Tree Service Insurance

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Contributor, Benzinga
September 9, 2020

Insurance is a crucial component of any kind of business or service. Tree trimming and landscaping services can find insurance policies tailored specifically for the risks involved. 

Start with Benzinga’s guide for everything you need to know to find the best insurance for tree trimming.

Best Tree Service Insurance Companies

See below for the best tree service business insurance companies.

Types of Tree Trimming Insurance

Tree trimming insurance doesn’t come in a 1-size-fits-all package. There are several types of insurance that you may need to fully cover your tree trimming business or tree trimming services. Here are some of the common insurance types that you may want to consider:

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance can help protect your business from claims of bodily injury and property damage. This type of insurance is useful for any type of business and is especially important for landscaping services such as tree trimming. 

If you or 1 of your employees accidentally causes property damage or injures someone with a falling branch, your business may face a lawsuit. In this case, you would be able to file a claim with your insurance company for assistance. Your general liability insurance policy can help pay for medical expenses and legal costs that are related to the incident that led to the lawsuit. 

General liability insurance can also cover costs related to libel and slander. This can include situations such as your business facing a claim of copyright infringement from a business ad.

Commercial Property Insurance

If your business is involved with tree trimming and other landscaping services, you have all kinds of equipment on hand. Commercial property insurance can help protect the physical location of your business and its physical assets, including equipment and tools. 

Think of commercial property insurance as offering coverage similar to a homeowner’s insurance policy. If your business or its assets are damaged from a covered loss — such as a fire or theft — you can file a claim with your insurance company. Your insurance company can then help pay for the repair or replacement of the damaged items.  

If your business faces a serious loss that makes it impossible to perform your tree trimming services, your commercial property insurance policy may be able to help even more. Some commercial property insurance policies include protection for your business income in these situations and will replace lost income in the event that your business can’t operate due to a covered claim.

Business Income Insurance

Business income insurance does exactly what it sounds like it does. If you purchase this type of insurance for your business, it can step in to help out if your business is unable to operate and make money due to property damage. 

However, it’s important to understand exactly which situations this type of insurance covers. A business income insurance policy can help your business replace lost income due to fire damages, wind damages or damages due to theft. 

If these damages are severe enough to prevent your business from operating, you’ll be able to use the coverage offered by your business income insurance. The money paid out to your business can cover payroll, expenses and monthly bills while your business property is repaired. 

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) combines important business insurance coverage into a single policy. Typically, a business owner’s policy includes general liability insurance and commercial property insurance coverage. 

It may also include business income insurance or other specialized coverage options. When you get a quote and compare your insurance options, you should look into exactly which coverages are included in each insurance company’s business owner’s policy. 

Commercial Auto Insurance

As a tree trimmer or tree trimming business, most of your work probably takes place off-site. You’ll need a vehicle to travel to and from jobs, and an insurance policy to cover it. Commercial auto insurance acts similarly to a personal auto insurance policy but is designed to be used for business purposes. It can help pay for property damage and medical expenses if your company vehicle is involved in an accident in which you or your employee is found at-fault.

There are several situations that might need coverage from a commercial auto insurance policy. It can cover vehicles that are owned, leased or rented by your business. It can also offer coverage if your employees use their own personal vehicles to conduct business.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Your business can benefit from workers’ compensation insurance. This type of insurance offers coverage for employees if they suffer from a work-related injury or illness. For example, if your employee falls and gets injured while trimming trees on your customer’s property, this could be considered a work-related injury.

Workers’ compensation insurance can cover an employee’s medical expenses as they get treated for a work-related injury or illness. If they need to be out of work while they recover, it will also help replace some of their lost wages. 

Your workers’ compensation policy can also provide disability benefits for your employees and pay for their funeral expenses if an employee passes away due to a work-related injury or illness. If your business is sued by an injured employee or their family, you can also use your workers’ compensation policy to help cover your legal costs.

Cost of Tree Trimming Insurance

The cost of tree trimming insurance can be broken down into the costs of each specific policy you may purchase. You should also understand the factors that go into determining the cost of your insurance policies. Some of these factors include:

  • The location of your business
  • The condition of the building your business operates in
  • The size of your business
  • The number of years you’ve been in business
  • The number of employees you have
  • Payroll size
  • Your business’s insurance claims history
  • Coverage limits for your policies. Coverage limits are the maximum amount of money an insurance company will pay for covered claims in your coverage year.

The best way to find out how much insurance policies will cost for your business is to get a quote. Getting a quote is fast, free and starts with simply entering your ZIP code.

For tree trimming businesses, a general liability insurance policy can start at just $750 per year.

How Tree Trimming Insurance Works

While there is no single tree trimming insurance policy, you can get the right amount of coverage for your business by combining different business insurance policies. Most landscaping businesses should consider purchasing general liability, commercial property, business auto and workers’ compensation coverage. 

Your business may also want to consider purchasing a business owner’s policy, which allows you to bundle multiple coverages into a single policy. In most cases, bundling coverages with a BOP is less expensive than purchasing the coverages separately. 

It’s important to keep your state’s insurance laws in mind. Some states require that businesses have certain coverages and amounts of coverage. For example, your business is likely required by law to have a workers’ compensation policy if your business has any employees. General liability insurance is also often required by law. 

To figure out the types of policies your business should have, you should take the risks of your business into consideration. Since your business involves tree trimming, it’s fair to say that the industry you work in has different risks than an accounting business. 

The types of damage that may accidentally occur are drastically different and require different types of coverage. That’s why when you get a quote and compare insurance companies and policies, it’s important to look out for coverages that apply to your business. For example, some business owner’s policies may offer the option to add data breach coverage. However, if your business doesn’t handle sensitive data, it may not be worth paying more for this coverage. 

Find Tree Trimming Insurance Today

Start by comparing quotes to get the coverage you need. A quote will help you evaluate your coverage options and the costs for your policies. 

Choose an insurance company that offers you the coverage your business needs at a cost that fits your budget. Start with our recommended insurance providers to find the best tree trimming insurance today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

What insurance should a tree service have?

A

Your tree service company should have at least general liability and workers compensation insurance. You may also need commercial auto insurance, umbrella insurance and other types of coverage.

Q

How can you verify that a tree service is insured?

A

You should ask to see an arborist’s or tree insurance service company’s Certificate-of-Insurance or a COI.

Ashley Hart

About Ashley Hart

Ashley Hart is a personal finance writer passionate about helping people feel empowered to take control of their finances. She has more than eight years of writing experience, focused on insurance.