Reviewed by licensed advisers at Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver (FSP712931) · Updated 11 November 2026

Landscaper Insurance NZ: Covers for Gardeners, Lawn Mowing and Trees

Landscaper insurance in NZ is public liability for damage or injury your work causes, plus cover for mowers, trimmers, trailers and the work vehicle. Tree work and heavy machinery raise the stakes, so tell the adviser exactly what you do. Cover and price depend on underwriting and the policy wording.

In short

Public liability is the core cover: a stone thrown from a mower, a cut cable, or a tree limb through a roof all land there first.
Your gear is most of your capital. Mowers, trimmers, blowers, chainsaws and trailers are stolen from vehicles and sheds, so they need their own cover.
Insurers price a one-person mowing round very differently from a crew running diggers and felling trees. Describe the work exactly.

Who asks landscapers for a certificate

Body corporates and property managers
Lawn mowing franchisors
Builders and councils on larger jobs
A limit named in the contract

Thrown stones

A mower or trimmer breaks a window or dents a parked car.

Buried services

Digging into a water, power or data line. beforeUdig recommends two full business days' notice.

Trailer theft

A trailer stolen with the mowers on it.

Work out what to raise

Tick what applies to you

We mow and trim for clients
A mower or trimmer can throw a stone through a window.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment
We dig for planting, drains or paving
beforeUdig asks for an enquiry at least two full business days before you dig.
Covers to raise: Public liability
We build walls, decks or pergolas
The more structural the work, the more a claim looks like a building claim.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works
We run a tree crew or chainsaw work
Covers to raise: Public liability, Statutory liability
We work for body corporates or franchisors
Covers to raise: Public liability
We have staff
Covers to raise: Statutory liability
Mowers and gear travel on a trailer
Covers to raise: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles
A ute or truck is on the road daily
Covers to raise: Business vehicles

What these covers do not pay

Replacing plants that die from your own care or planting mistakes.
Your own mowers, trimmers and trailer under public liability.
Repairing a wall or structure you built badly.
Wear and tear on mowers and chainsaws.
Health and safety fines, which can never be insured (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 29).

General information only. Whether a cover responds depends on the policy wording.

Which clause is in your contract?

Interested party noted
The client, head contractor or financier asks to be named on your policy so they are told about changes such as cancellation. Wording varies, and in some contracts it means something different from being an extra insured.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works
What it does not decide: Being noted does not by itself give that party cover under your policy or a right to claim. That depends on how the insurer words it.
Own tools and plant
The contract says you bring and look after your own tools, equipment or machinery, so damage or theft of them sits with you rather than the client.
Covers to raise: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles
What it does not decide: It does not decide whether those items are insured, on site or in a vehicle, or hired in. Contract works and public liability policies usually do not pick up your own tools.
Subcontractor cover
The contract asks that anyone you sub the work to carries their own insurance, or that your policy responds to their work. Insurers often ask how much work you sub out and whether you check your subbies.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works, Statutory liability
What it does not decide: It does not decide whether your policy covers a subcontractor, or whether theirs is enough. Both depend on the wordings and on what you declared.

General information, not legal advice. The full clause and the policy wording decide how it applies.

Check your certificate of currency against the contract

Check the insured name, limit and dates match the contract. The policy wording, not the certificate, decides what is covered. How a certificate of currency works

What each cover may pay, and what it usually does not

Public liability
May respond to
Window, car and fence damage, cut cables, a limb through a roof.
Common trigger
Damage to someone else's property on a job.
Usually not covered
Replacing your own faulty planting or work.
Tools and equipment
May respond to
Mowers, trimmers, chainsaws and trailers.
Common trigger
Theft from a trailer, shed or ute.
Usually not covered
Wear and tear, and gear left unlocked.
Business vehicles
May respond to
The ute, truck and trailer on the road.
Common trigger
A crash or theft of the vehicle.
Usually not covered
Equipment on the trailer, unless listed.
Statutory liability
May respond to
Defence costs if a regulator investigates or prosecutes, depending on the wording.
Common trigger
A regulator investigates an incident.
Usually not covered
Health and safety fines, which can never be insured.
Contract works
May respond to
Walls, decks or paving you are building, before handover.
Common trigger
Damage to works before handover.
Usually not covered
The cost of redoing faulty workmanship.

If something goes wrong

A stone through a window
A mower throws a stone that breaks a window and dents a parked car.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Photos of the window and car
- A glazier's or panel beater's quote
- The job address and time
A spade hits a buried line
Digging for a new garden bed cuts a water or data line.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Your beforeUdig enquiry record
- Photos of the site and the line
- The utility's repair invoice
A trailer is stolen with the mowers on it
A trailer goes from outside your home overnight with every mower aboard.
May respond: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles
Have ready
- The police report number
- Invoices or serial numbers
- Photos showing how it was locked
A limb comes through a roof
A branch drops during a trim and goes through a neighbour's roof.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Photos of the roof and tree
- A roofer's quote
- Notes on the cut plan

Typical examples, not real claims. ACC deals with most injuries, so an injury claim is mostly about property and legal costs. Whether a claim is paid depends on the policy wording and the facts.

