Gardeners Insurance
Most gardeners' claims are small and remarkably similar. A stone thrown by a strimmer through a patio door. A hedge trimmer through a neighbour's fence. A mower kicking debris into the side of a parked car. None of them is dramatic, and all of them land on you rather than on the customer.
The Claims Gardeners Actually Make
The other thing that catches gardeners out is the work that creeps in. A round built on mowing and hedges picks up a bit of tree work, some pressure washing and a patio, and the policy bought for the first job never hears about the rest.
How Much Is Gardeners Insurance?
Across the gardening and landscaping policies we place, cover starts at around £92 a year for a sole trader doing gardening and pressure washing. That is liability for one person, and tools, employees and tree work all add to it.
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What Gardeners Insurance Covers
Public Liability Insurance
Injury to other people and damage to their property while you work, including the customer's house, car and the neighbour's side of the fence. £1m or £2m is common for domestic rounds, and commercial and council contracts often ask for £5m.
Tools And Equipment
Mowers, strimmers, hedge trimmers and blowers. Check the conditions on theft from a van overnight, because that is where most tool claims are won or lost.
Employers' Liability Insurance
A legal requirement once anyone works for you, including a helper on a busy day, subject to limited exemptions. Included in every package we place.
Personal Accident
A weekly benefit if an injury stops you working. For a sole trader, a week off the round is a week without income.
Thrown Stones And Neighbours' Property
Strimmers and mowers throw debris, and windows, conservatories and cars are what it hits. It is the most common gardening claim, and public liability is what pays it, but only if somebody tells the insurer what happened at the time rather than paying it quietly and mentioning it at renewal.
Hedges bring the same problem on the other side of the boundary. Cutting from the customer's side, you are still responsible for what happens to the neighbour's fence, greenhouse or car.
Tree Work, Chemicals And Pressure Washing
Gardening policies are usually written for maintenance at ground level. Climbing, felling and work with a chainsaw above a stated height is normally excluded unless declared, and some insurers ask for chainsaw qualifications before they will add it.
Weed killers and other pesticides used professionally generally need a certificate of competence, and insurers can ask about it after a claim for damaged plants or a poisoned pet. Pressure washing brings water and chemical damage of its own. Declare all three if you do them, because none of them is assumed.
If You Have Had A Claim Before
A couple of small window claims should not make a gardener uninsurable, but online systems often price them as if they did. We would rather explain them to an underwriter: what happened, and what you do differently now, such as guards on strimmers or moving cars before you cut.
Call 02382 000820 if your renewal has jumped.
What We Need To Quote
- Turnover, and the split between domestic and commercial customers
- Whether anyone works with you, even occasionally
- Any tree work, and to what height
- Whether you spray, pressure wash or lay patios and paving
- The value of your tools, and where they are kept overnight
- Five years of claims
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Landscaping insuranceOnce the round includes building patios, walls and gardens rather than maintaining them.
- Tool insuranceMowers, strimmers and hedge trimmers, and the overnight van conditions.
- Tradesman insuranceTools cover, and the conditions on theft from a van overnight.
Common questions
How much is gardeners insurance?+
Across the gardening and landscaping policies we place, cover starts at around £92 a year for a sole trader doing gardening and pressure washing. Tools, employees, tree work and commercial contracts all add to that. Call 02382 000820 for a figure for your business.
Do gardeners need public liability insurance?+
It is not a legal requirement, but most customers expect it and almost every commercial or council contract will ask for a certificate. Without it, a stone through a window or damage to a neighbour's car is paid out of your own pocket.
Is tree work covered on a gardeners policy?+
Not usually as standard. Climbing, felling and chainsaw work above a stated height are commonly excluded unless declared, and insurers may ask about qualifications. If you do any tree work, tell us so it can be written into the policy.
Do I need employers liability if I only have occasional help?+
Generally yes. Employers' liability is required once anyone works for you, even part time or for a day, subject to limited exemptions such as close family members in some cases. The fine for not having it can be up to £2,500 for each day you were uninsured.
Are my tools covered in the van overnight?+
It depends on the conditions in the policy. Many require the van to be locked, the tools out of sight, and sometimes kept in a secure compound or garage overnight. Check those conditions, because that is where most tool claims are decided.
Other trades we cover
What our customers say on Google
5.0average from 169 Google reviews