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Landscapers Insurance
Business Insurance for Landscaping Contractors*
Landscapers need business insurance, including public liability insurance as landscaping is high liability work, with frequent accident on sites.
People and property on site may be hurt or damaged due to accidents involving landscaping work.
Working from heights, and on busy sites, is particularly risky, and result in many claims against landscapers for property damage or personal injury.
When working from heights, falling tree branches can damage power lines, vehicles, houses or cause injury to a homeowner.
The physical nature of landscaping, and the need to sometimes use earthmoving equipment, means the possibility of causing damage to someone’s property is a real risk.
Fortunately, suitable business insurance for landscapers may provide protection against financial hardships that could arise from accidents, property damage, or legal claims caused by your landscaping business activities.
Landscaper business and public liability insurance may cover property damage, injuries to third parties that are caused by your landscaping equipment and work activities.
What Insurance Do I Need as a Landscaper?*
Some of the major types of business insurance covers available to landscapers in Australia are explained below and include:
- Public Liability Insurance
- Business Insurance Pack
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Personal Accident Insurance
- General Property and Tools
- Commercial Motor insurance
- Plant and Equipment Insurance
Why do Landscapers need public liability insurance?*
Public Liability Insurance coverage is essential for all self-employed landscaper.
Landscapers need public liability insurance as the physical nature of landscaping, and the need to sometimes use earthmoving equipment, means the possibility of causing damage to someone’s property is a real risk.
People and property on site may be hurt or damaged due to accidents involving landscaping work.
The presence of equipment such as earthmoving equipment , working from heights, and digging holes and on busy sites , means landscaping work can be a high-risk occupation.
Protections offered to self-employed landscaper by public liability insurance in Australia generally include:
- Injury to other persons due to your landscaping activities –Where a landscaper’s business activity causes harm to a third-party person. For example, a client ignores your warnings to stay away from the site and injure themselves when they trip and fall on your equipment, materials or a hole you have dug.
- Damage to others property due to your landscaping activities – Where a landscaper’s business activity causes damages to a third- party’s property. For example, a landscaper may accidently cause damage in a client’s home while performing work.
- Harm to other persons or other persons property due to your landscaping business’s products – Where a landscaper’s business’s products and goods supplied causes harm to a third party -person or a third- party’s property. For example, products a landscaper has supplied, repaired, or manufactured cause harm, injure someone or cause property damage.
Public liability insurance coverage may protect landscapers from claims that arise when others allege, they are negligent.
A landscaper’s public liability policy may provide a defence against the ensuing lawsuit when needed and may pay the damages sought by the injured party.
Public Liability Insurance may provide landscapers with protection for Slip-and-trip accidents, Accidents that damage client property.
Business insurance pack for landscapers*
Landscapers may be able to combine multiple covers in a single business insurance pack policy.
By ‘packaging’ your business insurance into a ‘business pack’ landscapers can potentially cover many of the risks their business faces in the one policy.
For example, if a landscaper 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 landscapers with a business insurance pack are Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance.
Optional inclusions for landscapers with a business insurance pack are General Property, Contents, Machinery, Plant and Stock, Glass, Money, Business Interruption and Marine Cover.
Professional Indemnity Insurance for landscape architects and designers *
Professional indemnity insurance is recommended for qualified landscape architects and designers that prepare landscaping plans and drawing for a fee.
If a landscape architect or designer makes an error, such as providing incorrect information, makes an omission in due diligence, or provides advice that leads to damages or losses for a client, a client may seek damages from the sole trader.
Professional Indemnity Insurance may help these sole traders stay in business by paying for legal defence costs, and for damages if awarded against them.
For example, a property developer client may claim damages for loss of income as a result of your advice . Professional indemnity may help pay for your legal costs to defend yourself .
Professional Indemnity Insurance may provide protection for landscape designers and architects for errors or advice that cause a client to lose money, claims of negligence.
Personal Accident Insurance for self-employed landscapers *
As a self-employed landscaper or landscape architect, your personal safety is your livelihood.
Personal accident insurance for landscapers 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 landscaper’s income, and a long period away can negatively affect their savings, family, and lifestyle.
Personal Accident Insurance may help self-employed landscapers pay for essential bills and other financial commitments if they have an accident.
General Property and Tools Insurance for landscapers *
As a landscaper, you are likely to have many tools and equipment that allow you to do your job, such as hedge trimmers, chainsaws, edgers, lawn mowers and leaf blowers.
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 hedge trimmers, chainsaws, edgers, lawn mowers and leaf blowers….and help keep you in business.
Commercial motor insurance for self-employed landscapers *
Commercial motor insurance should be considered for landscapers that drive their vehicle from site to site. Light trucks, vans and Utes may be covered.
Plant & Equipment Insurance for landscaping businesses*
Plant & Equipment Insurance may provide cover for owners of small landscaping businesses that operate equipment such as bobcats, excavators , brush cutters , lawn tractors, pole saws , trailers and pressure washers.
Cover may provide landscapers with protection for theft, damage, consequential loss, liability, road risk and machinery breakdown.
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What are the costs of Landscapers Public Liability Insurance?*
How much does public liability insurance cost for self-employed landscapers?*
Key factors in determining how much Public Liability insurance will cost a landscaper include:
- The nature and scope of the landscaping business. For example, the type of work performed by the landscaper.
- The landscaping business turnover and size. For example, is the landscaper a sole trader that does 100% of the work themselves, or do they employee a team of 2 subbies?
- Amount of insurance cover the landscaping business needs. Liability starts with $5 million cover, $10 million is popular with many self-employed contractors, $20 million cover is needed for landscapers that work for large companies, on commercial sites or have a team of employees.
Public liability insurance cost for a self-employed landscaper 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 landscaping business size, clients, experience, and business activities. For many landscapers, that perform broader building work, work from heights, work on busy sites, or that have employees, costs will be a lot higher.
Do I need business insurance to work as a self-employed Landscaper in Australia?*
Self-employed landscapers, or landscaping small business owners, 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 retail clients, will also ask to see proof of a landscaper’s insurance cover, called a certificate of currency, prior to awarding them work and ask for an update each year.
As a self-employed landscaper, suitable business insurance may provide credibility and valuable protection against the cost of a claim too.
Key Landscaping activities that may be able to be covered include:*
- prepares plans and drawing
- selects materials and plants
- schedules landscape construction
- sets out and installs hardscape and softscape structures
- constructs gravel and paved areas, walls, fences, pergolas, ponds, barbecues and garden furniture
- prepares seedbeds and growing sites.
Why do Landscapers need tools insurance?*
Landscapers need tool insurance as tools are the lifeblood of landscaping.
They help landscapers just like you to complete work on time, and to deliver quality workmanship.
Landscapers have a large number of tools compared to many other landscapers. 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 Landscapers that may be able to be covered:*
- Landscapers
- Landscape gardeners
- Landscape contractors
- Tree trimmers
- Lawn and garden care
- Landscape architects
- Landscape designers
Why should Landscapers use an insurance broker in Australia?*
If you are a landscaper 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 landscaper.
Direct insurers and agents act for the insurer. This can be important; especially if you need to claim.
Brokers can help landscapers 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 Landscapers 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 landscaping business.
