Landscaping involves a lot of hard, outdoor work—digging, lifting plants, and often, using heavy equipment.
Jobs that have high physical demands frequently see workers getting injured. Some injuries are minor, while others can be extremely serious. And, injuries can become complex when an injury that seemed minor actually turns out to be quite serious.
Landscaping is frequently seasonal work, and there are a lot of small businesses that offer a range of services—from lawn work to those that design and install hardscaping, such as retaining walls and paver patios.
What is worker’s compensation insurance?
Worker’s compensation insurance is a form of insurance for businesses that covers the costs of things like medical expenses and loss of income to workers who are injured in the course of their employment. Worker’s compensation insurance is governed at the state level, and employers are required to carry this insurance in most states.
Even in states that do not mandate coverage, it is highly advisable to carry worker’s compensation insurance.
The type of business will have an impact on a company’s worker’s compensation rates. While just about anyone can be injured on the job, the type of injury, the severity, and the potential for accidents are all considered by an insurer when calculating rates.
Construction companies have some of the highest worker’s compensation premium costs. Working with heavy equipment, installing roofing, and using tools like circular saws all carry the risk of serious and permanent injuries or even death. Businesses that are primarily office and administrative jobs have a much lower risk of injuries. The types of injuries that are more common in these jobs, such as repetitive-motion injuries like carpal tunnel, are typically treatable.
Why do landscapers need worker’s compensation?
Landscapers need to carry worker’s compensation insurance for their employees because the risk of being injured on the job is considerable.
With outdoor work using equipment, there are many potential injury risks, and some may be severe:
• Cuts from pruning tools, shears, axes
• Laceration/amputation risks from mowing equipment
• Burns and exposure risks from pesticides or fertilizers
• Lifting/muscular injuries
• Heatstroke and other temperature-related injuries
• Insect stings, snake bites
• Broken bones, crushing injuries, falls
Back injuries and hernias are common landscaping injuries and can be extremely painful requiring recuperation time or surgery.
What does worker’s compensation for landscapers cover?
As noted above, worker’s compensation is determined by states, so coverage can vary.
Generally speaking, if an employee is injured on the job, worker’s compensation insurance covers the medical costs associated with the injury and recovery, including physical rehabilitation expenses.
Worker’s compensation insurance may also cover some of an employee’s lost wages while recuperating from a work injury.
How much does worker’s compensation insurance for a landscaping business cost?
As with other types of insurance, the cost of worker’s compensation insurance for a landscaping business can vary depending on many factors, such as the scope of offerings, the size of the business, and the number of employees doing landscaping work versus performing office or administrative functions, the location, and more.
The type of landscaping services a company offers will affect the cost of worker’s compensation coverage. Some landscaping companies offer limited services, such as mowing, weeding, and edging work. Other companies offer more, including planting trees and installing hardscape features, like paver paths—and this work with heavier elements carries a higher risk of injury.
And, in more northern areas of the US, landscaping is seasonal work, and some companies adjust for this by offering winter maintenance services, such as plowing and snow shoveling.
An insurance agent will ask what services are provided by a landscaping business, and based on this will assign a class code. A landscaping business might also have a separate class code for administrative staff, who work in the office.
These classifications help to assess the kinds of risks different types of employees face—which helps the insurer to calculate the right worker’s compensation rates for the business.
In addition to these broad classifications, a landscaper may also offer services like tree trimming or stump removal that could have their own classification codes. So, it’s important to share all of the services your landscaping company offers in order to get an accurate quote for worker’s compensation coverage.
What if my landscaping company uses subcontractors?
The use of independent contractors—sometimes called 1099 workers after the tax form used to report wages paid to non-employees—can help a landscaping business meet staffing needs during periods of high demand.
If your landscaping business uses subcontractors, it’s a good idea to require them to carry their own worker’s compensation insurance. If a subcontractor is injured on the job while working for your company and does not have coverage, you could get caught in a legal mess while involved insurers work to determine who is responsible for paying medical bills.
What isn’t covered by worker’s compensation insurance for landscapers?
Worker’s compensation insurance is for workers who experience workplace injuries, so it does not cover accidents or injuries that happen off-premises while not on the job.
It also will typically exclude injuries that happen on the job if the injury was caused by a violation of company policy, such as being impaired by drugs or alcohol while using landscaping equipment.
If you have questions about what type of worker’s compensation insurance your landscaping company should carry and how much it might cost, contact the experts at Rate Insurance. With access to a wide range of commercial insurers, Rate Insurance can find quotes and help to find the right worker’s compensation insurance coverage for your landscaping business.
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