Workers’ Comp for Landscaping Contractors

Workers’ Comp Insurance for Landscapers

CompShield is an independent workers’ comp agency, not tied to a single carrier, and we specialize in nothing but workers’ comp. Landscaping payroll swings hard by season, and ground crews carry very different risk than tree work, two details a generic contractor policy tends to miss. We classify your crew correctly for the work they actually do.

Landscaping and groundskeeping recorded 102 fatalities in 2023, more than any other sector within administrative and support services, with tree trimmers and pruners carrying the highest risk within the trade. Power equipment, chainsaws, and heat exposure round out a genuinely seasonal, genuinely physical risk profile.

The Real Risk

Tree Work Carries Meaningfully Higher Risk Than Ground Crews

Falling trees, contact with energized power lines, and struck-by injuries from limbs make tree trimming and pruning the highest-risk segment within landscaping, which is exactly why it’s rated under its own class code. Power equipment, mowers, trimmers, blowers, and tillers, causes severe lacerations and amputations, a hazard category OSHA tracks specifically for this industry.

Heat illness is also a real, named OSHA concern for outdoor landscaping crews, especially with seasonal and younger workers.

Tree work is rated meaningfully higher than ground-based landscaping, and mixed payroll that can’t be split between the two defaults to the higher rate at audit.

Sources: OSHA Landscaping Hazards, BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2023

Classification

Ground Crews and Tree Work Use Different Codes

NCCI Class Code 0042, “Landscape Gardening & Drivers,” covers ground-based lawn care, planting, irrigation, and general maintenance. Tree work, pruning, trimming, and removal, falls under Class Code 0106, which carries a meaningfully higher rate given the real risk difference.

If your payroll mixes both types of work and can’t be clearly split between the two, it typically defaults to the higher tree-work code at audit, another reason accurate record-keeping matters.

Sources: NCCI Class Codes 0042/0106 reference

Pricing

How Much Does Workers’ Comp Cost for a Landscaping Business?

Payroll ÷ 100 × Class Code Rate × Experience Mod = Premium

Payroll. Your total insurable payroll, correctly split between ground crew (0042) and tree work (0106) where both apply.
Seasonal swings. Short-term and seasonal workers must still be included in reported payroll, a common audit blind spot in this industry.
Uninsured subs. A sub without a valid certificate of insurance can have their pay added back to your payroll at audit.

We won’t publish a fake average, real numbers come from your specific payroll and crew mix.

Get Your Real Number

Common Questions

Workers’ Comp for Landscapers, Answered

It depends on your state, payroll, and whether your crew does ground work (code 0042), tree work (code 0106), or both. Tree work is rated meaningfully higher given the real risk difference.

0042 covers ground-based landscaping, mowing, planting, irrigation. 0106 covers tree pruning, spraying, and removal, work with meaningfully higher real risk and a correspondingly higher rate.

Generally, uninsured subs get treated as employees at audit, and their payroll gets added to your own audited base, increasing your premium. A current certificate of insurance from every sub is what excludes their payroll.

Seasonal and short-term workers must still be reported as payroll, even if they’re only with you for part of the year. Leaving them off is a common audit surprise in this industry.

The H-2B program itself doesn’t federally mandate employer-provided workers’ comp for landscaping workers specifically, but state workers’ comp law generally still applies to anyone working as your employee in-state, regardless of visa status.

This depends on your state. Some let a sole owner with no employees opt out; others still require coverage. It’s worth confirming your specific state’s rule.

Yes, power equipment injuries, including lacerations and amputations, are a documented hazard category in this trade and are generally covered as on-the-job injuries regardless of fault.

Accurately splitting payroll between ground and tree work, rather than defaulting everything to the higher tree-work code, plus a clean experience mod, tend to matter more than shopping for the lowest quote alone.

Yes. New businesses are typically quoted on estimated payroll for the first policy term, then trued up at audit once real seasonal payroll numbers are in.

Where We Cover This Trade

Landscaping Coverage, State by State

We’re licensed in 28 states. Here’s where we’re actively writing workers’ comp for landscaping contractors right now.

Texas
Florida
Pennsylvania
Georgia
Indiana
See All 28 Licensed States →

Get a Real Quote for Your Landscaping Business

Tell us about your business and a licensed CompShield agent will review it personally, not an algorithm.

Get My Free Quote

Prefer to talk it through? Call (234) 231-8704 — no pressure, no obligation.