Protect Your Greenhouse Business from Worst-Case Scenarios

Hortica Liability

Photo: Hortica

Think back to when you opened or took over leadership of your greenhouse. More than likely, you decided to do so because floriculture and horticulture bring you joy. You produce plants, flowers, and crops that improve customers’ lives and know that when your inventory leaves your business, it has lasting impact. Ornamentals spruce up the curb appeal of customers’ properties, fresh-cut flowers and unique houseplants bring life into homes and improve customers’ well-being, and food crops help nourish customers — inside and out.

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The unfortunate reality of owning a greenhouse, however, is the liability risks your business faces —whether you serve customers in person, off site, or online. It’s nearly impossible to control unforeseen incidents, but you can prepare for them. The following hypothetical examples show how general liability and cyber liability insurance coverage can be invaluable to your business.

Situation 1: On-Site Slip and Fall

When you water plants in your garden center, it’s common for water to drip onto the floor. You wipe it up, place a cone out for the safety of your customers, and you go about the rest of your day. But you can’t control the customer who ignores that cone and slips and falls while reaching for a plant.

Or what about the temporary workers you’ve hired? You might not have had time to fully train them on your safety procedures and they’re still growing their awareness and attention to detail. While carrying product from the back of the greenhouse to the front for a demanding customer, they might forget about the hose they were moving when the customer asked for help. The employee trips over it on the way to the front of the garden center and injures themselves.

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Slip, trip, and fall accidents make up the most common type of general liability claim in all industries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 2,140 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in 2020 among greenhouse, nursery, and floriculture production employees, 590 were from slip, trips, and falls.

Regardless of who slips or how it occurs, the complications can be very expensive for you as the business owner.

Situation 2: On-Site Customer Vehicle Damage

A customer comes in to pick up their bulk mulch order, as well as several large cement planters. They need the order placed into the bed of their truck during a busy Saturday morning. While helping the customer, one of your employees backs into the tailgate of the truck with your front-end loader as they try to exit the congested parking lot. It causes damage to the customer’s vehicle.

Your employee had the best of intentions, but accidents still happen. This is now your liability.

Situation 3: Off-Site Damage to Customer Property

Your business offers weekly fresh flower delivery and houseplant maintenance plans to customers. One of your customers leaves for their second home in Florida for six months of the year. During this time your employees water one of the large planters in the customer’s home weekly. Unfortunately, the planter leaked throughout the winter months and it wasn’t caught until the customer returned in the spring. The leak caused extensive damage and the carpet has to be replaced.

Leaks happen, but in this case an unfortunate incident was compounded by the customer’s living situation — and now it’s a perfect storm of liability for your business.

Situation 4: Off-Site Injuries Caused by Your Product

You had a succulent promotion for Mother’s Day. Succulents were delivered to one of your customers as a gift from her son, and as she took the containers out of the box, one of them broke. The customer’s hand was cut by a ceramic shard.

It didn’t happen on your property — and you can’t control what occurs in transit — but unfortunately, this is another example of a problem that could be a liability for you.

Situation 5: Cyberattacks

While on his break, your employee clicks a link in their email inbox while using one of the main business computers. Unfortunately, it wasn’t safe and instead of receiving a free gift card, the employee opened a Pandora’s box of cybercrime.

Technology benefits your businesses in a number of ways, but it can also open you to risk, with a cyberattack occurring every 39 seconds. And according to Cybersecurity Ventures, more than half of all cyberattacks are committed against small to midsized businesses. Phishing attacks, ransomware, and fraudulent impersonation can all upend your business with just an errant click of a mouse.

Protect Your Business From the Uncertainties in Life

Though it can be taxing to think about worst-case scenarios, it’s important to understand how to protect yourself. General liability insurance coverage and cyber liability coverage provide a safety net to help protect your business.

General liability coverage protects your business (up to your policy limits) if you’re found legally liable for injuries or property damage caused by your operations, your products, accidents on your premises, or mishaps at customer locations (based on your policy coverages and conditions).

Here are three types of general liability coverages important for your business:

  • Product protection coverage: General liability insurance can cover you and your assets if someone is injured or something is damaged by your product.
  • Property damage coverage: If your business often requires you to be on site at a customer’s property, you may need coverage for property damage for which you’re legally responsible.
  • Chemical application coverage: You can help protect your business from losses related to chemical drift, accidents while transporting chemicals, or damage caused when spraying.

Meanwhile, cyber liability insurance can help cover:

  • Cyber extortion
  • Data recreation
  • Business interruption
  • Security and privacy liability

Paying the full cost of a liability-related lawsuit out of pocket or enduring the aftermath of cybercrime can be disastrous for a business. Contact your insurer to make sure you have adequate general liability coverage for your business and think strongly about adding cyber liability coverage if you haven’t yet. Working with your insurance provider to find the best liability coverage can help protect you from the worst-case scenarios—and bring you peace of mind.

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