Last updated: September 14, 2026
Compare Maryland landscaping insurance for the one-employee workers’ comp trigger, MDA pesticide business insurance floors, and client certificates before you quote.
Requirements · Coverages · Costs · Quote checklist · FAQs
Get a landscaping insurance quote
Use Simply Business to request a quote for your landscaping operation. Describe the lawn, hardscape, pesticide and vehicle work you do and confirm coverages and availability with the provider.
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Maryland landscaping insurance requirements to check first
Maryland’s Workers’ Compensation Commission guidance and Labor & Employment Title 9 generally require every employer with one or more covered employees — full-time or part-time — to provide workers’ compensation. Agricultural employers have a separate farm-worker threshold (typically three full-time employees or $15,000 annual full-time payroll under §9-210); that farm carve-out does not fit ordinary for-hire landscaping. Close-corporation officers and ≥20% LLC members may elect exemption with Commission notice under §9-206.
Maryland does not issue a statewide landscaping contractor license for mowing and planting alone. Lawn-care firms that apply weed-and-feed, herbicides or other pesticides need an MDA Commercial Pesticide Business License with a certified applicator in the ornamental/turf categories.
MDA pesticide business insurance is not a statewide landscaper GL law
COMAR 15.05.01.10 requires pesticide business licensees to carry liability insurance of not less than bodily injury $100,000 each person / $300,000 each occurrence and property damage $15,000 each occurrence / $30,000 annual aggregate, with an original certificate from a Maryland-authorized insurer kept on file with MDA. The annual business license fee is $150. That filing is pesticide-business financial responsibility — not a statewide GL mandate for every unlicensed mowing crew. MDA also asks pesticide businesses that employ one or more persons to evidence workers’ compensation compliance. Client and GC COIs remain separate contract requirements.
Which landscaping coverages should you compare?
| What you need to protect | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Customer injury, damaged plants, irrigation and hardscape claims | General liability, including products and completed operations for finished landscape work. |
| Herbicide drift, fertilizer burn and chemical application claims | Ask whether pesticide/herbicide exposures sit on the GL form or need a separate endorsement — and whether your pesticide license has its own financial-responsibility floor. |
| Crew injuries while mowing, planting, digging or loading | Workers’ compensation (state rules differ — see requirements above). |
| Trailers, mowers, blowers and truck tools | Inland marine / tools & equipment at the shop, in transit and on jobs. |
| The pickup, dump truck or trailer on public roads | Commercial auto separate from general liability; hired/non-owned auto if helpers drive personal vehicles. |
| License, pesticide-dealer or municipal bond floors | Surety amount, obligee and whether a liability policy can substitute under statute. |
General liability for landscape work
General liability responds to third-party bodily injury and property-damage claims tied to your operations — for example a slip on a wet walkway after you mowed, or irrigation damage to a neighbor’s foundation. Ask how the form treats products/completed operations after the bed or hardscape is finished, and whether herbicide drift or fertilizer burn needs a pesticide endorsement or sits on the base form.
Commercial auto, trailers and tools
A pickup hauling a trailer is usually a commercial-auto question, not a general-liability question. Confirm hired and non-owned auto if helpers drive personal vehicles to jobs. Tools and equipment (inland marine) cover scheduled mowers and trailers at the shop, in transit and on jobs — separate from the truck’s physical-damage coverage.
What these policies usually do not do
General liability is not workers’ compensation, professional design liability, or a surety bond. A certificate of insurance is proof of a policy in force — it does not by itself add a homeowner or GC as an additional insured. Ask for the endorsement when a contract requires it.
How much does Maryland landscaping insurance cost?
Insureon’s national landscaping customer medians (page updated February 24, 2026; rechecked September 14, 2026) provide a starting reference: general liability $51/month ($610/year), workers’ compensation $169/month ($2,029/year), tools & equipment $38/month ($450/year), commercial auto $204/month ($2,452/year), license/permit bonds $9/month ($112/year), commercial umbrella $88/month ($1,060/year), and a business owner’s policy $94/month ($1,130/year). These are national Insureon landscaping-customer medians — not Maryland-specific rates and not Simply Business prices.
Do not add every row together. A business owner’s policy can bundle general liability with property, so those lines may overlap. Workers’ compensation, commercial auto, tools and bonds remain separate questions. Your provider needs payroll, revenue, services (mowing vs hardscape vs pesticide), claims, limits and equipment values to quote the actual crew.
Request an annual total for the same service mix and coverage dates. Ask whether payment plans, certificates, additional-insured endorsements or midyear changes add charges.
Prepare your Maryland landscaping insurance quote
- Business entity, operating address, start date and years in business.
- Services: mowing/maintenance, design/install, irrigation, hardscape, tree work, pesticide/fertilizer.
- Revenue, payroll, worker roles, owner participation and any 1099 help.
- Vehicles and trailers, drivers, and overnight storage.
- Equipment values (mowers, trailers, tools) and any pesticide inventory.
- Claim history, current policies, license/bond status, and each GC or HOA’s written insurance requirements.
Have providers quote the same activities, limits, deductibles and effective date. Ask for the annual total, payment charges and costs for required endorsements. Get written confirmation of unresolved exclusions before relying on the policy for a new contract.
Get a landscaping insurance quote
Use Simply Business to request a quote for your landscaping operation. Describe the lawn, hardscape, pesticide and vehicle work you do and confirm coverages and availability with the provider.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
When does a Maryland landscaper need workers’ compensation?
Generally at one or more covered employees. Farm-worker thresholds do not apply to typical landscape crews. Eligible officers and LLC members may elect exemption with proper Commission filings.
Does Maryland require general liability for every landscaper?
No statewide GL floor for ordinary landscaping was identified. MDA pesticide business licensees must meet COMAR 15.05.01.10 minimums ($100k/$300k BI and $15k/$30k PD). Contracts often still require higher limits.
Does general liability cover the landscaping truck?
No. Vehicle liability is a commercial auto product. Trailers, hired/non-owned drivers and tools in transit are separate questions from a GL policy.
Does a certificate make a homeowner or GC an additional insured?
No. A certificate is evidence of a policy; it does not create coverage. Ask whether the requested additional-insured wording is in the policy or an endorsement before you send the COI.
Related guides
Maryland landscaping · Landscaping business insurance
Requirements and source benchmarks checked September 14, 2026. Policy terms and availability depend on the insurer and your business.
Sources
- Maryland OneStop — Commercial Pesticide Business License — License fee + insurance summary
- COMAR 15.05.01.10 — License insurance requirements — $100k/$300k BI; $15k/$30k PD
- MD Labor & Employment §9-206 — Officer/LLC member election of exemption
- Insureon — landscaping insurance cost — National customer medians, updated Feb 24, 2026
