Insurance Needs for a New Landscaping Company

Opening your own landscaping company can be exciting, but there is more to it than pricing your services and getting the word out. You also need to tend things like securing insurance, which will help protect your new business from liability and loss. The following are a few of the different types of coverage that you should consider.

Small business policy

As a small business owner, it's important that you have a basic coverage for your business. A small business policy usually fits the bill. This will cover you if you experience loss from theft, fire, floods, or other disasters. The following are a few of the things that these policies typically cover.

• Property damage to your business office or storage facility.

• Loss of income if your business has to close down due to a covered event, such as fire damage.

• Equipment replacement or repairs due to operator errors or mechanical issues. Loss of equipment due to theft or disaster may also be covered, or you may need to purchase an umbrella policy to ensure it is covered.

Liability Insurance

A liability policy is a must, otherwise a disgruntled customer can sue you and drive you out of business. A general liability policy protects you, your staff, and your business from being sued by those outside of the business.

These policies usually cover property damage and bodily injury that results from doing business. For example, if you accidentally over fertilize and kill a lawn, or if your lawnmower operator runs over someone's foot. The policy may also cover defective products, or you may need to get an umbrella to cover this. This sort of liability coverage protects you in the event that a service or product doesn't work correctly or causes damage, such as if a lawn treatment kills your customer's shrubs.

Commercial Vehicle Coverage

You will need a specific policy to cover your work truck, along with policies that protect any trailers you haul. Regular auto insurance isn't sufficient, since it isn't meant to provide coverage for business purposes.

A major benefit of commercial coverage is that it will also cover any modifications on the trucks, such as tool racks or service bodies that are designed to hold tools or lawn equipment in place. Also, your employees will also be covered when they are operating the trucks.

For more help, contact an insurance agent like Olympic Northwest Insurance in your area.