Texas Landscape Contractor Insurance By Russell Neal At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Texas is quite unique among the 50 states. Much of its topography enjoys a semi-tropical climate that causes the landscape to stay green throughout the year. This is especially true on the Black Land Prairies and Gulf Coast Planes, where a variety of indigenous plant species and trees never want to admit it is winter. This motivates a great deal of human migration from snow and ice-bound parts of the country, and it creates a booming marketing for landscape contractors hired on to cut, trim, mow, hedge, and prune the greenery surrounding new homes and office buildings. As this new industry emerges, it gains its own momentum and develops its own special set of needs when it comes to insurance, legal, financial, and organizational dynamics.

Agents specializing in artisan contractor insurance can help Texas landscape contractors establish more solid business plans and protect their interests in a variety of ways. The most important way these agents can help is by offering low and/or discounted rates. Almost as important, however, is the extensive coverage options agents like Houston’s TAHI can provide the landscape contractor.

Many people are not aware of the vast number of insurance perils that can afflict landscape contractors and their many clients. Things such as vehicle accidents, flying objects, equipment malfunctions, and debris can all directly impact a contractor’s revenue stream unless proper insurance coverage is firmly set in place to offset such incidents and possible calamities.

The following summaries represent some of the basics covered in a policy written specifically for Texas landscape contractors. Insurance in these areas will provide a robust and dependable coverage for the many perils encountered both while on the job and in transit to and from the job.

1. The properly prepared Commercial Auto Insurance policy will protect a contractor against liability claims arising out of the loading and unloading of landscape equipment used in lawn maintenance, tree trimming, sprinkler installing, and numerous other tasks associated with landscaping.

2. The landscape contractor also needs insurance on the trailer he is pulling and also needs to make certain that the policy covers all the equipment against liability claims and physical injuries. Often such claims will arise when there is a collision and the other party claims the trailer impact was caused by contractor negligence while driving. Covering this contingency will enable the contractor to continue business while these legal matters are sorted out.

3. The landscape contractor requires an insurance policy that also provides some medical coverage for the employees should they be injured in an auto accident without having to file a workers compensation claim.

This may appear to be an additional, needless expense, but it is not. If a workman’s compensation claim proves inadequate or unsatisfactory and the employee sues for damages, having this coverage in place will absorb the cost of additional medical bills within specified policy limits.

4. Mowers and trimmers routinely will need to haul away sticks, limbs, bricks, stones, and other debris. Inevitably some of this debris may fall off the truck or the trailer, creating a hazard for other motorists and homeowners. Commercial Auto insurance and General Liability insurance protects landscape contractors in such circumstances against possible lawsuits for damages filed by home and automobile owners.

5. The business of tree pruning and removal can result in many cases of alleged negligence such as neighbors property being damaged, people themselves being hurt, debris falling onto a neighbor’s property without being removed, bystanders being injured, and even the property owner claiming the pruning resulted in damage to the property. Such possible claims should be address by an insurance carrier rather than the landscape contractor who needs money to run his business, not pay court costs on frivolous and victim-minded lawsuits.

6. The commercial mower, like the landscaper, can face many of the same business risks such flying objects for the equipment, debris damage, collisions while turning on or off roadways and pedestrian and cyclist claims of roadway infringement. This too can be covered in a Texas landscape contractor’s insurance policy.

7.The commercial mower and landscaper may need certificates of contractor insurance that proper coverage when the owner sends his equipment to do work on certain corporate properties. Organizations such as Texas Auto Home often offer this certification at no additional charge.

Because scenarios such as the ones described above are hypothetical, the actual specific perils encountered by contractors vary from landscape to landscape, even job to job. Insurance polices by are written with this fact in mind and are customized to be specific to the individual landscape contractor’s needs.

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