Gardening is rated by what the machinery can do rather than by how the work is described. A gardener with a mower and a hedge trimmer and a gardener with a chainsaw and a chipper are two different risks under one job title.
The everyday claim happens on somebody's property
Almost all gardening work takes place in a garden belonging to a client, which makes public liability the working cover: a stone thrown by a mower into a window or a passer by, a hedge cutter that reaches a neighbour's cable, a gate left open, a chemical that damages a lawn. Damage to the client's own property sits in the care custody and control area that public liability treats unevenly, and it is worth checking how a policy deals with the garden you were engaged to work in.
Where tree work separates from gardening
Insurers draw a line around chainsaw use, work at height, felling and anything involving a chipper or a stump grinder. Cover for those is usually conditional on training and certification, and a policy written for grounds maintenance may exclude them entirely. A gardener who occasionally takes down a small tree for a regular client is doing declared work or undeclared work, and the difference only matters once, which is the reason to settle it at renewal.
Machinery, the trailer and the theft problem
Mowers, strimmers, blowers and hedge cutters are portable, valuable and stolen constantly, usually from a van or a trailer. Tools cover with its overnight vehicle conditions applies as it does to any trade, and ride on mowers and larger machines often need to be specified individually rather than falling inside a general limit. Trailers themselves are frequently uninsured because they sit between the van policy and the tools section.
Chemicals, waste and the rules that come with them
Using pesticides and herbicides professionally carries its own competence requirements, and insurers ask about them because misapplication damages neighbouring planting, water courses and ponds. Removing garden waste for payment brings waste carrier registration into the picture. Neither is an insurance requirement in itself, and both are the sort of compliance an insurer treats as evidence of how the business is run.
Questions people ask about gardening insurance
Is chainsaw work covered by a gardening policy?
Often not, or only with certification. Tree work, felling, chippers and work at height are usually rated and declared separately from grounds maintenance.
Am I covered for damage to a client's garden?
Property in your care, custody or control is treated unevenly by public liability wordings. Check that clause specifically, since the garden is the thing you were hired to work on.
Do I need cover for a ride on mower?
Larger machines usually need specifying individually rather than sitting inside a general tools limit, and some need their own plant section.