Your guide to garden center insurance

It’s peak season and you’re watching the shopping lines extend down the aisle from the cash register, customer carts are overflowing with plants, flowers, and garden décor. Your garden center is filled with a continuous cycle of customers and revenue is booming. But what if something suddenly goes wrong?

If a catastrophe happens, your insurance policy can quickly become your knight in shining armor. But do you have a policy capable of rescuing you from potential risks and financial loss that can occur without warning? Let’s find out. This insurance guide for garden centers outlines common risks and appropriate coverages to help you determine if your business is properly insured.

Your garden center risks

Whether you’re an independent, family-owned garden center or part of a larger big-box business, you face risks every single day.

Common garden center risks:

• Storm damage
• Crop losses
• Equipment breakdown
• Slips, trips, and falls
• Customer liability
• Theft

From onsite injuries and accidents to severe weather, use your daily what-ifs as a checklist to help ensure your insurance policy suits your business.

Meet with your insurance agent to identify exposures and work together to select the type and amount of coverages that align with those exposures. You don't run a one-size-fits-all business, which means you shouldn't choose one-size-fits-all insurance solutions.

Choosing proper insurance for your garden center 

Garden center insurance can help protect your business, covering your property, employees, customers, equipment, plants, and inventory. In the event of a catastrophe or disruption, it can play a large role in your business’s recovery success. 

Review your state requirements for business insurance, and determine whether the following coverages are right for your unique business:

• Commercial property: Unexpected property loss or damage is almost inevitable—whether it’s from fire, storm damage, theft, or breakdowns. You can customize your property insurance coverage based on your buildings, equipment, inventory, income, and other exposures. 
• General liability: Lawsuits following slips, trips, and falls are a significant threat to your bottom line and reputation. General liability coverage can help you protect your business if someone is injured at your garden center, or if you sell a product that is defective and causes injury or property damage. General liability can also include cyber liability coverage to help protect customer data and financial records.
• Commercial auto: Deliveries and transporting equipment are typical day-to-day activities for garden centers like yours. Commercial auto insurance can help cover accidents that happen when you’re using a vehicle for your business. It can also help cover your business if you or an employee use a personal vehicle on behalf of the business.
• Workers’ compensation: Protecting your employees after an on-the-job injury is important. So is protecting your business from litigation. Workers’ compensation coverage can help pay for medical and related expenses for your employees who are injured while working. It also reimburses them for a portion of lost wages while they are unable to work.
• Umbrella liability: This optional coverage picks up where your standard liability policy coverage ends. It provides an extra layer of coverage that can help protect your business in the event of a catastrophic liability loss or a huge judgment against you or your company.

Choosing an insurance provider

An important consideration in securing appropriate insurance for your garden center is knowledgeably selecting an appropriate insurance provider. Rather than price shopping for the lowest premiums, weed out the standardized insurance companies and focus on one that specializes in your industry and understands your business and risks.

Hortica® is a brand of Sentry insurance Group. Hortica property and casualty coverages are underwritten, and loss control services are provided, by Florists’ Mutual Insurance Company, Florists’ Insurance Company, and Florists’ Insurance Service, Inc. Tailored coverages, like floral holiday seasonal increases, are provided specifically for businesses like yours within the horticultural industry. 

“We offer a full range of horticultural business insurance services and specialized coverages through our HortAdvantage,” states Traci Dooley, national agency sales director for Hortica. “From quick claims service to providing safety checks of your business, we’re here to help with risk management and to properly insure your biggest investment.”

With 135 years serving just the horticulture industry, notes Dooley, “We’re not only experienced in your industry, but we also know construction and materials, allowing us to help you with quick and quality post-damage recovery. From your initial quote request onward, you can count on us to provide responsive service and quality coverage.”

If you have any questions about insuring your garden center or would like to review your current policy, contact us today or request a quick quote.

Related links:

Discover the risk management solutions and loss control programs available to help protect your employees, customers, inventory, and bottom line.

Learn about three critical types of business insurance coverage that can also play major roles in helping protect your horticultural company.

Understand the steps and what to expect during a safety visit from your insurance provider.

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