Landscaping business is not without risk and you should take certain legal steps in order to keep it running. Although a creative discipline, landscaping demands discipline and care in order to give your clients exactly what they want and respect their wishes. Another tricky part about landscaping is that it belongs to the groups of services that are done on the client's property. This means that you can accidentally damage their possessions. In addition, your work is open to the public and even though you use signage and fences, equipment and devices may accidentally injure your employees or third parties. This is why you will need an insurance to protect your landscaping business, and some of the following may be perfect for you.
Commercial vehicle insurance
Since you will use a commercial vehicle for transport of your employees and equipment to the clients' place, you should also insure it. This type of insurance policy includes medical expenses and legal costs for any accident, as well as repairs of damages, which can all be very expensive, especially when you drive something like the newest Ford model. The great advantage of commercial vehicle insurance is that you can add your employees' personal car to it if they use it for business purposes.
Worker's compensation insurance
Since your employees use dangerous equipment and hazardous chemicals every time on the job, you should protect them withinsurance. This type of insurance provides medical treatments and payments in case of injury or disability for your employees. Besides the tools for the job, it also includes some unpredictable circumstances like insect bites, falls, and any injury due to the repetitive motions or usual task performance.
Workers' compensation insurance is intended to protect the business and provide for the employees, and it can additionally cover court costs and settlements if worded adequately.
General liability insurance
Landscaping business carries certain risks to the property and persons involved. If your employee causes damage to the property or the debris injures a passerby, the cause of a lawsuit is created which can have a huge financial impact on your business. General liability insurance covers the costs of any damage and replacements or repairs created during the execution of works.
Accidents happen even if you use the best tools or temporary fences because your job is in the open. An additional benefit of having general liability insurance is that it will cover the legal fees, which can be considerable.
Commercial umbrella insurance
Commercial umbrella insurance covers the situations when the claim exceeds the limit of the general liability policy. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that it includes coverage for anything. Three policies can be supplemented with this insurance: general liability,and hired and non-owned vehicle liability.
You can purchase commercial umbrella insurance only if the underlying policy is set with the limit, and that's why you should think through carefully if you even need it.
Tools and equipment insurance
Tools and equipment insurance is also known under the name Inland Marine insurance and is applied when goods owned by the businesses are damaged or lost during transit. Although this may not come first to your mind regarding the insurance, since landscaping services require the use of equipment, tools and supplies which are transported from the company's storage to client's property, this is a very appropriate insurance policy to have.
Namely, Inland Marine insurance protects your equipment or, for example, Hoselink garden care tools from damage, vandalism, theft and loss when in transit. This insurance policy also applies to the digital information and data, as well as other electronic assets.
Unemployment insurance
In case of job loss, your employees can be covered financially. Unemployment insurance is not something you can use or have benefit from since it doesn't cover self-employed individuals and those who quit.
However, it would be a nice thing to inform your employees that they have a possibility to insure themselves this way in case your company seizes to exist from various reasons or you have to let go some of the workers.
Conclusion
It is not easy to be a business owner, and especially perform activities, which are risky to people's property and health. Although landscaping sometimes can be creative, most often requires certain safety measures to be in place. Insurance policies are not there to deem you free of the responsibility but to make sure that you know what precautions and regulations you should follow in order to provide a safe environment for your employees, clients and third parties.
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