Landscaping can be a dangerous job with some hazardous working conditions. Landscapers are frequently using heavy equipment like backhoes and graders and other equipment with lots of moving parts like mower and chainsaw blades. Additionally, all this equipment and the trucks and trailers you use to get your tools to the job site can be very expensive. On top of those dangers and expenses, you may be digging in someone’s yard, what if one of your employees accidentally damages a foundation or breaks a gas line? How do you protect your employees, your equipment, and your business? The right commercial insurance tailored to the needs of landscapers can help.
Who needs landscaping insurance?
As you well know, there are many different types of landscaping, all can benefit from the right insurance coverage, here are a few examples and some of the reasons they need to covered correctly:
- Lawn Care – Lawn care teams use expensive equipment like mowers, trimmers, and blowers and have a higher risk for cuts requiring stitches, rollover injuries, and repetitive motion and lifting injuries.
- Lawn Treatment – If, in addition to lawn care, your team treats lawns, you are dealing with dangerous chemicals that could, if not used correctly, cause injuries to customers or employees.
- Tree and Stump Removal – If using chainsaws and trimmers isn’t dangerous enough, adding falling limbs and heights to the mix creates an even more dangerous workplace.
- Hardscaping – When building patios and retaining walls you’re required to lift heavy boulders and blocks and push around tons of dirt and stone. This can require more expensive equipment and a bigger risk of lifting injury or falls.
- Excavation – Excavators use heavy equipment and dig and grade close to homes. This equipment can be very expensive and working near someone’s house can present additional risks if something goes wrong.
- Irrigation Contractors – If you install irrigation systems, you need specialized equipment and materials adding cost to your business. Additionally, you’ll be installing systems that run large quantities of water near a home, a break in the line you installed could quickly flood your customer’s yard and house.
As landscapers continue to take on bigger and more complex jobs, you are using larger and more expensive equipment. There are several things you can do to ensure you have the right coverage. One key is to pick and stay within your scope of services. You may provide one or several of these services, keeping within your scope will help ensure you have the right insurance coverage.
What types of insurance coverage should landscapers have?
What can you do to help protect your employees and your business from a loss caused by an accident or other unexpected situations? There’s really no such thing as “landscaper insurance,” what you purchase is a group of policies that are tailored to your business. There are many hazards that all business owners face, including landscapers, some of your unique risks are noted above. Insurance coverage designed to meet the specific needs of your business will help provide the protection you need.
Here are a few of the coverages that are available and how they can help:
- General Liability Coverage – This will protect you against third party claims. For instance, if you damage your customer’s house or if a customer is injured while walking through an active worksite, this type of policy will provide coverage in these and similar situations.
- Workers’ Compensation – Workers’ compensation coverage protects your employees if they are injured or become ill due to a work-related situation. We all know how quickly medical costs can spiral out of control; this type of insurance will protect your business from crushing medical expenses.
- Commercial Property Coverage – This type of policy protects your buildings against damage and your equipment against losses. Property insurance will help pay for the repair or replacement of items if they are damaged or lost in a covered event. It’s important to remember that commercial property coverage typically only covers your property at the listed business address, to cover equipment elsewhere, you’ll need another type of policy called inland marine coverage.
- Inland Marine Coverage – This strange-sounding coverage has nothing to do with water. Inland marine coverage protects your equipment when it’s in transit or on the job site. So, if you’re in an accident on the way to a job or if someone steals a mower from the back of your truck, your inland marine policy will cover losses.
- Commercial Auto – You may have trucks and trailers used to transport your equipment to and from your jobs. Commercial auto insurance will cover your work cars, trucks, and trailers as well as damage to other’s property in an “at-fault” accident.
Some other important coverage options to consider include:
- Commercial Umbrella – Provides an extra layer of financial security for your business.
- Business Interruption – If you need to shut down your business, for a covered peril, business interruption insurance will help cover expenses. It is important to note that pandemics are not typically a covered peril.
- Cyber Liability – This coverage will help you recover from hackers, identity theft, and other technology-related problems and issues.
- Surety Bonds – Not required in all states, ensures that you (the business) will live up to your financial obligations.
How do I know what coverage I need?
With so many different types of landscaping services and so many different policies available, the best way to get the right coverage – coverage tailored to your business – is to talk to a licensed independent insurance agent. Many factors affect the cost of insurance – location, payroll, revenue, property, the scope of the business, loss history, deductibles, and more – an independent agent can work through each of these to find the right protection. An independent agent normally works with several insurance companies to build a plan that fits your needs and your budget. If you’re just starting out or if you’ve been in business for a while, your operation could benefit from an insurance review and the experience of an independent agent insurance agent.
