When business slows down in the off-season, your insurance payment may seem like an easy bill to cut. But canceling your coverage creates bigger problems than it solves, from losing your protection to losing out on contracts.
Before you cancel your landscaping insurance to cut costs, it helps to understand what you’re risking and how keeping your coverage active is often the smarter (and more affordable) option.
Cut To The Chase: What Happens If I Cancel My Lawn Care Insurance in the Off-Season?
If you cancel your landscaping insurance in the off-season, it can leave you exposed to potential claims, make contracts harder to win, and force you to reapply come Spring.
You might get a partial refund, depending on your policy, but adjusting your coverage instead can prevent a lapse in protection.
Can I Cancel Landscaping Insurance During the Winter?
Yes, you can cancel your landscaping insurance policy in the winter, but that doesn’t mean you should. The right decision depends on whether your business is fully shutting down, switching providers, or slowing down seasonally.
For many landscapers, work doesn’t stop in the off-season. About 75% offer spring and fall cleanups, 55% provide seasonal color plantings, and 46% perform snow and ice management, showing that seasonal services keep businesses active year-round.
When you cancel your insurance, it creates a lapse in coverage, a period during which you are uninsured. A lapse in landscaping insurance lasts from the moment you cancel your coverage to whenever you get a new policy.
Keeping continuous coverage (or avoiding a lapse) helps you stay ready for unexpected work, maintain contract requirements, and avoid having to reapply before the busy season.
Pro tip: Still not quite sure how your coverage works? Read our landscaping insurance guide for more information on coverage, costs, and managing your policy.
What Happens If I Cancel My Landscaping Insurance?
Canceling your landscaping insurance early creates risks that can be hard to afford, even if you’re not providing services in the winter. These are just some landscaping insurance cancellation risks that can affect your business:
You Lose Protection For New Claims
If an accident happens after you’ve canceled your policy, you won’t be covered, leaving you paying out of pocket for third-party property damages or injuries.
Landscaping insurance claims happen in the off-season, too. If you visit a client’s property to deliver materials for an early Spring project and your truck damages their gate, your canceled policy won’t protect you.
You Have To Manage Off-Season Risks On Your Own
Even though it’s the off-season, you still have a business to run. Not having active coverage could make the difference between a simple fix and a costly mistake in situations like:
- Storing your equipment and tools: Having active equipment coverage (inland marine) can help protect your gear if it’s stolen or damaged in winter storage, like from a fire or burglary
- Making business-related visits: Doing maintenance work, winterizing shrubs, and giving estimates for future work still expose your business to liability risks
- Marketing your business: You market your business year-round, especially online, which means you need continuous protection for advertising-related claims
- Performing winter work: Services like snow and ice removal require active coverage that you might only be able to get on top of your landscaping policy
You Could Have Trouble Meeting Contract Requirements
Property managers, landlords, homeowners associations (HOAs), and even individual clients often require landscapers to carry continuous coverage. Canceling your policy means you won’t be able to provide a current Certificate of Insurance (COI).
This lapse in your coverage affects your ability to keep and obtain clients by:
- Disqualifying you from current contracts
- Delaying your ability to start work without coverage
- Costing you early-season contracts requiring a COI
You Have to Reapply to Restart Your Coverage
Even if you are “temporarily” canceling your insurance, you won’t be able to simply switch your policy back on come Spring. Normally, restarting your coverage means buying a new policy.
If you start booking Spring work before your new insurance coverage takes effect, you won’t be able to provide a COI or perform covered work. Restarting your coverage instead of keeping it and letting it renew can be inconvenient and risky.
“Once a policy is canceled, returning in the spring often means going through underwriting again, and potentially receiving different pricing or eligibility based on current market conditions.
Maintaining continuous coverage can help eliminate those uncertainties and ensure you’re ready to provide proof of insurance as soon as new opportunities arise.”
