Botanical Gardens & Risk Coverage: Glasshouses, Storms, and Slips with Kim Slager of BHS Insurance

Know Your Risk and Insurance Coverage with RiskProNet

In this episode of Know Your Risk and Insurance Coverage, we’re joined by Kim Slager, President of Commercial Lines at BHS Insurance, to dive into one of the most unique and misunderstood sectors in insurance: botanical gardens.

With over 30 years of specialization, Kim walks us through the unexpected risks, coverage gaps, and creative underwriting strategies that make gardens far more complex than your average cultural institution. From glass greenhouses and hurricane zones, to slip-and-fall litigation and rare plant appraisals, Kim explains how her team builds tailored programs that protect these vibrant, high-exposure environments.

Whether you’re a RiskProNet member looking to serve a botanical garden client, or just curious how garden operations and coverage intersect, this episode reveals what makes this niche so critical and why standard policies just don’t cut it.

Timecodes:

00:00 – Welcome & guest introduction

01:11 – How BHS built the botanical garden insurance program

03:57 – Key exposures: slips, paths, glasshouses, misclassification

05:43 – Disaster readiness & natural disaster funding

07:43 – Event liability, liquor risks, and TULIP coverage

10:09 – Real-world claim: Abuse exclusion and uninsured loss

13:22 – Volunteer accident gaps, active shooter coverage, and client education

16:01 – Insuring rare trees, indoor plant collections, and replication strategies

17:57 – Who underwrites the program

19:14 – Partnering with RiskProNet members & claims trend insights

21:34 – Final thoughts and invitation to connect

Resources:

Become a member at RiskProNet.com

Connect with Matt Sasso on LinkedIn

Connect with Kim Slager on Linkedin

Connect with BHS Insurance on LinkedIn

Connect with RiskProNet on LinkedIn