Public Liability Insurance for Gardeners

Business Insurance for Gardeners*

Gardeners need business insurance , including public liability insurance, as gardeners are at risk of causing unintentional damage to property and people.

For example, a client or passerby can accidently fall into the ditch you just dug, a wall may collapse, or you could break a window while working.

Fortunately, suitable business insurance for gardeners may provide protection against financial hardships that could arise from accidents, property damage, or legal claims caused by your gardening business activities.

Gardening business and public liability insurance may cover property damage, injuries to third parties that are caused by your gardening work activities.

Many Business Owners are UNSURE if they are COVERED PROPERLY.
We help them find affordable and SUITABLE INSURANCE so they can run their business with CONFIDENCE.*

"Spoke to Natalia from Smart business insurance and she was great. Went through my insurance policy with ease and got my insurance certificate not long after payment. Recommend her!"

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What Insurance Do I Need as a Gardeners?*

Some of the major types of business insurance covers available to gardeners in Australia are explained below and include:

  • Public Liability Insurance
  • Business Insurance Pack
  • Personal Accident Insurance
  • General Property and Tools
  • Commercial Motor insurance
  • Plant and Equipment Insurance

Why do Gardeners need public liability insurance?*

Public Liability Insurance coverage is essential for all self-employed gardeners.

Gardeners need public liability insurance as gardeners face many risks including a client or passerby accidently falling into the ditch you just dug, a wall may collapse, or you could break a window while working.

Or a gardener could spray chemicals on a client’s garden , and the chemicals spread to a neighbour’s property , damaging the neighbours’ plants and grass. Since the neighbour holds you responsible, you may be facing a claim for damages and legal costs.

People and property on site may be hurt or damaged due to accidents involving gardening work.

Protections offered to self-employed gardeners by public liability insurance in Australia generally include:

  • Injury to other persons due to your gardening activities –Where a gardening business activity causes harm to a third-party person. For example, a client ignores your warnings to stay inside while you are gardening and injure themselves when they trip and fall on your equipment or branches from a tree you have just pruned.
  • Damage to others property due to your gardening activities – Where a gardening business activity causes damages to a third- party’s property. For example, a gardener may accidently cause damage in a client’s or neighbours garden, fence, vehicle or house while performing work.
  • Harm to other persons or other persons property due to your gardening business’s products – Where a gardener business’s products and goods supplied causes harm to a third party -person or a third- party’s property. For example, products a gardener has supplied, repaired, or manufactured cause harm, injure someone or cause property damage.

Public liability insurance coverage may protect gardeners from claims that arise when others allege, they are negligent.

A gardener’s public liability policy may provide a defence against the ensuing lawsuit when needed and may pay the damages sought by the injured party.

Business insurance pack for gardeners*

Gardeners may be able to combine multiple covers in a single business insurance pack policy.

By ‘packaging’ your business insurance into a ‘business pack’ gardeners can potentially cover many of the risks their business faces in the one policy.

For example, if a gardener has a commercial premises, a business insurance pack may provide cover for buildings and contents if they are accidentally damaged by a defined event, such as fire, storm, impact damage, accidental damage, vandalism, or malicious damage.

Other typical inclusions for gardeners with a business insurance pack are Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance.

Optional inclusions for gardeners with a business insurance pack are General Property, Contents, Machinery, Plant and Stock, Glass, Money , Business Interruption and Marine Cover.

Personal Accident Insurance for self-employed gardeners *

As a self-employed gardener your personal safety is your livelihood.

Personal accident insurance for gardeners may provide cover for 52 or 104 weeks and up to 85%* of weekly income at the time of the injury; depending on the amount of coverage agreed when the policy is taken out.

Time away from work from an accident will have a direct impact on a self-employed gardener’s income, and a long period away can negatively affect their savings, family, and lifestyle.

Personal Accident Insurance may help self-employed gardeners pay for essential bills and other financial commitments if they have an accident.

General Property and Tools Insurance for gardeners *

As a gardener, you are likely to have many tools and equipment that allow you to do your job, such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers , blowers, wheelbarrows,  pressure sprayers , edge trimmers , spades, shears and rakes to name a few.

