Landscaping Insurance

Growing, new, and established landscapers, tree trimmers, and gardeners have risks unique to their industries. Professional landscapers and related businesses face a number of risks. The best protection against these risks is insurance.

Risks Faced by Landscapers and related industries include:

PROPERTY DAMAGE

• A stone kicked up by a lawn mower run by you or an employee breaks the windshield of a parked car.

• A tree limb you are trimming cracks and falls destroying patio furniture

PERSONAL INJURY

You sod a lawn and the squares are not level. A visitor trips, falls, and breaks a leg — he files a claim against you and your company in court.

Responsible business owners in the landscaping and related industries protect themselves, their clients (residential and commercial) and, their employees by creating an insurance portfolio with the help of a qualified insurance advisor.

Types of Coverage

WORKER’S COMPENSATION

In California and every other state of the United States, companies with as little as one employee must carry worker’s compensation. Landscapers and similar companies have a higher than normal risk to their workers for injury as climbing ladders or trees to trim a limb can lead to accidents and injury as well as injuries to toes and feet from mowers. Worker’s compensation pays the medical costs, lost wages and other expenses related to the injury.

BUSINESS OWNERS POLICY

A Business Owners Policy (BOP) gives your landscaping business three types of insurance.

They are:

Contractors Liability Insurance available as a stand alone business policy. General liability insurance protects you, your employees, and your business for bodily harm, property damage, personal injury, and advertising injury. It also covers you with Blanket Additional Insured Coverage. This coverage is often a requirement of any contracting work you do. It extends your liability coverage so it includes the property owner during a project

Buildings and Business Personal Property Coverage (Replacement Cost is coverage that offers protection for your building(s) and most personal property such as tools.

Loss of income and Added Expense coverage pays for lost income when your building or equipment suffers damage from things such as , vandals, or fire. The income you lose because you cannot work this to you. It also pays expenses such as temporary space to work from, new tools and more.

Endorsements to your landscaping insurance policy give added coverage for Employment Practices Liability, Personal property of others, Identity theft insurance, valuable papers and records, and electronic data and equipment. Other endorsements are available for “faulty workmanship” and Short Term Pollutants on a job site. The list goes on so be sure to speak with your insurance advisor about these and other available options.

As with General Liability Insurance these policies are also bought as independent policies.

BUSINESS AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE

This insurance protects you and your employees while driving an insured car or truck for business reasons. It covers your vehicles against property damage, personal injury to others, employee injury and more as long as the vehicle insured is only used for business purposes. It also covers the vehicles with protection against theft, fire, vandalism and more.

Is Your Heavy Landscaping Equipment Covered?

Heavy Equipment Insurance

If you use a backhoe, bulldozer or other kind of heavy equipment look into heavy equipment insurance. It covers your heavy equipment from theft, fire, vandalism. Liability from use of the heavy equipment is typically covered with contractor’s general liability insurance.

Umbrella Insurance

If you were ever a boy or girl scout you know you being prepared is important. Umbrella insurance prepares you for a settlement in excess of your general and other liability policies.
When limits in another policy are met, this policy starts to cover the difference up to its limit. In California, most businesses begin coverage at $5 million.

Check with your advisor to choose the coverage’s you need for your landscaping insurance policy. Several other forms of business insurance for landscapers and related businesses are available through Precision. We are located in Montclair, CA serving the entire lnland Empire, Riverside County,