April is the time of year when all the landscaping businesses in Montgomery and Bucks County, PA are nervously removing the snowplow attachments from their trucks, hoping that it’s officially time to transition from snow work to yard work. While snow is not completely off the table in April, it’s not usually enough accumulation for heavy plow work. So now that homeowners are ready for spring cleanup, it’s probably time to kick your main business into high gear.
As you prepare for your busy landscaping season, give your business insurance agent a call and determine if you still have the proper coverage. There are several facets of your landscaping business that should be explored to make sure you’re all up to date.
Off-Season Landscaping Equipment Purchases
Many landscaping business owners do inventory and equipment assessment during the offseason. If you’re growing your staff and buying enough equipment to go around, make sure to document the purchases. If you have bookkeeping software, itemize your hand tool purchases for clear recordkeeping.
Document brands, models, and serial numbers on new power tools and heavy equipment, such as leaf blowers, trimmers, tillers, tractors, or trailers. The more specific you can be both when obtaining coverage and when filing a claim, the better your protection. Contact your insurance agent to go over all of your purchases to make sure that your policy is sufficient for your equipment value.
If you sold some equipment during the offseason, document that as well! There’s no reason to pay to insure equipment that you don’t own, so update your policy if you downsize.
Maintain Proper Business Insurance on Landscaping Business Equipment
It’s common for landscaping business owners to use their own property to run the business and store all of the equipment. While this may make for low overhead, landscapers need to be cautious about how their home and business are being insured.
Running your business out of a detached garage at your home, for example, negates the homeowner’s coverage on that garage. Maybe you recently converted a barn into a storage unit or built a new structure. You’ll need to add any additional property to your business policy. One of the most common insurance mistakes business owners make is not providing a clear picture of where they keep their equipment. To protect your entire business and all of its equipment, talk to your agent about where you store inventory and equipment during both the offseason and busy season.
Vehicle and Employee Insurance in Landscaping Businesses
With insurance, the details always matter. Whether you’re using your personal vehicle for your landscaping business, asking employees to use their personal vehicles for work, or you’re buying a company fleet, it’s important to carry the correct auto coverage to protect yourself, your business, and your employees.
Workers’ compensation coverage is another vital requirement for running your landscaping business. While the seasonal nature of landscaping may alleviate the need for health insurance benefits, you need to carry workers’ compensation coverage no matter how many hours your employees are working. Workers’ compensation provides protection for the business if an employee is injured on the job, but it also provides wages and medical care to the employee who is now unable to work. Talk to your insurance agent throughout the year as you adjust staffing levels to make sure your coverage is the right amount.
Landscaping Business Certificate of Insurance
Businesses that hire landscaping companies will typically ask for a Certificate of Insurance (COI). The business or commercial property owner needs to know that the landscaper has proper insurance in the case of personal or property damage. Homeowners are also beginning to ask their landscapers for a COI. Landscaping businesses who only work with residential properties may not be accustomed to this request. The good news is that if you have insurance, your agent can provide a COI at no cost. If you need assistance deciphering your COI to make sure you have the coverage a business or homeowner requires, just give us a call. We’ll go over the certificate and your policy to discuss your practical needs.
As the weather warms up, and you begin to get everything into full swing in your landscaping business, contact us to review your policy. Smyrl Insurance has been helping small businesses for over 65 years. We can go over your existing policies and help you determine what kind of coverage is necessary for your small business. We educate, nurture, and empower our clients to feel confident in how their assets are covered personally and in business. We serve clients for personal, business, and property insurance in Hatfield, Lansdale, Souderton, Harleysville and throughout Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.