Business liability
Pays for stone chip, felling and pipe damage, including environmental risks and damage from pesticides.
Insurance broker / Business types / Construction and trades
Insurance for landscaping and garden businesses in Germany
In landscaping, stones fly from the brush cutter into car windows, trees do not always fall where planned, and the mini excavator finds the water pipe before the plan does. On top of that, mowers and machines stand on open plots. This page explains what your business needs and what it costs.
The question almost everyone asks first
Who pays if a stone thrown up while mowing smashes a car window?
Your public liability policy, because it is damage to someone else's property. It is one of the most common claims in landscaping. Make sure your policy does not have a high excess for such small claims, or you end up paying almost everything yourself. For the mower itself, if it is damaged or stolen, you need machinery insurance.
What goes wrong in this trade
- 01
Flying stones
Brush cutters, leaf blowers and robot mowers throw stones at cars, windows and conservatories. Small claims, but very frequent.
- 02
Tree felling
A tree falls onto the neighbour's roof, a fence or a power line. Rope access tree work and felling are among the most expensive risks in the sector.
- 03
Pipes and cables in the garden
When digging for drainage, cisterns or lighting, the excavator hits water, power or gas lines.
- 04
Machinery theft
Ride-on mowers, mini excavators, plate compactors and cordless tools often stand unsecured on sites or in trailers.
- 05
Pesticides and the environment
Wrongly dosed products damage neighbouring gardens, waters or bee colonies.
- 06
Accidents with machines
Chainsaws, shredders and slopes: cuts and overturning machines are common.
Compared with other trades, 1 low to 5 high.
The insurance you need
Essential
Machinery breakdown
Covers ride-on mowers, mini excavators and shredders against theft, overturning and operating errors, also on other people's land.
Strongly advised
Car insurance
Vans, flatbeds and trailers need motor liability; comprehensive cover pays off for new vehicles.
Business contents
Replaces the yard, workshop, plant and material store after fire, burglary and storm.
Depends on the business
Contractors all risks
Contract works insurance protects larger new installations such as ponds, walls and paved areas against heavy rain and vandalism until handover.
Occupational disability
Back and joints take a lot of strain in landscaping; income protection secures your earnings.
Group accident insurance
Extra protection for employees and seasonal workers, also outside work.
What it costs: example prices
Liability in landscaping sits in the middle of the building trades. It gets noticeably more expensive with tree felling, earthworks and a large machinery fleet.
| Insurance | Example | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Business liability | €50,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover, €250 excess | about €420 to €650 a year |
| Business liability | €200,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover | about €420 to €760 a year |
| Business liability | €500,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover | about €660 to €1,750 a year |
| Machinery breakdown | Ride-on mower, mini excavator and small equipment worth €80,000 | about €800 to €2,000 a year |
For comparison: Liability insurance for a small garden business costs about as much per year as five to six square metres of newly paved patio.
Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026. Liability comes from published tariff comparisons; machinery is a guide value from our quoting practice. Tree felling with rope access techniques can increase the premium. We obtain the exact quote for you.
Sources of the price examples
Our suggestions: three packages
01
Start
For: garden maintenance alone or with a helper
- Business liability
- Machinery breakdown
Together about €800 to €1,600 a year
Request this package02
Specialist business
For: three to ten employees, maintenance and new gardens
- Business liability
- Machinery breakdown
- Car insurance
- Business contents
Together about €2,000 to €5,000 a year excluding motor
Request this package03
All round
For: landscaping with earthworks, tree care and municipal contracts
- Business liability
- Machinery breakdown
- Car insurance
- Business contents
- Contractors all risks
- Group accident insurance
Together about €4,500 to €10,000 a year excluding motor
Request this packageThe worst day in landscaping
Six claims that really happen to landscapers, all on a single summer's day. Go through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€64,900
-
The trailer with the ride-on mower and two brush cutters has vanished from the yard.
-
While strimming by a car park, a stone flies into the rear window of an SUV.
-
A felled birch twists and falls onto the neighbour's carport.
-
While digging for a cistern, the mini excavator hits the water main. The cellar floods.
-
The mini excavator tips over on a slope. Cab and hydraulics are damaged.
-
Wind carries weedkiller onto the neighbour's vegetable beds. Crop and soil are affected.
Which package would you have had?
Illustrative amounts before any excess. Whether and how much is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
- Have tree felling and rope access work expressly included if you offer them; they are not part of every tariff.
- Damage to pipes and cables during earthworks and environmental damage from pesticides should be covered without tight limits.
- Insure machines with theft cover on sites and in trailers too, not just in your yard.
- Choose a low excess for property damage, because flying stones cause many small claims.
- Check which ride-on mowers and wheel loaders need their own motor liability cover once they use public roads.
- Name winter gritting and snow clearing, pond building and green roofs if you provide them; they are risks of their own.
Why NAMMERT for your business
Machinery and liability aligned
In landscaping, claims often fall between liability, machinery and motor cover. We compare several insurers and align the policies with each other.
We understand claims in practice
In boat insurance we settle claims ourselves, including theft of engines and trailers. We know which security measures the insurer will want to see later.
One contact person
Yard, vehicles, machines and your private cover all come together with us.
There for family businesses since 1989
We are one ourselves. The advice is free for you, because the insurer pays us.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
How much does liability insurance cost for landscapers?
Published tariff comparisons show about €420 to €650 a year at €50,000 turnover and about €660 to €1,750 at €500,000 turnover.
Are stones thrown up while mowing covered?
Yes, under public liability. Choose a low excess, because many of these claims cost only a few hundred euros.
Is tree felling covered automatically?
Not always. Felling, especially with rope access techniques or near buildings, must be named in the policy.
Which statutory accident insurer covers landscaping?
The SVLFG, the social insurance for agriculture, forestry and horticulture. Unlike many other Berufsgenossenschaften, business owners themselves are compulsorily insured there too.
Is my ride-on mower insured against theft?
Only through machinery insurance with theft cover. Contents insurance usually only applies inside a locked building.
Do I need separate insurance for winter services?
Public liability can include it, but it has to do so expressly. If someone slips on paths you clear, you are often liable for the whole property.
NAMMERT insurance broker
Request quotes for Landscaping
The recommended covers are already ticked. Change what does not fit; we obtain quotes and come back with a comparison. You can write in English.
Thank you, we have your request.
We will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent: +49 3375 29 12 77.
Related trades
Who pays if we hit a power cable while digging and an industrial estate loses power?
Will my liability policy pay if the neighbour's gable wall cracks during demolition?
Will the insurer pay if a roof structure starts to sag years later?
Official classification
This page covers the following classes of the German WZ 2025 (identical to NACE at four digits):
- 81.30 Garten- und Landschaftsbau sowie Erbringung von sonstigen gärtnerischen Dienstleistungen
Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), WZ 2025. All business types
Boat or yacht? Here we are not the broker but the underwriting agency, with our own policies and our own claims handling.
Boat insuranceNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH, insurance broker licensed under section 34d(1) of the German Trade Regulation Act, broker register no. D-C08Q-TOSD4-37. For boat and yacht insurance we act as underwriting agency, not as broker. Statutory disclosure (German) · Updated