How claims start

You work outdoors, on other people's land, with powered equipment, next to houses, cars, fences and buried services. Common claims:

a stone or branch thrown by a mower or trimmer breaks a window or dents a car
a digger or post driver hits a buried water, power or data line
a dropped limb damages a roof, fence or neighbour's property
spray or fertiliser drifts onto a neighbour's garden or a stream
a retaining wall, deck or path you built fails

The covers, one by one

Cover	The question it answers	Who usually looks at it
Public liability	Who pays if my work injures someone or damages their property?	Every landscaper, gardener and tree business
Tools and plant	What if the trailer is stolen with the mowers on it?	Anyone with mowers, chainsaws or machinery
Business vehicle	What if the ute or truck is written off?	Anyone using a vehicle and trailer for work
Contract works	Who pays if a half-built project is damaged?	Larger construction jobs
Statutory liability	Who pays defence costs if a regulator investigates?	Businesses with staff or subcontractors
Professional indemnity	What if my design or advice was wrong?	Landscape designers

Points to raise with your adviser

Buried services. The free beforeUdig service gives the location of utility assets near a site. Its duty-of-care guidance says an enquiry must be lodged at least two full business days before starting. Insurers may ask whether you follow it.

Tree work. Felling and large limb removal are higher risk than mowing, and some policies exclude them unless declared. Work near power lines brings in NZECP 34:2001, which WorkSafe publishes. Say so even if it is occasional.

Spraying. Some policies limit or exclude pollution and chemical drift claims.

Walls and structures. Under Schedule 1, clause 20 of the Building Act 2004, a retaining wall holding back not more than 1.5 metres of ground, with no extra load such as vehicles, is exempt from building consent. The more structural the work, the more a claim looks like a building claim, so tell the adviser if you build walls, decks or pergolas.

Tools, plant and trailers

Theft from vehicles, trailers and sheds is the usual loss, and policies often set conditions on how gear is locked and stored. Ask whether the limit covers gear on site, in transit and in storage, how hired-in plant such as a mini-digger is treated, and whether trailers sit under the tool or vehicle policy. See tool insurance.

Gardeners and lawn mowing

Franchise agreements and client contracts can set minimum public liability limits, so check the clause before you sign. Body corporates and property managers commonly ask for a certificate of currency before adding you to a contractor list. If a friend or family member helps on busy days, tell the adviser.

What is usually excluded

damage to the thing you are working on, or property in your care, custody or control
faulty workmanship, meaning the cost of redoing your own work
wear and tear, and loss from poor maintenance of gear
plants that die, which is usually a warranty question
fines: section 29 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 makes any cover for them of no effect

Staff and contracts

Once you take on a labourer or subcontract a tree crew, you carry duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Statutory liability can respond to defence costs, not fines. Larger jobs bring contract clauses, covered in NZS 3910 insurance requirements.

For your own income see ACC for contractors, income protection for tradies and business protection. The wider picture is in tradie insurance and the business insurance hub.

How we help

A Smiths adviser will phone you to talk through which covers to look at. Some business covers we refer to another licensed Financial Advice Provider, and we will tell you who, and how they are paid, before your details go to that firm. There is no instant online quote. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy. Cover and price depend on insurer underwriting and the policy wording. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need insurance for a lawn mowing business in NZ?

No law requires a mowing business to hold public liability. In practice, franchisors, body corporates and commercial clients often ask for it, and a thrown stone can cost far more than a mowing round earns.

Does landscaping insurance cover tree felling?

Not always. Some policies exclude or limit tree felling and work near power lines unless it is declared. Tell the adviser what tree work you do.

Will insurance cover my mower if it is stolen from my trailer?

Only if the gear is covered, and often only if the storage conditions in the policy were met. Public liability does not cover your own equipment.

Does it cover cutting a buried cable?

Damage to a buried service is the textbook landscaper claim. Ask how the policy treats it, and whether you are expected to lodge a beforeUdig enquiry first.

References

Related industries

Protect the people behind the business

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Key person cover, if the business relies on you
Shareholder cover, so partners can buy each other out
Income protection for owners and the self-employed

Get the cover to match the work you do

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you and asks what work you do, whether you dig or fell trees, and what gear and vehicles you run. If we refer you to another licensed firm, we tell you who first. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy.

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you. If we refer you to another licensed firm we tell you who first and how they are paid.

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