Garden design insurance
Join over 500 garden designers like you with professional indemnity cover from £1.43 per month*
Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,771 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why do you need garden design insurance?
From the moment you step into a project to the final courtesy call, your care and expertise get clients recommending you far and wide. With challenging weather, big expectations and suppliers to juggle, things can go wrong. That’s where garden designers’ insurance comes in, protecting your work with specific cover.
- protection from big claims relating to negligent advice
- cover for the specifics from employees and tools to a personal accident
- peace of mind for you and your clients, letting you focus on the garden (not the what-ifs)
What does garden design insurance cover?
The key cover for most garden designers is PI (professional indemnity) insurance, which can protect you against claims for negligent advice. If you have any employees, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. And if you rely on specific tools, equipment and stock, you’ll want to make sure you’re covering those too.
Professional indemnity insurance
In case your client claims you’ve been negligent, or made a mistake in your work.
Public liability insurance
In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged because of your garden design business.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case things like your phone or laptop are lost, stolen or damaged.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs as the owner of your garden design business.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.
Professional indemnity insurance
In case your client claims you’ve been negligent, or made a mistake in your work.
What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance for garden designers?
Claims against your business for professional negligence or breach of contract that causes your client a financial loss. This might include:
- gardening or design advice which turns out to be incorrect
- errors in your work that cost others money to fix
For example:
- you agree on a budget with your client, but end up exceeding this due to mistakes on a stock order, causing them a loss
- the client is disappointed with their garden at the end of the project, claiming it doesn’t fulfil the original design objectives, which will take further paid work
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Public liability insurance
In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged because of your garden design business.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for garden designers?
Claims against your business for:
- damage you’ve caused to someone’s property, while working
- injuries suffered because of your business
- accidental damage or injury caused by your employee, if you have one (remember, if you employ people you must have employers’ liability insurance – it’s a legal requirement)
For example:
- you leave your laptop cable plugged in while presenting designs and a customer trips and breaks their ankle
- you place a plant against an old wall, which begins to fall down into the pavement
- you hit the door of a neighbour’s car with your spade, causing significant damage
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- your garden design business causing an employee’s injury or ill health
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
For example:
- during a site visit your casual labourer drops a bag of aggregate on their foot, causing a fracture
- your employee traps their hand in your car door while travelling between sites, breaking two fingers
Business and office equipment insurance
In case things like your phone or laptop are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft, flood, fire or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your business
- operational equipment like your laptop, rather than specialist garden or design tools
For example:
- someone steals your laptop and phone from your office, during your lunch break
- you drop your phone in running water, damaging it and delaying your work for the day
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs as the owner of your garden design business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal expenses resulting from your day-to-day business activities, like employee disputes
- the cost of legal claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass
- HMRC investigations, or tax and compliance issues
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help protect your reputation as a trusted designer
For example:
- a client disputes your contract, claiming you haven’t fulfilled your obligations and refusing to pay an invoice
- an employee sues you for unfair dismissal
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- injury or death at work or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
- lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
- you lose a finger while working on a client's garden
- your new employee breaks their leg at a wedding
Read more about personal accident insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
How much does garden design insurance cost?
Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.
Prices start from £1.43 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
*The price is for customers purchasing professional indemnity insurance - 10% of customers paid £17.10 or less annually between 1st Oct 2023 - 31st Mar 2024. Equivalent to £1.43/month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). If you complete a quote more types of cover will be available, these all have additional costs.
Example garden designer insurance quotes, real prices
£7.51 /month
£55.12 /year
A part-time garden designer specialising in hard landscaping
- 2-3 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Nottingham
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers' liability
Not included
Professional indemnity
Not included
£147.09 /month
£1307.46 /year
A small garden design company who undertaking project management for bigger builds
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Southampton
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers' liability
£10,000,000
Professional indemnity
£250,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 11/01/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.
What kind of excess should I expect?
An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.
Insurance cover | Lowest excess | Highest excess |
|---|---|---|
Professional indemnity | No excess | £2500 |
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.
How it works
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How do I choose insurance?
Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Does garden design insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.
If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.
Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Does garden design insurance cover my work correctly?
Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider garden maint ex tree felling or gardening insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.
Talk to an expert
Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm
Call our team
How do claims work?
Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. "Settled" covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 24/04/2024.
£51 million in claims paid out in 2023
83% of claims were settled in 2023
Example claim
Having garden designers’ insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Maggie saved more than £2,150
Maggie (not her real name) knocked her laptop off a table in her client’s kitchen, damaging it and delaying the day’s work. Luckily, her garden designers’ insurance covered the accidental damage.
Insurance payout
£2,149.00
Covering the cost of accidental damage
Maggie’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Maggie’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Garden design insurance FAQs
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about garden design insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a garden designer, you may also do the odd project management job too. If so, you’ll need additional cover for this – but you can have it all on the one policy. When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy. If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 0146 683 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:
- one-off credit or debit card payment
- BACS payment
- Direct Debit If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.
If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 0146 683. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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