Should my lawn mowing service be insured?

Its one of those things we never really think about…. until we need it. But do lawn mowing services really need to carry insurance? What’s the worst thing that can happen?

Property damage

Its Wednesday morning and like a well-oiled machine you hear your local mowing service pull up at 9 am to mow the property. Things proceed as they have for years until…. you hear this faint clinking sound…. then the sound of a mower turning off for a couple of minutes. Before you get your shoes on to see why things are different today, the mower fires up, your service provider starts back to work and finishes the job. Everything seems fine until a couple days later when you go to ready the guest bedroom for visitors and realize what was different about this week’s visit.

In the best-case scenario, your mowing service provider lets you know what happened and doesn’t leave you to figure it out. He lets you know that while doing everything possible to prevent things like this from happening, from time to time they do. To protect himself and his clients he carries general liability insurance just for moments like this and he will call them to begin the claims process. Although inconvenient, his honesty and responsibility put you at ease, and everything gets resolved in a timely manner.

In the worst-case scenario, you are left to find out what happened on your own. You call him only to find out he is no longer answering your phone calls. Mean while its time for your next lawn mowing visit and he hasn’t shown up, the estimate for your new window is going to wipe out your savings, and your lawn still needs mowed. Now on top of scheduling the window repair, now your trying to find someone else to get the property mowed.

While this is just one example, others include incidents involving your car, your neighbor’s car, your neighbors siding, the risk is higher than you think.

Some one gets hurt on your property

A lawn mowing service provider's worst nightmare. A rock goes through a window and hits someone. The string trimmer flings a piece of gravel at a mother and her stroller on their morning walk. Perhaps a much more likely scenario is while finishing up the property the worker twists his ankle and requires a visit to the hospital. Maybe he finally flips his mower on top of himself cutting the steep hill in the back. Whatever happens, who is responsible in this situation? If your mowing service has taken responsibility for himself and his crew, he will have general liability insurance for situations such as this. If he has decided to cut cost here and doesn’t carry insurance so he can afford to offer you a lower mowing rate, it could be you footing the bill. Then you will have to consider if your policy offers enough coverage for the expense incurred by the injuries. If he decides to capitalize on the situation and sue, you could have additional concerns. If your policy limits are insufficient to cover these expenses your retirement and personal assets could be at risk.

From the neighbor kid to the friendly lawn mowing service down the road, anyone working on your property without having general liability insurance is putting you at risk. Generally, lawn mowing service providers doing things right do cost a little more per visit, but is it really worth saving $5 a cut if any of these situations happen to you?

Zach Poole

Advance Lawn Care

501-617-2773