General Liability Insurance for Landscapers

General liability (GL) is the bread and butter of your insurance policy because it covers you against many of the day-to-day risks or perils that you face as you work. It covers you against any accidents that might result in bodily injury or property damage to someone not related to your business by covering the costs you’re legally obligated to pay. For example, if your lawn mower catches a rock and tosses it into your client’s home, shattering a window and their expensive television, you’d be covered. Or what if your lawn mower catches that rock and tosses it at a member of the homeowner’s family, seriously injuring them? You’d be protected.

GL might also help you with legal defense if someone takes you to court. The claim might not have any substance and you might have done nothing wrong, but legal defense costs add up very quickly. Lawsuits are very time-consuming and expensive, but GL can help you out.

Workers’ Compensation for Landscapers

Workers’ compensation protects your workers if they get hurt on the job. It covers their medical costs and could even reimburse them for some of the wages that they lose if they’re unable to work.

The risks of your workers getting hurt are pretty high in landscaping because the work involved is labor-intensive, not to mention that they work with tools and small machinery. Your workers could face back injuries, sprains, strains, and hernias. Plus, they work with chemicals a lot, which can have negative health effects.

The point is, you need to make sure that you’re taking care of your employees by covering them with workers comp. Your employees are the heart of your business, and you need to be able to take care of them if they get hurt on the job.

Commercial Auto Insurance for Landscapers

You have to be able to get where you’re going, right? And that requires having some wheels. You might have a truck or van that you use for your business, or you might have several. Either way, you need to make sure that you’re protected against any accidents that could happen.

A commercial auto policy has several parts to it, liability being a major chunk of it. What if one of your employees is on the way to a job and accidentally runs a stop sign and hits another car? Your commercial auto would be there to help you cover the costs of the accident, including the medical bills of the other driver and the damage to their car. A commercial auto policy would also help you out with legal fees if the injured party brings charges against your company.

Normally, a commercial auto policy has several different sections of coverage. It depends on your specific policy, but it could include:

• Bodily injury liability – covers medical bills and lost wages of a driver who one of your employees injured in a car accident.
• Property damage liability – covers costs of any property damage that your vehicles cause.
• Collision coverage – covers the cost of repairing your vehicle after an accident.
• Comprehensive coverage – covers the cost of damages not caused by an accident, such as vandalism, fire, or a tree falling.
• Medical payments – covers the cost of medical bills for the driver and passengers, no matter who was at fault.
• Personal injury protection – covers medical payments, lost wages, and funeral expenses for the driver and passengers regardless of who was at fault.
• Uninsured motorist – covers you if your vehicle is hit by a driver without insurance.

Property Insurance for Landscapers

This protects your business’s property against losses. You might have a storage spot for your vehicles and equipment, and property insurance would protect your business against covered losses (such as fire) that could hit your storage facility.

Now, your equipment is also a big part of your business, since it’s not cheap and it’s essential to your work. But what if your equipment is stolen or damaged? You need to make sure that your equipment is protected, so you should talk to your agent about the best way to cover it. You might need to consider inland marine insurance, which protects property that’s being transported from one place to another.

Commercial Umbrella Insurance for Landscapers

To get extra protection for your business, you might want to consider a commercial umbrella. This adds a layer of coverage over your existing policies. What if you have a big claim that goes beyond the limits of coverage that you have? Commercial umbrella picks up where your other policy left off. For instance, let’s say you have a huge claim, like $2 million. Your general liability limit is $1 million. So, the (literal) million-dollar question is…where is the other million going to come from?

The answer is your umbrella policy. Umbrella will step in to cover the gap between your limit and the total cost of the claim. Now, keep in mind that your umbrella will have a limit of its own, but still – it’s a big help. Basically, it’s extra insurance. And who doesn’t like some extra peace of mind?