Last updated: September 14, 2026
Compare Texas landscaping insurance for elective workers’ compensation and nonsubscriber duties, TDA applicator financial responsibility under §76.111, irrigation licensing, tools and trucks before you quote.
Requirements · Coverages · Costs · Quote checklist · FAQs
Get a landscaping insurance quote
Use Simply Business to request a quote for your landscaping or lawn-care operation. Describe the work you do and confirm coverages and availability with the provider.
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Texas landscaping insurance requirements to check first
Texas does not license ordinary landscaping or lawn care at the state level. Two adjacent activities do: applying restricted-use or state-limited-use pesticides for hire (Texas Department of Agriculture applicator business) and installing or repairing irrigation systems (TCEQ Licensed Irrigator).
Workers’ compensation for most private employers is elective. Under Texas Labor Code chapter 406 and TDI nonsubscriber guidance, you may subscribe to workers’ compensation or operate as a nonsubscriber. Nonsubscribers must post Notice 5, notify employees in writing, and file DWC Form-005 (within 30 days of the first employee, within 10 days of terminating coverage, and annually). Nonsubscribers lose certain common-law defenses in employee-injury suits. General contractors and commercial sites still routinely require workers’ compensation by contract. Buying general liability does not settle an employee-injury lawsuit against a nonsubscriber.
TDA applicator financial responsibility (§76.111)
Texas Agriculture Code §76.111 requires applicator businesses to file proof of financial responsibility of not less than $100,000 property damage per occurrence, $100,000 bodily injury per occurrence, or a general aggregate of at least $200,000. The filing is a license condition — not a suggestion. Ordinary mowing and planting without a regulated pesticide program do not create that TDA filing by themselves.
| Filing item | Minimum |
|---|---|
| Property damage (per occurrence) | $100,000 |
| Bodily injury (per occurrence) | $100,000 |
| General aggregate (alternative framing) | $200,000 minimum |
Irrigation work is a separate TCEQ license path. Confirm whether your irrigation license packet or local permits add certificate conditions; do not invent a statewide irrigator liability dollar floor from the TDA pesticide statute.
Which landscaping coverages should you compare?
| What you need to protect | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Customer injury, property damage and completed landscaping work | General liability, including products and completed operations for planting, hardscape and irrigation you install. |
| Herbicide, fertilizer and other pesticide applications | Ask whether pollution exclusions bar chemical claims and whether the policy can meet any applicator financial-responsibility filing. |
| Employees injured at work | Workers’ compensation once your state’s employee trigger is met (or sooner if a contract requires it). |
| Trucks, trailers and trailering equipment | Commercial auto. General liability does not replace auto for road risks. |
| Mowers, blowers, trimmers and tools | Inland marine / tools and equipment — not automatic on general liability. |
| Client certificates and additional insureds | Match the written contract; a certificate alone does not create coverage. |
Nonsubscriber strategy is not a free pass
Electing not to carry workers’ compensation can look cheaper until a serious injury claim arrives or a general contractor refuses the job. Price the private market policy against the Notice 5 / DWC-005 duties and the loss of exclusive-remedy protections. Many commercial landscaping bids effectively require workers’ compensation regardless of the elective statute.
Pesticide exclusions, tools and vehicles
Ask whether herbicide and fertilizer claims survive the pollution exclusion. Schedule equipment and confirm commercial auto for trucks and trailers. A certificate of insurance is evidence only — match additional-insured and waiver wording to the written contract. If you plan to offer tree trimming too, read our guide to the arborist license in Texas, since treating trees with chemicals needs a state license even though trimming does not.
How much does Texas 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 and 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 Texas quotes 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 and many bonds remain separate questions. Your provider needs services, revenue, payroll, vehicles, claims, limits, pesticide or irrigation exposures 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 Texas landscaping insurance quote
- Business entity, operating address, start date and years in business. If you have not formed one yet, see what it costs to register a Texas LLC.
- Service mix: mowing and planting, pesticide or fertilizer programs, tree work, hardscape, irrigation, snow.
- Revenue, payroll, worker roles, owner participation and any 1099 help.
- Vehicles, trailers, drivers, tool and equipment values, and storage locations.
- License category (if any), bond amounts, and each client’s written insurance requirements.
- Claim history and current policies.
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 — especially pollution and pesticide wording — before relying on the policy for a new contract.
Get a landscaping insurance quote
Use Simply Business to request a quote for your landscaping or lawn-care operation. Describe the work you do and confirm coverages and availability with the provider.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Data for Texas
Free research and planning tools for starting a landscaping business in Texas. Most of the data pages compare every state, so look for Texas in the table or map.
- New-employer unemployment tax by state: what a new employer in Texas can expect to pay per worker in year one.
- Unemployment tax changes for small employers: recent state rule changes to budget for before you hire.
- Heat protection laws: which states set heat rules for workers and what they require.
- Insurance requirements for contracts: what limits, certificates and endorsements commercial and public buyers ask for.
- Landscaping seasonal cash flow calculator: see how much cash you need to get through the off-season.
Frequently asked questions
Is workers’ compensation mandatory when a Texas landscaping company hires staff?
No for most private employers. Texas allows elective coverage or nonsubscriber status under Labor Code chapter 406, with Notice 5 and DWC-005 duties. Contracts and public jobs often require workers’ compensation anyway.
What insurance does a Texas applicator business file with TDA?
Agriculture Code §76.111 requires proof of financial responsibility of at least $100,000 property damage and $100,000 bodily injury per occurrence, or a general aggregate of at least $200,000.
Does Texas license landscaping itself?
No statewide landscaping license for ordinary mowing and planting. Regulated pesticide application and irrigation licensing are separate paths (TDA and TCEQ).
Does a certificate guarantee a GC’s insurance requirements are met?
No. Check the underlying policy and endorsements against the contract before you submit the certificate.
Related guides
Texas landscaping · Landscaping business insurance · Texas business loans
Requirements and source benchmarks checked September 14, 2026. Policy terms and availability depend on the insurer and your business.
Sources
- Tex. Agric. Code §76.111 — Applicator business financial responsibility $100k PD / $100k BI / $200k aggregate
- TDI — Nonsubscriber information — Elective WC; Notice 5 and DWC-005
- Texas Labor Code ch. 406 — Election to obtain or not obtain workers’ compensation
- TCEQ — landscape irrigator licensing — Separate irrigation license path
- Insureon — landscaping insurance cost — National customer medians, updated Feb 24, 2026
