“Do I need insurance to mow lawns? What about to trim trees? What if I am in landscaping?”
When you embark on a new business venture in lawn care services, these are the types of questions you may be asking.
In this post, we are going to answer those questions and more. We will explain exactly what types of lawn care business insurance exist, why they are important, and how to find quality coverage.
Do You Need Lawn Care Business Insurance?
If you are operating any type of lawn care business, then yes, you do need business insurance.
Examples of lawn care professionals who need to carry insurance policies include:
- Landscapers
- Lawn maintenance professionals
- Lawn irrigation professionals
- Lawn mowers
- Gardeners
- Tree trimmers
- Pest control contractors
- Fertilizing contractors
- Irrigating contractors
Those are just examples. You may be a different type of lawn care professional, but you still need lawn care business insurance.
Why Do You Need Lawn Care Business Insurance?
A lot of things can go wrong when you are working on another person’s property. This is particularly the case with lawn care services given the particular risks that go with these businesses.
For example, imagine you are trimming a tree, and the owner’s cat runs underneath when a branch drops. The branch hits the cat, and the owner wants to sue you for the vet charges.
As another example, say you plant something in the property owner’s garden upon their request that happens to be toxic. Then, their kid eat some of it. They decide to sue you.
In yet another example, perhaps you use a pesticide to kill certain insects in a garden, but in doing so, you accidentally introduce an imbalance into the garden’s ecology. Another pest moves in to exploit it. The customer is considering suing you.
Those are just a few examples of situations where lawn care business insurance would come to your rescue. There are numerous other possible scenarios where having coverage could help you protect your business and your bottom line.
What are the Different Types of Insurance Policies?
When you are shopping for lawn care business insurance, you will discover there are a range of different types of coverage you can buy. These include:
- General liability insurance: If you are going to get just one type of insurance to start, you should probably make it general liability insurance. This will help cover the damages if during the course of your work, you damage property that belongs to your customer. That also may include injuries to people or pets.
- Commercial property insurance: If your business property is damaged or stolen, commercial property insurance helps cover the costs of repair or replacement.
- Contractor’s tools and equipment insurance: This policy is specifically for protecting your work equipment and tools.
- Business owner’s policy: A business owner’s policy, or BOP, combines general liability insurance and commercial property insurance at a lower price.
- Professional liability insurance: Another name for this type of coverage is “errors and omissions insurance.” As the name implies, if you make an error or omission, it can help cover costs, including legal fees.
- Business interruption insurance: Sometimes, you might not be able to work temporarily because of property or equipment damage. Business interruption insurance will help you keep up with payroll and taxes, and may also replace some of the profits you lose while not able to work.
- Worker’s compensation insurance: If you have one or more employees, you will need to pay for workers’ compensation. If your employees are injured while they are working, this policy will pay out. It can help to cover their medical costs as well as the wages they lose during time out of work.
- Commercial auto insurance: You can protect your work vehicle using commercial auto insurance.
Are There Any Additional Types of Insurance Lawn Care Professionals Require?
There are several other types of insurance you may want to purchase and the types of coverage listed above.
- Cyber liability insurance: If you have a website where customers can submit personal details or make payments, getting this type of coverage can protect you if their data is compromised.
- Commercial umbrella insurance: If you are worried about claims that might exceed the general liability insurance or other types of liability insurance you have purchased, you can increase your coverage with umbrella insurance.
- Inland marine insurance: While commercial auto insurance protects your work vehicle, inland marine insurance protects the equipment and tools you are hauling on the job. It also protects that equipment when it is on your customer’s property.
- Herbicide and pesticide application coverage: If, after you apply an herbicide or pesticide, a customer sues you for medical costs associated with sickness, you can fall back on this specialized type of coverage.
How Does It Cost to Purchase Business Insurance For Lawn Care Companies?
You are now familiar with the different types of lawn care business insurance you can buy. But you are probably wondering what factors can impact your costs. Below are some considerations that apply, whether you are trying to figure out mowing insurance cost, landscaping insurance cost, or the cost for a different type of lawn care business insurance.
- The company you choose. Different companies offer different insurance rates for lawn care businesses. For that reason, you should not just choose the first company you look into. Instead, you should shop around to make sure you are finding the best rates available to you.
- The policies you buy. Not every lawn care business needs every single type of coverage we mentioned in our list above. But some lawn care businesses do. The exact types of policies you need to purchase will impact your total costs for insuring your business.
- How coverage works. Even for a single type of policy, there may be more than one option. For example, you can purchase a cash value commercial property insurance policy, or you can buy a replacement value version of the same type of policy. You may save money on your coverage if you go with the cash value policy. But you will discover that a replacement value policy is able to cover more if you have to replace your equipment. So, sometimes the more expensive policy ends up saving you money in the long run.
- Your deductibles. Another factor that can impact how expensive your lawn care business policies are is the size of your deductibles. While a smaller deductible is easier to meet, a larger deductible can mean more competitive insurance rates. You will need to figure out what your priority is.
- Your coverage limits. The policy you purchased will have certain coverage limits. You may have options for how high or low the coverage limits are for each of the policies you buy. Raising the coverage limits can increase your insurance rates. But a policy with higher coverage limits also will provide you with more coverage if you ever need to fall back on it. Once again, you will need to assess the pros and cons, and figure out what is right for you.
- The structure of your business. How you structure your business can impact the types of policies you need and the levels of coverage you require. If your lawn care business employs only yourself, it is going to be less expensive to cover than if you operate a business that employs multiple people.
- Bundling policies. One way to potentially get a discount on your lawn care business insurance coverage is by bundling together multiple policies. We mentioned this when we talked about getting a business owner’s policy. But there may be other ways you can bundle together lawn care insurance policies and save. If the insurance company also offers other types of insurance unrelated to lawn care, you might also be able to save by bundling together lawn care insurance policies and those types of policies (i.e. home and auto).
- Your claims. If you have no insurance claims, you may have a less expensive policy than someone else who has claims, especially expensive ones. The fewer claims you have over a longer period of time, the less risky a customer you appear to be.
You might wonder whether it is worth it to try and cut costs by only purchasing the minimum coverage for your lawn care business.
That depends on the specifics of your situation. If you can afford substantial coverage with the full range of policies that could help protect your business, it is probably best to purchase it. It may be more expensive, but if something goes wrong, you will be glad that you have a policy to protect you from some of the financial fallout.
On the other hand, perhaps you are trying to start up a lawn care business without a lot of financial resources. Right now, it could just be you, a truck, and a lawnmower.
In that case, you might just want to start out with the more basic types of coverage like general liability insurance and lower coverage limits.
As you grow your business and bring in profits, you may then be able to afford to expand your coverage types. You also could raise your coverage limits, and perhaps lower your deductible.
Where Can You Find Lawn Care Business Insurance Coverage?
You can now appreciate the importance of lawn care business insurance, whether you are a landscaper, lawnmower, gardener, or operate a different type of lawn care company.
However large or small your company may be, you need to protect your property, workers, and profits.
If you are ready to find affordable coverage, take a look at our recommended lawn care insurance companies. Once you compare quotes, you can find the right coverage for your needs.