If your property is damaged or stolen, your business cannot operate effectively.

General property insurance can help you keep operating effectively.

It can provide needed funds to replace your tools such as lawn mowers, hedge trimmers , blowers, wheelbarrows,  pressure sprayers , edge trimmers , spades, shears and rakes  ….and help keep you in business.

Commercial motor insurance for self-employed gardeners *

Commercial motor insurance should be considered for gardeners that drive their vehicle from site to site. Light trucks, vans and Utes may be covered.

Plant & Equipment Insurance for gardening businesses*

Plant & Equipment Insurance may provide cover for owners of small gardening businesses that operate equipment such as commercial grade gardening trailers, rotary hoes , ride on mowers , weed sprayers,  mulchers, stump grinders and forklifts.

Cover may provide gardeners with protection for theft, damage, consequential loss, liability, road risk and machinery breakdown.

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What are the costs of Gardening Public Liability Insurance?*

How much does public liability insurance cost for self-employed gardeners?*

Key factors in determining how much Public Liability insurance will cost a gardener include:

  • The nature and scope of the gardening For example, the type of work performed by the gardener.
  • The gardening business turnover and size. For example, is the gardener a sole trader that does 100% of the work themselves, or do they employee a team of 3 subbies?
  • Amount of insurance cover the gardening business needs. Liability starts with $5 million cover, $10 million is popular with many self-employed contractors, $20 million cover is needed for gardeners that work for large companies, on commercial sites or have a team of employees.

Public liability insurance cost for a self-employed gardeners with no previous claims, starts from around $560* or $55 per month for $5 million Public Liability Insurance.

*** Please note ***: While cheap Public Liability Insurance can seem attractive on the surface it is important to ensure the policy covers you for the full business activities you undertake, and that the insurance policy and company will respond as intended when there is a claim. Costs may differ greatly from the above based on the gardening business size, clients, experience, and business activities. For many gardeners, that work at heights , perform tree lopping , broader landscaping, building work or that have employees, costs will be a lot higher.

Do I need business insurance to work as a self-employed gardener in Australia?*

Self-employed gardeners, or owners of gardening businesses , subcontracting for builders will typically be required by the builder to obtain their own public liability insurance to get on site.  This is typical for contractors working for builders throughout Australia.

Many small business owners, and even home owners , will also ask to see proof of a gardeners insurance cover, called a certificate of currency, prior to awarding them work and ask for an update each year.

As a self-employed gardener, suitable business insurance may provide credibility and valuable protection against the cost of a claim too.

Key gardening activities that may be able to be covered include:*

  • Mowing
  • Pruning
  • Landscaping
  • Maintenance of lawns , flowers , bushes and trees
  • Weeding
  • Watering
  • Tidy up

Why do gardeners need tools insurance?*

Gardeners need tool insurance as tools are the lifeblood of gardening.

They help gardeners just like you to complete work on time, and to deliver quality workmanship.

Gardeners have a large number of tools compared to many other trades. And good tools are expensive. If they break or are stolen, it can impact your ability to get the job done or cost you thousands to replace.

Without tool insurance, you may have to dig into your own savings or borrow money to get the tools replaced or repaired.

Different types of gardeners that may be able to be covered:*

  • Lawn mower
  • Landscaper
  • Arborist
  • Groundskeeper

Why should gardeners use an insurance broker in Australia?*

If you are a gardener deciding on whether to use an insurance broker for your business insurance, it is important to consider that brokers act in the interests of the self-employed gardener.

Direct insurers and agents act for the insurer. This can be important; especially if you need to claim.

Brokers can help gardeners by sourcing competitive quotes on policy inception, negotiate with the insurance companies to prevent or limit increases on renewal, remarket your policy to other suitable insurance companies where appropriate, talk to underwriters about policy wordings, industry classifications and terms, talk to insurance assessors during the claims process and repairers where necessary.

How do I get a gardeners insurance quote?*

Simply TALK to a SMART Business Insurance broker on 1300 542 573 or contact us online for suitable and affordable public liability and business insurance quotes for your gardening business.

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