A landscaping business is lucrative especially if you’ve been in operation for a while and have built a long list of loyal customers. However, it comes with its own share of risks because it involves the use of a lot of machinery and other equipment such as heavy commercial vehicles. If your business is large, then you most likely have employed many employees. As such, it’s not uncommon to encounter injuries, damages, or loss of equipment when working. It’s therefore important to have landscaping insurance to protect your business from potential losses arising from lawsuits or other damages.
- The 6 best landscaping insurance companies
- What is landscaping insurance?
- What kind of insurance does a landscaping business need?
- What does landscaping insurance cover?
- How much does landscaping insurance cost?
The 6 best landscaping insurance companies
There are so many companies offering landscaping insurance and you may find it difficult to narrow it down to the one that works best for you. We have researched more than 15 companies and here are the the 6 best companies providing landscaping insurance for your consideration:
- CoverWallet: Best for comparing online quotes
- Progressive: Best for commercial auto insurance
- NEXT Insurance: Best for fast quotes and instant coverage
- Hiscox: Best for mid-sized businesses who prefer a combination of online tools and agent advice
- Thimble: Best for landscaping businesses who only need insurance coverage for a few days
- The Hartford: Best if you prefer a reputable brand in the business insurance industry
CoverWallet: Best for comparing online quotes
CoverWallet offers one of the most convenient ways to acquire business insurance at the click of a button from the comfort of your home. They offer comprehensive insurance services including helping landscaping business owners to understand what landscaping insurance is, how it will benefit their businesses, and provides a centralized point of access to manage policies, claims, and payments.
CoverWallet is a digital broker. They work with several leading business insurance companies such as Hiscox, the Hartford, and Liberty Mutual, etc. After providing your information, which only takes a few minutes, CoverWallet is able to provide several quotes from their partner companies so that you can compare and select the best one for you. It is likely that you will be able to compare popular policies such as general liability insurance and BOP (Business Owner Policy) insurance.
After you buy a landscaping insurance policy through CoverWallet, you can use their digital dashboard to manage all of your business insurance policies in one place. There are other great digital features offered in the dashboard as well: downloading the certificate of insurance, filing a claim, or renewing your policies.
Here is a quote we received from CoverWallet for a California-based landscaping business with 3 full time employees and an annual revenue of $500,000. The quote is provided by Liberty Mutual. It offers two options: only general liability insurance policy or business owners policy (BOP) which includes both general liability and commercial property insurance in one policy.
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Offers several free quotes online
- Works with a wide range of insurance companies
- Makes it easy to view important information such as policies from a centralized location
Cons
- Some quotes such as product liability insurance or cyber security insurance or workers compensation insurance might not be available online
- Does not underwrite the insurance policies by itself but instead, they are offered through third parties
Progressive: Best for commercial auto insurance
Progressive is highly recommended for commercial auto insurance. It covers such things as liability, physical damages, medical payments, and uninsured motorists. It covers all types of vehicles including trucks, small cars, tractors, and excavators. If your landscaping business uses vehicles for business purposes, you will need commercial auto insurance, and Progressive is the best choice for you.
Landscaping business owners can also opt to bundle their commercial auto insurance policy with other business insurance policies such as general liability, professional liability, worker’s compensation, etc.
Pros
- Second largest auto insurance company
- Offers comprehensive and competitive commercial auto insurance policy to landscaping business owners
- Offer bundling options with other business insurance policies
Cons
- Do not underwrite other business insurance policies than just commercial auto insurance
NEXT Insurance: Best for fast quotes and instant coverage
NEXT is a newbie in comparison to the other insurance companies on this list. It is one of the well-known insuretechs modernizing the way businesses buy insurance online. It provides affordable and comprehensive landscaping insurance.
NEXT insurance services are accessed 100% online at the click of a button. It offers options to receive instant quotes, view policies, and print certificates of insurance. The company covers a wide range of landscaping insurance services including general liability, commercial auto insurance, professional liability, tool and equipment insurance, and workers compensation insurance.
We got a quote for a landscaping business in California with 3 full-time employees, an annual revenue of $500,000 and payroll of $250,000.
