A business owner's policy for landscaping companies

Where a BOP helps and where it stops

The shop fire in March

Example scenario: An electrical fire guts a landscaping company's rented shop three weeks before spring cleanups start. The office computers, the parts room and the shelving are lost, and the crews have nowhere to load out for a month. The BOP's property coverage can pay to replace the contents, and business income can help cover payroll and lost profit while a temporary yard is set up, subject to the policy's limits and waiting period.

The windstorm in the holding yard

Example scenario: A design-build firm stages 80 container shrubs and a dozen balled-and-burlapped trees behind its shop for a June install. A summer windstorm tips the containers and snaps several trunks. On the standard BOP form, trees, shrubs and plants are mostly not covered property. The small outdoor property extension responds only to fire, lightning, explosion, riot or civil commotion and aircraft, so wind damage to that stock likely isn't covered. Nursery stock needs its own coverage, such as an inland marine form.

The fuel tank behind the shed

Example scenario: A fire in an equipment shed ruptures the company's above-ground fuel tank, and diesel soaks into the soil next to the building. Because a covered cause of loss started the release, the BOP's pollutant clean-up coverage can help pay to remove it. On the ISO form, that coverage tops out at $10,000 per location per year, and the clean-up bill may run past it. If fuel reaches a neighbor's property, the liability side runs into the pollution exclusion, which is why a storage-tank or premises pollution policy is the usual fix.

Limits and what a BOP costs

You set separate limits for each part. Liability is often $1 million per occurrence. The building limit should match rebuilding cost, and the business personal property limit should cover the contents plus the stone, mulch and pavers you keep on hand at your busiest point in the season, not in January.

Your price depends on your payroll and class codes, your revenue, the services you offer (especially chemical work), your trucks and trailers, your claims history and the limits you choose. For a BOP, the building's construction, its age and its distance from a fire station also matter. More published figures are in the landscaping insurance cost guide.

Crime is its own question. A crew member running personal fuel on a company card, stolen materials or a fake vendor email that reroutes a payment are usually handled by crime or cyber coverage, not by the BOP's property section.

Who a BOP suits best

• Owner-run mowing and maintenance companies with a shop, modest payroll and no tree removal. For many lawn care businesses, a BOP plus auto and an equipment floater covers the basics.
• Grounds maintenance firms with a yard full of materials. Stored stone and mulch are a real property exposure, and a contract client may ask for proof of liability coverage. Commercial landscape maintenance insurance covers the contract side.
• Install firms, with care. Grading and excavation can push a landscape contractor out of BOP eligibility, so separate policies are often the cleaner fit. Get a quote for your landscaping business →

Requirements by state

No state requires a BOP. The landscape, pesticide and irrigation license rules on our state pages ask for liability insurance in some states, and a BOP's liability section can meet that requirement when the limits and wording match. Check the exact requirement for your license before you rely on it. Start from the list of states where we're licensed.