4 Risks all Lawncare and Landscaping Businesses Face
When looking to purchase commercial insurance, a business owner will hear a lot about the different types of Lawncare and Landscaping Risk their business faces. Many of the risks your business faces are similar to businesses in many industries, but many risks are unique to this industry. Here are four types of lawncare and landscaping risk that all businesses in this industry face.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Slips, Trips, and Falls are a risk that many businesses face. The Lawncare and Landscaping Risk is high in relation to slips, trips, and falls. Because of the physical nature of the work, lower back injuries are common. Talking about the health and safety with your staff is the first step to any good workplace safety plan. Let your employees know you care about their health and they will be more likely to take it seriously.
Driving
Because of the remote nature of the industry, driving is a part of the work. The time that employees are driving to and from a third party location is a time when the business is liable for damages that occur as a result of a car accident that is the fault of a businesses employees. It is essential to secure adequate commercial auto insurance, to pull the driving records of anyone who will be driving as part of their job, and to implement a safe driving program into the fabric of your business.
Third Party Liability
Liability to third parties is high because of the remote nature of the Lawncare and Landscaping Industry. Third party liability can come in the form of property damage, bodily injury and even dissatisfaction with your work. This type of liability can include damage to the property you are working on, injury to the people at those locations, or even not performing the tasks to the standards of your new clients. Doing a walk-through with all potential clients is important to set expectations, but also to get to know the ins and outs of the property that may not be obvious to the untrained eye.
Seasonality
Depending upon the weather in the area your business operates, there will be peaks and valleys when it comes to the seasonality of your business. Even if your business offers snow removal services in Winter, there will be some amount of time throughout the year when the amount of work declines. It is important to plan for these time periods and to use them wisely. Keeping up an adequate amount of hours for your staff may be the difference between keeping a valued employee and having to train a new fresh employee without adequate experience.
