Public liability insurance for gardeners and landscapers

Why the work description matters

Treat the quotation questions as part of buying the cover, not as a formality to get through quickly. An unclear answer is better queried before payment.

Public liability normally centres on accidental injury to other people and accidental damage to their property. It does not make every loss connected with a job recoverable.

Look beyond the value of the invoice and consider: a stone damages a window or car; digging hits a cable or pipe; and materials obstruct a pavement. None of these situations has an automatic insurance answer. They are useful prompts for checking the scope of the quotation.

Write down the facts rather than estimating them in a rush: maximum digging depth; tree height and machinery used; and pesticides, walls, ponds and subcontractors. Where the position varies between jobs, explain the usual work and the exception.

Use the policy summary as an introduction, then turn to the schedule and endorsements for the details that affect the work. Query any uncertain point while other quotations are still open to you.

The risks hidden in an ordinary job

Run through these situations against the jobs you accept:

• A stone damages a window or car
• Digging hits a cable or pipe
• Materials obstruct a pavement

The policy response depends on the full circumstances. A short list on a webpage cannot replace the wording.

Think about the point described as “digging hits a cable or pipe”. Would the job record show what had been agreed, who was present and how the work area was left? Those records can matter as much as memory later on.

The second example, “materials obstruct a pavement”, may need a different precaution. Check the endorsements for instructions linked to the method of work, not merely the occupation.

The answers should make sense to somebody who has never visited the business. Avoid shorthand that only people in the trade would understand.

Details to gather for the quote

Write down the answers to these points before opening the form:

• Maximum digging depth
• Tree height and machinery used
• Pesticides, walls, ponds and subcontractors

Check “maximum digging depth”, “tree height and machinery used” and “pesticides, walls, ponds and subcontractors” against recent invoices and the work diary. The description should cover ordinary jobs as well as the less frequent tasks that customers still ask you to do.

This record is useful at renewal as well. It shows what was declared and makes changes in the business easier to identify.

Two reminders from this page are “underground-service checks may be a condition” and “tree work may need specialist terms”; keep them beside the documents when you check the quotation. If the policy takes a different approach to “maximum digging depth”, ask about it before the cover is needed and retain any written reply.

Read the finished form once more before sending it. A missing activity is easier to correct at this stage.

Questions for the provider

• Underground-service checks may be a condition
• Tree work may need specialist terms
• Hired plant cover is separate

Read the schedule and endorsements beside the main wording. Important restrictions are often shown there.

Before the next job starts

Read any special terms added for the activity, site or method of work. Decide whether the precautions are realistic for every relevant job.

Do this while the details are fresh. It is much harder to reconstruct an answer after somebody has complained.

Finally, make sure the business could follow every stated precaution on a busy day. If a condition does not fit the way the work is carried out, ask about it. Ignoring an impractical condition is not a safe solution.

The final note for this particular subject concerns: hired plant cover is separate; check how this affects the jobs you accept and ask for clarification if the policy takes a different approach.