You're not just moving dirt. You're also giving advice that plants remember for years.
Landscaping and gardening work covers a wider range of exposure than it looks like from the outside: machinery and tools on someone's property, but also the plant, tree, and irrigation choices that only reveal a problem years later. Cover that matches both sides of the job.
Where a landscaper actually gets exposed
The obvious risk is machinery, tools, and materials on a client's property. The less obvious one is that landscaping involves genuine design advice, choosing plants, layouts, and drainage, and that advice can turn out wrong long after the job's finished.
The tree that grew into the foundations
You recommend and plant a tree for its look and shade. Years later its roots have undermined the client's paving and started affecting the foundations, and the client wants to know why that tree was recommended for that spot.
The irrigation or pond system that leaks
An irrigation system or garden pond you installed develops a leak that floods and damages part of the client's yard and a section of their home's foundation over time.
Machinery damage on site
Using a small excavator or bobcat for a landscaping job, you damage an underground pipe or a section of the client's existing paving that wasn't part of the job.
Who's going to ask you for it
Larger jobs and franchises push cover requirements up
Landscaping cover requirements scale with the size and formality of the job:
- Builders and developers on new-build landscaping packages typically want $10M public liability.
- Body corporates and commercial property managers want proof of cover for ongoing garden maintenance contracts.
- Franchise operators in this space often set their own minimum cover standards for individual operators.
The exclusion landscapers don't expect
Landscapers rarely think of themselves as designers, but choosing a tree, a layout, or a drainage solution is exactly that. Public liability covers injury and property damage. It doesn't automatically cover a claim that your design advice was wrong, which needs professional indemnity, and it doesn't cover a completed irrigation or pond system that fails, which needs product liability.
Common questions
I recommended a tree that's now damaging a driveway. Am I covered?
Only if professional indemnity is part of your cover. This is advice about a design choice, not physical damage caused while working, so it sits outside standard public liability.
Does this cover irrigation and pond installations specifically?
It can, but tell us if these are part of your regular work so we confirm product liability is included for completed installations, not just public liability for on-site work.
I use small machinery like a bobcat. Does that change my cover?
It's worth flagging. Equipment breakdown and machinery-related damage are separate considerations from the core public liability cover, and we can make sure both are addressed.
Do I need higher cover for ongoing maintenance contracts versus one-off landscaping jobs?
Often the same core cover applies, but body corporates and commercial clients on ongoing contracts sometimes set their own specific minimums, so check the contract terms.
I'm mostly a gardener doing maintenance, not design. Do I still need this?
Yes, though your exposure leans more toward on-site property damage than design advice. Tell us the mix of design versus maintenance work so the cover matches your actual risk.