Does my kid need insurance for their business?

For most kid businesses, no, and the more useful question is what your existing homeowners or renters policy already does and does not cover.

Start there, because most families assume more coverage than they have. A homeowners policy typically covers accidents at your own property and some personal liability, and typically excludes business activities. Whether a teenager mowing a neighbor's lawn for money counts as a business activity is exactly the sort of thing that depends on the policy wording and the insurer. A phone call to your agent answers it in ten minutes and is the single most useful thing on this page.

Ask two specific questions. Is my kid covered if they damage something while doing paid work at a neighbor's house? And does it change anything that they are being paid?

Where insurance becomes worth genuinely considering: power equipment, ladders and heights, anything involving a vehicle, work inside somebody's home, and anyone getting hired to help. Those carry real exposure, and pressure washing and window cleaning are the two on the idea list where families most often underestimate it.

General liability policies for small operations do exist and are not expensive, though most insurers will need an adult as the policyholder given a minor's contract capacity.

The cheaper protections matter more at this scale than a policy does. Stick to work within actual competence. Photograph a property before starting, which resolves most disputes about whether something was already broken. Say no to the second story windows and the deck that might splinter. And tell a customer immediately if something goes wrong, because the damage is rarely what loses the customer.

If your kid's business has grown to the point where this question feels urgent rather than theoretical, that is the signal to talk to an agent properly rather than reading about it.

This is a starting point rather than a ruling. Policies differ enormously and none of this is insurance advice.