Workers' comp for landscaping and lawn care

Your class code

Lawn maintenance and landscape gardening usually fall under class 0042. Irrigation, sod, planting, and maintenance crews typically share it. Hardscape and landscape construction can be coded and treated differently, so tell us about pavers, walls, or grading work.

No tree work

Tree trimming and removal carry their own, much higher class, and our PEO partners don't write it. If your crews climb or trim trees, we can't quote you. Shrub and hedge trimming from the ground is normal landscape work.

Florida's four-employee rule

Lawn and landscape maintenance usually falls under Florida's non-construction rules, which require comp once you have four or more employees, part-time included. Landscape construction work can be treated as construction, which requires coverage from the first employee. If you're close to four people, it's worth getting covered before you add the fourth.

Seasonal crews

Panhandle landscaping peaks in spring and summer and slows down in winter. Comp through a PEO is figured on each payroll, so your premium follows your actual crew size instead of a yearly estimate.

Benefits for crew leads

A crew lead who can run a route without you is worth keeping. Health insurance through a PEO is one of the few ways a small landscaping company can match bigger competitors. How benefits work.

What to have ready

• Headcount and last year's payroll, and roughly how it splits between maintenance and install
• Your current declarations page, if you have a policy
• Loss runs for the last 3 to 5 years
• Which subs you use, and whether they carry comp

None of it is needed to start a quote.

Questions