The quote from Next for the general liability insurance policy for this landscaping business is $410 a month.
Pros
- Instant quotes
- 100% online
- A+ rating from AM Best and customers
Cons
- There’s no policy for business owners
- There is no agent access
Hiscox: Best for mid-sized businesses who prefer a combination of online tools and agent advice
One of the pioneer insurance companies started operations in 1901. The company currently operates in 49 states and has an A rating from AM. The company has a large online presence and offers such services as a community newsletter, highlighting some of the small businesses that are doing big things, and podcasts.
Hiscox offers a wide range of insurance policies to independent contractors including landscapers both online and over the phone via their agents. One of the reasons Hiscox is appealing is because they offer great services both online and through their agents. Therefore, it is best for mid-sized landscaping businesses that prefer a good combination of online tools and having access to agents’ advice when they need to.
Hiscox covers a wide range of services to landscapers including general liability, professional liability, cybersecurity, worker’s compensation, etc. Moreover, there’s also an option to take a tailor-made insurance solution.
Here is a quote we received from Hiscox for a California-based landscaping business of 3 employees and annual revenue of $500,000.
Pros
- An A rating from AM Best
- Customized insurance solutions
- Acquiring a online policy is easy and fast
- Offer great services on both online and through agents
Cons
- No policy for business owners
Thimble: Best for landscaping businesses who only need insurance coverage for a few days
Thimble is another insuretech startup aiming to modernize the business insurance industry by making it easy for small businesses, full time or part time, to obtain business insurance online with just a few clicks. They are popular for offering coverage for a short period of time such as a few hours or a few days.
If you only need landscaping insurance coverage for a few days or weeks, Thimble might be a good option for you.
Here is a quote we received from Thimble for a California-based landscaping business with 3 full-time employees and annual revenue of $500,000.
Pros
- Affordable
- Very fast and simple quoting and buying process
- Instant access to the certificate of insurance
Cons
- Do not offer other types of business insurance that a bigger landscaping business might need such as commercial auto insurance or workers compensation insurance.
The Hartford: Best if you prefer a reputable brand in the business insurance industry
The Hartford is one of the most well-known brands in the business insurance industry. They have been around for hundreds of years with a lot of experience. They mostly insure large businesses. However, they have been expanding their customer base to also include smaller businesses. They have enhanced their digital capabilities and currently allow small businesses to get quotes, and buy and manage policies online. They offer a comprehensive selection of business insurance policies for any business or industry.
We got another quote from the Hartford for a California-based landscaping business with 3 full-time employees and annual revenue of $500,000. While they can’t provide general liability insurance quotes online, they can provide commercial property insurance and worker’s compensation insurance quotes online.
Pros
- One of the most reputable brand in business insurance
- Great financial strength and customer service
- A wide range of business insurance policies under one roof
Cons
- Digital experience isn’t complete yet. You still need to call them to get general liability insurance quotes.
These companies are the best in our research and recommendations. They might not be the best for your landscaping business. Be sure to compare at least 3 companies to select the best one for you.
What is landscaping insurance?
If you are running a landscaping business, you are looking for landscaping insurance to have your business protected in the bad days. Landscaping insurance refers to the business insurance policies that a landscaping business might need.
Depending on the size and the operational scope of landscaping businesses, ie. if the business also do tree removal or nursery or not, they might need different kinds of business insurance policies.
What kind of insurance does a landscaping business need?
Different landscaping businesses need different insurance policies based on the number of employees and the type of activities that the business is engaged in. The most common types of insurance for landscaping businesses are:
- General liability insurance: Most, if not all, landscaping business needs this policy. General liability insurance covers businesses from potential losses and lawsuits as a result of injury at the workplace or property damages caused by their activities.
- Commercial property insurance: If a landscaping business has an office and operates their business out of a physical location, they will need this policy. Commercial property insurance protects business premises and other properties such as tools and equipment against perils such as fire, storm, theft, and natural disasters.
- Business Owners Policy (BOP): When you combine general liability insurance and commercial property insurance in one policy, that is a business owners policy or BOP.
