Lawn mowing and gardening insurance
Lawn mowing business insurance for mowing rounds, garden maintenance and gardeners working on homes, strata and commercial grounds. A stone through a window, spray drift on the neighbour's roses, mowers on an open trailer, working on your own: tell us about your round and we'll get you quotes from insurers.
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General advice only. Read the policy documents we send with your quote before you decide.
What it can cover for lawn and garden businesses.
Examples of the claims lawn mowing and gardening insurance can respond to. Whether a claim is paid, and how much, is up to the insurer under your policy.
A stone goes through a window
The mower throws a stone through a sliding door, or the whipper snipper chips the paint on a car parked on the verge. Damage to someone else's property from your work is what public liability insurance for gardeners can respond to, less the excess (the amount you pay towards a claim).
A passer-by is hit by debris
A stick flung from the edge of the mower deck hits someone walking past and cuts their face. Injury to a member of the public from your work can fall under public liability.
Spray drifts onto the neighbour's garden
Spraying weeds along a fence line on a breezy morning, the herbicide drifts and burns the neighbour's hedge. Damage to someone else's plants can fall under public liability, but some policies limit chemical or spraying claims, so tell the insurer you spray.
The blower sprays grit across a car
Blowing clippings off a driveway, grit and gravel spray across a client's new car and mark the paint. Damage to the client's property from your work can fall under public liability.
The hedge trimmer hits a power line
Trimming a tall hedge along the front fence, the trimmer clips the service wire and the house loses power. Damage to someone else's property from your work can fall under public liability, and work near overhead lines is something insurers ask about, so tell them if you do it.
The mowers go from the trailer
The ride-on, two push mowers and the trimmers are taken from the trailer outside your house overnight. Tool cover can pay to repair or replace equipment that is stolen or damaged, up to the policy limits (the most the policy pays for a claim), but many policies set conditions for gear left on an open trailer.
What it usually doesn't cover.
Every policy is different, and the policy wording is what counts. These are the usual gaps.
- Theft of mowers and gear from an open or unlocked trailer, unless the policy says otherwise
- Spraying you didn't tell the insurer you do, and chemical damage claims that some policies limit
- Work on railway land: the lawn mowing option on our quote form excludes it, so ask us first
- Landscaping construction such as retaining walls, paving or earthworks: insurers treat that as a different trade
- Tree felling and climbing work, which insurers treat as arborist work
- Wear and tear, and mechanical breakdown of your mowers, which tool cover often doesn't pay for
- Injury to you or your workers: that's workers comp, or personal accident cover for yourself
The covers lawn and garden businesses ask about.
In the order most lawn and garden businesses think about them. Each one is explained on its own page.
- Public liabilityStones from the mower, spray drift and a trip over your hose. Strata managers and commercial clients usually ask to see this first.
- ToolsLawn mower insurance for the ride-on and push mowers, plus whipper snippers, blowers and hedge trimmers, for theft and damage up to the policy limits.
- VehiclesThe ute or van and the trailer you tow to every job. Commercial vehicle cover is for vehicles used for work, depending on the policy.
- Accident and illnessWorking on your own all day? Personal accident and illness cover can pay a weekly benefit if injury or illness stops you working, depending on the policy.
- Sole tradersRunning a round on your own ABN? See how the covers fit together for sole traders.
- Workers compTaking on an offsider or casuals for the busy months? Workers comp for employees runs under each state's scheme.
Licences and site rules.
- On site
Strata managers, councils, schools and commercial property managers often ask for a certificate of currency (the insurer's proof that your policy is in force) for your public liability before you start a contract, sometimes with a set limit. Home clients may not ask, but the risks on a home job are the same.
- Western Australia
If you spray weeds for clients in WA, check with the Department of Health whether your work needs a pest management licence or registration before you offer it.
Pest industry licensing, WA Department of Health(opens in a new tab)- Other states
Whether spraying chemicals for clients needs a licence depends on your state. Check with your state's regulator before you add spraying to your round, and tell us what it asks for.
What sets the price.
- The work you do: mowing, garden maintenance, hedging, spraying or grounds care
- Home clients, strata or commercial contracts
- Your turnover
- The public liability limit you choose
- How many people work for you, and how much you subcontract
- The value of the mowers and gear you insure, and where they're kept overnight
- The state you work in, and your claims history
On the quote form
Pick the one that matches your work. Not sure? Pick the closest and tell us in the comments.
- Lawn Mowing Contractor (excluding work on Railways)
- Groundsman
How to get lawn mowing and gardening insurance.
Tell us about your round.
Mowing or full garden maintenance, homes, strata or commercial grounds, any spraying or hedging, your turnover, who works with you and the gear on the trailer. Use the quote form or call us.
We get you quotes.
We ask insurers for quotes and come back to you with what each one covers and what it doesn't, gear on the trailer and spraying included.
Choose, then start mowing.
Cover starts once you pick a policy and the insurer agrees to it. Then ask us for a certificate of currency if a strata or commercial client wants one.
Lawn and garden businesses: your questions.
What insurance do I need for a lawn mowing business?
Most lawn mowing businesses start with public liability, because stones, debris and spray drift can damage other people's property, and strata and commercial clients ask to see it. Cover for the mowers and gear on the trailer usually comes next, then the ute and trailer, and personal accident cover if you work on your own. What suits you depends on your round, so talk it through with a broker before you decide.
How much does lawn mowing insurance cost?
There's no set price for lawn mowing insurance. The insurer works it out from the work you do (mowing, gardening, hedging or spraying), the clients you work for, your turnover, the public liability limit you choose, who works with you, the gear you insure and where it's kept, plus your state and claims history. Tell us about your round and we'll get you quotes.
Do gardeners need public liability insurance?
Strata managers, councils and commercial clients usually ask for it before you start a contract, and some set the limit. Home clients may not ask, but stones and spray drift are the same risk wherever you work. Keep a certificate of currency handy for the clients who want one.
How much public liability tradies needAm I covered if a stone from my mower breaks a window?
Public liability can respond to damage to someone else's property, such as a window, a car or a glass pool fence hit by a stone or debris thrown by your mower or trimmer. You pay the excess, and the insurer decides the claim under the policy.
Are mowers on an open trailer covered?
Check before you rely on it. Many tool and equipment policies only cover theft from a locked vehicle or building, or set conditions for an open trailer, such as the gear being chained or locked on. Tell us how you store and carry your mowers and we'll check the wording.
Tool cover for a lawn mowing businessIs spray drift onto a neighbour's garden covered?
It can be, under public liability, if your spraying accidentally damages someone else's plants or property. Some policies limit or exclude chemical claims, or only cover spraying you've told them about, so declare it. In WA, check with the Department of Health whether the spraying you do needs a licence.
What is the difference between gardening and landscaping insurance?
Insurers see mowing and gardening as maintenance, and landscaping as construction: retaining walls, paving, irrigation and earthworks, with digging near services and machines on site. They are separate options on our quote form, and landscapers have their own page. If you do both, tell us, so the policy matches all of your work.
Landscaping insuranceSort your cover.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Or email mate@tradies365.com.au.