Better Alternatives to Canceling Your Landscaping Insurance
If you’re looking to offset seasonal drops in revenue, there are other ways you can manage the cost of landscaping insurance without canceling your policy.
| Alternative | Scenario | When It Might Be The Right Move |
|---|---|---|
|
Adjust your coverage |
You added optional coverages to your policy that don’t match the work you perform during the off-season |
Depending on your policy and the available options, if you’re carrying extras for services you’ve paused for winter, and can drop them without leaving a gap |
|
Lower your coverage limits |
Compare your current coverage limits to your off-season risks, contracts, and business activity |
Having less work in the winter may allow you to lower your limits and get a reduced premium — if your winter exposure is lower and none of your contracts require higher limits |
|
Switch to annual billing |
Annual billing often costs less than monthly payments, saving you up to 7% off your premium with Insurance Canopy |
You can float the one-time payment and want to lock in the savings before renewal |
Pro-Tip: Talk to Your Provider Before Making An Off-Season Decision
Call your provider to discuss your options, like adjusting your policy or deciding on the most useful coverages for off-season risks. If you still prefer to cancel, your provider can verify your cancellation date, any refund amount, and the steps to purchasing coverage again.
With Insurance Canopy, you can log in to your online dashboard to review your policy details and make eligible coverage changes.
When Canceling Landscaping Insurance May Make Sense
While keeping active coverage is typically the better option for protecting your business, there are a few situations where you might want to cancel your landscaping insurance.
- You are closing the business: Insurance may not be necessary if you are permanently shutting down. Before you cancel your policy, check with your provider to see if you need protection for outstanding liabilities, like pending customer claims.
- You are selling or transferring ownership: The new owner of your business needs their own insurance policy, especially if your coverage is non-transferrable. Before finalizing the sale, confirm with your provider whether you should cancel your policy or transfer it to the new owner.
- You are switching to a new provider (with no gap in coverage): Switching providers is common if you find a policy with better coverage, lower costs, or more benefits. Before canceling, ensure the new policy starts immediately after the old one ends — any gaps in coverage could expose your business to financial risks.
Should You Cancel or Keep Coverage? Ask These 5 Questions
Canceling lawn care insurance in the off-season is not the same as canceling because you don’t need the coverage. To decide which option is best for your business, ask yourself:
- Will I still have any business risk during the off-season?
- Could I afford to pay for damage, injury, or theft myself?
- Do any of my current or upcoming contracts require proof of insurance?
- Would adjusting coverage solve the problem better than canceling?
- Do I understand what happens if I let coverage lapse?
Cancellation may make sense when you’re permanently closing, transferring the business, or switching providers. But if you’re temporarily pausing for the off-season and planning to work in Spring, you should keep or adjust your coverage.
How to Cancel Your Landscaping Insurance
When it’s the better option for your business, follow these steps to cancel your landscaping insurance policy:
- Start the request online or call your provider
- Provide your policy details and reason for cancellation
- Save any written confirmation
Insurance Canopy makes it easy to buy, manage, or cancel your coverage online. Visit our cancellation page for step-by-step instructions, or contact us if you have questions.
FAQs About Canceling Landscaping Insurance
Will I receive a refund if I cancel my landscaping insurance early?
You might receive a partial or pro-rated refund when you cancel your landscaping policy early. This means you’ll only pay for the time you were covered, along with any included taxes or fees.
Whether you get a refund and how much depends on your provider and how far along you are in your policy term.
Can I restart my landscaping insurance policy in the Spring?
You won’t be able to restart your canceled policy in the Spring, but you can purchase a new landscaping insurance policy. Start by getting a quote and answering questions about your business. Once you’re covered, you’ll receive a new insurance certificate with new coverage dates.
Does canceling my coverage affect future contracts?
Yes, canceling your coverage can affect future contracts if they require continuous coverage or a current Certificate of Insurance (COI). If you cancel your policy, you won’t have active coverage or be able to provide a COI for early-season contracts until you purchase a new policy.
Is there a penalty for canceling my policy early?
No, there is no cancellation fee for ending your policy before its expiration date. However, depending on your policy and how early you cancel it, you may or may not receive a partial refund. Before making a decision, review your policy terms to understand how cancellation affects your coverage.