- Commercial auto insurance: If a landscaping business uses vehicles for their work, for example, they use a van to transport their employees and other tools and equipment from their office to other worksites everyday, they will need this policy. Commercial auto insurance covers all types of vehicles used in the landscaping businesses including trucks, tractors, and cars that are used in business activities. It covers damages to vehicles and liabilities that an accident might cause.
- Inland marine insurance: If a landscaping business transports their tools and equipment to their worksites and store these tools at their worksites, they will need this policy. Inland marine insurance, or sometimes referred to as tool and equipment protection insurance, covers all properties that are movable including construction equipment, valuable artwork, transportation materials, computer equipment, and while they are stored at a third-party location.
- Worker’s Compensation insurance: If a landscaping business employs from 1 full-time or part-time workers, they will need this policy. It is legally required by most states. Workers’ compensation insurance protects business from losses arising from lawsuits when a worker is injured at the workplace. Moreover, it also covers medical expenses of the injured and provides compensation during treatment.
What does landscaping insurance cover?
Based on the type of policy you choose, landscaping insurance covers some or all of the following risks:
- the loss or damages of your workplace, your tools and equipment while it is at your office, in transition to your worksites, or stored at your worksites.
- the damages caused by your workers at your worksites
- the property damages and bodily injuries of all parties when your commercial vehicles are in an accident
- when your workers are injured at work
How much does landscaping insurance cost?
Obviously, the cost of landscaping insurance depends on many factors, some of which are as follows:
- The size of your business
- The types of projects that you’re undertaking
- Location of your business
- The number of employees, payroll, and the types of jobs that are being executed by your employees
- The number and types of vehicles being used in the place of work
So the cost of a landscaping business can vary from $39 a month to a few thousand a month. When we pull quotes for a California-based landscaping business with 3 full-time employees and an annual revenue of $500,000, below are the different quotes that we received from the companies above:
| Insurance companies | Landscaping insurance policies | Cost per month |
| Thimble | General liability insurance | $390 |
| Next Insurance | General liability insurance | $410 |
| CoverWallet provides policies underwritten by Liberty Mutual | General liability insurance | $807 |
| Business Owners Policy (BOP) | $889 | |
| Hiscox | General liability insurance | $520 |
| Progressive | Commercial auto insurance | $286 |
| The Hartford | Commercial property insurance | $252 |
| Workers compensation insurance | $4,180 for 4 people (3 employees and 1 owner) |
As you can see, different companies offer different prices and costs for a landscaping business. Thimble’s price may turn out to be the cheapest for the hypothetical business that we requested quotes for, but they might not offer the cheapest cost for your landscaping business.
In order to get the cheapest costs for your landscaping insurance, be sure to shop around with a few companies or a digital broker like CoverWallet so that you can compare several quotes to select the best one for your landscaping business.
Learn more at the how much does landscaping insurance cost
Some frequently asked questions about landscaping insurance
How to check if a landscaper is insured?
To ensure you protect your business during a job, it’s important to ensure that the particular individual is insured. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by requesting them to provide the insurance proof, ie. the certificate of insurance. The next step is calling the insurance service provider to confirm whether the policy is valid and whether it will cover potential risks to your property and the extent of the coverage.
Do landscape designers need insurance?
Similar to landscapers, landscape designers need similar insurance protection. Also, depending on the size and the scope of the landscape design work, a landscape designer might need different types of insurance. However, one of the most important insurance policies a landscape designer needs is professional liability insurance. It protects them against the lawsuits associated with their negligence while doing their job.
Is landscaping covered by homeowner insurance?
Yes. Homeowner insurance covers losses to your landscaping and could also cover damages caused by tree removals depending on the specific policy of your homeowners insurance. You need to check with the agent at your homeowners insurance company to be sure.
Homeowners cover landscaping damages only if the loss is caused by a natural peril, ie. not caused by a landscaper’s mistakes or negligence, including
- Fire or lightning
- An explosion
- Riot or civil unrest
- Aircraft
- Theft or vandalism
