Maryland Workers' Comp Insurance for Landscaping & Lawn Care

Almost all Maryland employers with one or more employees must carry workers' compensation insurance, purchased either from any insurer licensed to write it in Maryland or from Chesapeake Employers' Insurance Company, or by qualifying as an approved self-insurer. There is no broad small-business exemption based on headcount alone; coverage is generally required from the first employee. See the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission's employer guidance.

Common codes for this work include 0042 Landscape Gardening; 9102 Commercial Lawn Maintenance; 5610 Construction Cleanup / Debris Removal; 7380 Commercial Drivers & Messengers. Maryland uses NCCI class codes, so the codes below are the ones carriers typically assign to this work in Maryland.

Sole proprietors, partners, LLC members, and corporate officers are presumed to need coverage unless they take affirmative action to exclude themselves; simply not buying a policy isn't enough to be considered exempt. An owner who wants to opt out must own at least 20% of the business, actively work in it, and file Maryland's exclusion form (IC-16) online with the Workers' Compensation Commission. Until that exclusion is on file, these owners are treated as covered employees for compliance purposes.

Employers who fail to secure required coverage face a fine of not more than $10,000, and the officers responsible for a corporation's general management in Maryland can be held personally liable for that fine. Maryland's Workers' Compensation Commission has also stepped up enforcement around owner exclusion filings specifically, with initial fines in the $250-$2,500 range and hearing-stage fines that can run $10,000-$25,000 for businesses without either an active policy or a properly filed exclusion. An injured worker at an uninsured employer can pursue benefits through Maryland's Uninsured Employers' Fund, which then seeks reimbursement from the employer.

Price is driven by payroll in each class code, the Maryland rates filed for those codes, your claims history (experience modification), and underwriting factors such as split between recurring lawn maintenance and landscape-construction work; whether tree work, grading, or hardscape installation is performed; seasonal staffing swings between peak growing season and winter. We compare carriers so you can see what you qualify for.

Complete one application and we compare up to 10 carriers in minutes, with the option to purchase online. A Live Certificate is included with your coverage, so proof of coverage is always live and shareable by text or email in seconds.

Not always — commercial lawn maintenance has its own classification when mowing and upkeep is the core of the business, while broader landscape construction, planting, and grading work is typically rated under the landscape-gardening classification.

It doesn't create a separate classification on its own, but carriers do ask about pesticide-handling training and practices since chemical exposure is a recognized risk in this trade.

Payroll swings between peak growing season and winter should be reported accurately, since that's exactly the kind of variation pay-as-you-go billing is built to handle rather than locking in a flat annual premium.

Yes, in almost all cases. Maryland requires coverage for essentially all employers with one or more employees, with no broad exemption for small headcount.

Yes, but only by actively filing exclusion form IC-16 with the Workers' Compensation Commission after meeting ownership and active-work requirements; simply declining to buy a policy isn't enough to be considered exempt.