Insurance for gardeners

If you’re a self-employed gardener, you can build a business insurance policy tailored to your needs. You might want to consider taking out the following types of cover to protect your income or business if something happens to you:

• Income protection insurance
• Critical illness insurance
• Business life insurance

Yes, landscaping insurance is a good idea for business owners. In many cases it’s a legal requirement.

The reason why a landscaping company needs insurance could be because they employ members of staff. In which case, they’ll need at least employers’ liability insurance. You may also need a certain level of cover before companies will be willing to work with you.

Insurance for a landscaping business will be similar to gardening business insurance, because it will cover the same sorts of risks.

Here are some examples of types of liability insurance needed for landscaping businesses:

• Public liability insurance
• Employers’ liability insurance
• Tools insurance
• Commercial van insurance

If you’re a sole trader gardener, you might think there’s no chance of any accidents or property damage occurring when you’re working outside on your own. But what would happen if a member of the public tripped over equipment you’d left on a pavement, or a client's car got damaged while you were strimming, for example?  

You need to make sure that you have the means to pay for a claim without bankrupting you. This is when public liability insurance can be invaluable for a small business

Employers’ liability insurance could cover you if one of your employees becomes ill or is injured as a result of working for you. If you employ one or more people or are a limited company with multiple directors, it's a legal requirement to have cover.

If you're not a limited company, it's not a legal requirement to have employers' liability insurance if the employees are immediate family members, though if a policy is in place it would still cover immediate family members working for you.

This may seem an unlikely situation if you're a gardener, but it may be that you employ a remote-working accountant or garden designer, for example.

Your van is likely to be crucial to your gardening business, so think carefully when you choose your van insurance policy. You may be tempted to go for the cheapest third-party cover, but could your business continue without your van?

Also look at possible add-ons to your van policy, like contents cover for your tools and equipment.

Gardening tools like lawnmowers are expensive, which means the cost of replacing them could be extremely high.

If your tools are stolen, not only will you need to replace them, but you might not be able to work in the meantime. This could lead to losing clients and money.

Having tools and equipment insurance means you’d be able to replace your tools quickly, without having to spend heavily to get replacements.

If you carry your tools around in your own van, you’ll also need the right van insurance. You can get cover for your tools while on the road and out on jobs, but look out for any potential exclusions. For example, if you leave your tools in your van overnight. That’s why it’s worth checking your policy to make sure your tools are covered at all times.

As you know, there’s more to gardening than just mowing lawns. You might be a landscape gardener or run a nursery, as well as offering gardening services.

That’s why you need insurance tailored to your specific business.

• Hired-in plant insurance can cover equipment you’ve hired against damage or theft while they’re in your care.
• Professional indemnity insurance can cover you against compensation costs if a customer is unhappy with your work or believes you to be negligent, causing them a financial loss.
• If you also run a nursery, you might want to consider commercial property insurance as well as cover for your stock.