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Insurance For New Lawn Care Businesses

October 29, 2011
Drew Roberts asked:




Businesses that provide lawn care and general landscape maintenance operations are a common start-up every spring. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, there were 402,000 self-employed grounds maintenance workers in 2008. This number continues to grow as the entire industry expects substantial growth over the next decade. The report stated that “more workers will be needed to keep up with increasing demand for lawn care and landscaping services both from large institutions and from individual homeowners.”

Homeowners that hire a new business to mow their yard should request proof that the business is properly insured to cover the liability for property damage and bodily injury. This exposure will be covered under a typical general liability policy and commercial auto policy. The business owner can provide from his insurance agency a ‘certificate of insurance’, which is a current listing of their liability coverages and limits.

For new lawn care businesses throughout the country, there are four standard insurance coverages to protect the business venture:

1. General Liability Insurance – Pays losses arising from real or alleged bodily injury, property damage, or personal injury on business premises or arising from business operations.

2. Commercial Auto Insurance – Pays losses for damage to company vehicles and trailers as well as injury and property damage to others as a result of vehicle liability when used for business purposes.

3. Equipment Floater Insurance – Provides protection for tools and equipment from a number of exposures such as theft.

4. Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Covers the cost of medical expenses and disability payments to employees that are injured at work, and it is required by state governments.

There are additional insurance coverages to consider as the lawn care business expands and the exposures increase. For more information about those coverages or the ones mentioned above, visit BearWiseLandscapers.com, an informative insurance website exclusively for lawn care and landscaping businesses. BearWise Landscapers is a division of an independent insurance agency and specializes in serving the unique insurance needs of the Florida landscaping industry.



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Insurance to Protect Lawn Care Equipment

October 27, 2011
Drew Roberts asked:




As an insurance agent that specializes in the landscaping industry, I am often asked about the importance of equipment floater insurance. “Why can landscape or lawn care equipment not be covered by regular property insurance or other coverage?”

Here are three facts to consider about your operations in the lawn care business:
1. Lawn Mowers and other equipment travel to the properties of multiple clients each day. 2. This equipment therefore has a higher risk of not only theft but other causes of loss and damage. 3. This equipment also includes some of the most valuable assets of your landscaping and lawn care business.There are many insurance implications to this information.

A typical property insurance policy will only cover your equipment while it is in your office building or other place of storage. A commercial auto policy may cover damage to your trailers, but it will not protect your equipment while on the trailer. To protect this equipment with insurance, a policy needs to be written and rated to cover valuable items while away from the premises of a building.

Equipment floater insurance is a type of inland marine policy. It is specifically designed to cover your lawn care equipment and tools while located anywhere in the broad coverage territory. Virtually any type of mobile articles, tools, machinery, and equipment (other than motor vehicles designed for highway use) can be insured under an equipment floater policy.

The price of equipment floater insurance is a good value for lawn care businesses with annual premium rates ranging from one to four percent of the total value of the insured equipment. Some insurance carriers also provide discounts when this coverage is packaged into one insurance policy with general liability or commercial auto coverages. Other premium discounts may be available for safe storage techniques, theft deterrent systems, claims history, and equipment maintenance procedures.



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