Trade coverage
Routine maintenance work with low-severity property damage and minor chemical exposures. Claims are typically small and easily reserved.
General liability responds to two different things for your trade. The first is injury or damage caused while you are working, which for lawn care work is a mower throwing debris that damages a car, window, or siding. The second is a claim that surfaces after you have finished, known as completed operations, and it is the half of the policy most often missing from a cheap quote.
Essentially always admitted; the trade is low severity and widely written by standard carriers.
These are the loss scenarios that drive claims for this trade, in the order we see them.
Each of these changes what the policy actually pays. Request them at quote stage.
General liability on its own leaves gaps that show up as denied claims rather than as missing coverage.
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is standard, and many operators carry only the minimum their commercial clients require. That is the limit, not the premium. The premium depends on your payroll, your state, your subcontractor use and your claims history, and it moves most with the hazard of the trade itself, which for lawn care is low.
Essentially always admitted; the trade is low severity and widely written by standard carriers.
In order of how often we see them: A mower throwing debris that damages a car, window, or siding; Chemical burn to a lawn from a misapplied treatment; Damage to an irrigation head, lighting fixture, or edging.
These four come up repeatedly: Pollution coverage for chemical application; Additional insured with completed operations; Waiver of subrogation. Get them written into the quote rather than requested after binding, because that is where the delays come from.
Alongside general liability: Commercial auto; Inland marine for equipment; Workers compensation.
Yes. Their policy defends them, not you. If your work causes damage, their carrier can pay the claim and then pursue you to recover it.
Classification and carrier appetite differ by trade, so it is worth seeing how yours compares.
Tell us your payroll, state and what your contract requires.
