no one size-fits all answer. It will depend on the size of your landscaping or lawncare business and the services provided.
It will also depend on:
- Your location
- Annual revenue
- Number of employees
- Any past claims
What’s in a landscaping insurance package?
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance: CGL insurance helps protect you against a wide range of risks and accidents. It protects your lawncare business should you be found legally liable for third-party bodily injuries or property damage to a third-party caused by your products or services, employees, or accidents on your premises or at a customer’s location.
CGL insurance is necessary for your landscaping business. It shows your clients that you are serious about any accidents or mishaps that could happen and that you have taken steps to mitigate this risk.
It’s not uncommon that a landscaping business would carry $2 million in CGL coverage, or more depending on its size and services.
The size of your landscaping business, number of employees, and claims history will be factors in how much liability insurance you need and the cost.
Equipment and tools insurance: It replaces or repairs damaged, stolen, or lost equipment and tools, accessories, or other property that you use in your landscaping business.
Anything valued at less than $1,500 is considered a tool and anything above that limit is considered equipment.
Without this type of insurance, your landscaping or lawncare business would have to cover the costs of repairing or replacing your equipment to continue to service your clients.
A Western Financial Group business insurance expert will help you get the right commercial insurance for your landscaping or lawncare business at the right value for you.
Commercial property insurance: Commercial property insurance can help keep your landscaping business’s office or workshop protected from property losses, such as theft, fire. or vandalism. You can also add sewer backup or flood coverage extensions for more protection.
Property you may need to insure: Your building, furniture, equipment, supplies, inventory and computers, and documents such as payroll, accounts receivable.
Commercial auto insurance: Whether you use company-owned vehicles or your own vehicle to for your landscaping business, you need to have commercial auto insurance. This type of insurance protects you in the event of an accident involving your company vehicle and can provide coverage if injury, damage, or theft occurs.
Contractors’ errors and omissions Insurance: It protects you from damages from alleged errors or omissions in the performance of your professional duties or failure to provide professional service as a landscaper. It helps protect you from third-party claims of faulty workmanship or the use of defective materials.
You may also hear it called professional liability insurance.
E & O insurance doesn't cover every type of liability claim. It doesn’t cover illegal acts and purposeful wrongdoing, such as intentionally breaking the law or deceiving your clients.
Cyber insurance: Do you store your customers’ names, addresses, and credit card numbers in your landscaping business’s computer system? This information could be stolen by cybercriminals.
Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay for the cost of restoring your system on your own.
You may also be liable for damages to third parties whose information has been stolen and you may have to pay for notification expenses to inform customers affected by a breach.
Pollution liability insurance: Your landscaping business or lawncare business may use products that could be harmful to the environment or people. This type of insurance protects your landscaping business from third-party bodily injury and property damage claims and environmental liabilities associated with exposure to those products. It also helps cover any cleanup costs.
