Trade · Landscapers
NJ Landscapers Insurance | NJCIC
Maintenance only is one risk profile; design-build with hardscape and water features is another; tree work is yet another. We don’t write them as one bucket.
Who We Write in This Trade
Solo mowing operators, full-service residential maintenance crews, design-build operations doing hardscape and irrigation, and commercial maintenance contractors with 30+ employees.
Carrier Appetite
Standard panel: Travelers, The Hartford, Nationwide, Foremost, AmTrust, Cumberland Mutual. Tree work specifically may route to specialty markets given the higher hazard. Snow removal cross-trade considerations apply for landscapers doing winter work.
The Coverage Stack You’ll Want
- GL — $1M/$2M standard. Common claims: irrigation lines hitting utilities, hardscape failures, drainage issues, herbicide drift.
- Workers Comp — class codes vary widely. Maintenance-only is lower-rated; tree work is one of the higher-rated codes.
- Commercial Auto — trucks, vans, trailers, employee drivers.
- Tools & Equipment — mowers, blowers, trimmers, skid steers, hand tools, irrigation equipment.
- Commercial Umbrella — recommended; sits over GL, Auto, and EL.
NJ-Specific Considerations
- Snow removal — significant cross-trade exposure for landscapers who plow in winter. Slip-and-fall on plowed/treated surfaces is a major liability source.
- Tree work — climbing, cabling, removal — higher hazard class. Some carriers exclude tree work entirely; others write it with higher pricing.
- Pesticide/chemical application — NJ DEP licensing required. Sometimes additional coverage applies (chemical drift, off-target damage).
- Hardscape failures — retaining walls, pavers, drainage. Products-completed exposure on failures discovered later.
FAQ
Common questions.
Do you write snow removal?
Yes. Slip-and-fall is the dominant exposure — your GL handles it, with appropriate language for the snow operation. We confirm the trade mix at quote.
Tree work — can you place it?
Yes, but the placement is tighter and pricing higher than pure maintenance. Some carriers exclude tree work entirely; we use the ones that don’t.
Pesticide drift onto a neighbor’s property — covered?
Generally yes on a standard GL with no pollution exclusion overriding it, but the NJ DEP licensing has to be in place. We confirm at intake.
Hardscape installation gone bad two years later — covered?
If products-completed operations is on your GL with adequate limits and you’ve maintained continuous coverage — yes.
What does WC look like for a 6-person mowing crew?
Class code dependent. A pure maintenance crew with no tree work might run $5K–$10K/year for 6 employees. Add tree work and that climbs sharply.
Ready When You Are
Quote your landscapers program in one intake.
GL, WC, Auto, Tools, Umbrella — all in one form. We come back with a multi-line quote, not six separate quote events.