General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance — general commercial liability (CGL) insurance — covers your landscaping business from costs resulting from third-party accidents, property damage, bodily injury, lawsuits alleging damage, and more.

Without general liability insurance, you face the risk of being liable for all expenses related to operating a landscaping company. Small businesses cannot afford to be insured because the average cost of reputational harm is over $50,000.

To put this into perspective, imagine that you are finishing up a landscaping project, and a client trips over a leaf blower that was left outside in their yard. The unhappy and hurt customer sues you for their injuries. The resulting medical expenses and court costs total thousands of dollars. What would you do in such a circumstance?

So what could your general liability insurance policy cover? Here's a quick summary:

• Bodily injury to another person
• Medical expenses
• Third-party property damage
• Personal and advertising injury
• And more

But what about the things general liability insurance doesn't cover?

• Damage to your property
• Damage to your work
• Motor vehicles while in business use
• Intentional injury or damage
• Professional services
• Workers' compensation or injury to your employees
• And more

Also, it's essential to ensure your equipment is covered if something is stolen or damaged. Some general liability insurance policies include some contents coverage, which is the insurance that protects you in case your tools are damaged or stolen.

Workers Compensation Insurance

From lawnmowers and weed whackers to shovels, rakes, and trowels, you likely work with many different tools and machines at any given time as a landscaper. In most states, you're legally required to carry workers' compensation insurance.

Accidents happen, so it's important to have the proper coverage to protect yourself and your employees.

What would happen, for instance, if a worker dropped a big shovel and broke their foot? Or if a worker is hurt while using a pair of lawn scissors? What expensive medical expenses! Your workers' compensation policy can also cover other connected costs like lost time at work and rehabilitation costs in addition to your employee's medical expenditures.

Workers' compensation coverage for landscapers must be adequate. Unfortunately, accidents can still occur even when we believe we are using the utmost caution. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 229,000 workplace accidents involving objects and machinery resulted in time away from work in 2017. Additionally, that year, the cost of work-related accidents in the United States was $161.5 billion. Not a typo, that.

Workers' compensation insurance for landscapers can cover the following:

• Medical payments
• Death benefits
• Lost wages
• Rehabilitation expenses

Other insurance that may be needed for your landscape business

• Commercial auto insurance
• Contractor's tools and equipment insurance
• Property Coverage
• Inland Marine Coverage
• Umbrella Coverage