Window Cleaning Insurance: Cost & Quotes From $11

Just like a gutter cleaning business, house cleaning business, or carpet cleaning business, your window cleaning business is exposed to many job-related risks, especially when working on a high-rise building. It's not uncommon to hear about scaffolding accidents as workers try to access hard-to-reach window panels. Such incidents result in injuries or property damages to you or the client. That's enough reason to take out window cleaning insurance.

It's always critical to have personal protection equipment (PPI), but that's a safety measure to protect you and your employees. Your business itself needs protection too. It's critical to insure your window cleaning business so that it is protected from financial losses caused by the potential risks.

Window cleaning company insurance is a tailored plan for your business. It provides protection against the hefty expenses for wrapping up third-party property damage claims and personal injury claims, economic losses resulting from the breakdown or destruction of commercial property, and many more. In this discussion understand what this is, how much it costs, and which companies offer the best perks.

What is Window Cleaning Insurance?

Again, window cleaning insurance is a type of business insurance policy specifically designed for professional window cleaners to protect their businesses from specific risks and liabilities related to their business activities. 

You may take all the necessary measures and precautions to ensure that every cleaning project goes as planned, but you can’t anticipate all eventualities. The resulting lawsuits against your company may mean you splurge hundreds of thousands of dollars, which can shatter your operations. 

You know the scope of work you handle and the services you provide. It would be best to partner with a reputable company and purchase sufficient window cleaning business insurance so that you and your employees have peace of mind when rendering your services. 

Why Do Window Cleaning Businesses Need Insurance?

Whether you offer residential or commercial window cleaning solutions, the risks of third-party property damages and injuries always lurk around. Insurance coverage provides the financial protection needed when you or a member of your team is involved in a lawsuit or any other business-related issues.

Typically, the following professionals require window cleaner insurance:

• Commercial window cleaners

• High-rise window cleaning

• Window pressure washing services

Window Cleaning Liability Insurance

General liability coverage is the first insurance that window cleaning and dry cleaning businesses decide to get. Most companies take out a liability insurance policy as the minimum coverage against common exposures. 

Liability insurance – typically offered in the form of general liability insurance –provides a shield if a client files a claim to hold your company liable for any property damages or bodily injuries sustained because of your operations.

Typically, general liability insurance pays for the following risks:

• The costs for medical treatments when your company causes an injury or illness to a third party

• Reimbursements equal to the current market value of the damaged property owned by a third party

• Court judgments requiring you to compensate an injured third party

• Attorney fees and other legal costs

It is critical to understand that general liability insurance keeps your business as squeaky clean as the windows you work on. Most clients in need of window cleaning services won't hire a contractor until they know that the company carries sufficient general liability coverage. 

We want you to know that personal injury claims and property damage claims aren’t the only exposures covered. General liability insurance can also protect you from advertising injury claims and reputational harm claims. 

Advertising injury coverage is an optional policy in general liability insurance for window cleaners. This one will help you pay defense costs and settlements if someone decides to sue because your business falsely advertised services, slandered another business, or simply copied an ad. 

Window Cleaner’s Professional Liability Insurance

Errors and omissions in window cleaning are rare but they do happen. For example, an employee once used the wrong cleaning agent and left the window of a client looking ugly. There’s also one incident where the employee, while in the process of setting up ladders, broke the client's window out of haste. Whether it’s a careless mistake or one that’s intentional, clients won’t care and will file a claim against your business. 

You should purchase professional liability insurance aside from general liability insurance. This liability policy, also available in janitorial business insurance, roof cleaning, and pool cleaning insurance, provides coverage when a third party sues your window cleaning business for negligence, violation of good faith, misrepresentation, and other acts constituting errors and omissions. 

When purchasing liability insurance, it’s good to look for options that offer general liability coverage and professional liability coverage. By having both, you’ll enjoy foolproof protection against third-party claims.

What Other Types of Insurance Policies Do Window Cleaners Need?

Your liability insurance policy might offer adequate coverage for third-party injuries and property damages. Remember, these are not the only risks you face as a window cleaner. You have employees and commercial properties that need protection too. It would help to include other policies in your window washing insurance. 

Commercial Property Insurance

You need commercial property insurance if you own or lease a commercial building. You store your cleaning equipment, tools, and supplies inside your business building - in other words, the business building itself, as well as the contents inside, are valuable investments you can’t afford to get damaged or lost. 

Protect your business assets with commercial property insurance. Commercial property insurance primarily covers your window cleaning business’s commercial building. If the commercial building is destroyed by fire or extreme weather, then commercial property insurance will pay for reconstruction. If it only got damaged because of fire, extreme weather, theft, and other covered perils, commercial property insurance will pay for building repair. 

Commercial property insurance has business equipment and tools coverage. We’re sure that inside the commercial building are hydrocarts, pumps, pressurizers, scrubbers, gloves, and other tools and equipment for window cleaning. If these get lost or damaged because of fire, theft, and other covered perils, business and tools equipment coverage will reimburse losses or provide replacements.

Workers' Compensation Insurance

Most states require window cleaning businesses with employees to have workers' compensation insurance.  Workers compensation insurance is required so that businesses can adequately take care of employees who were injured or sick because of work.  

Window cleaners do face hazards while working. Here’s an example from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration:

• On November 21, 2012, Employee #1, a 40-year-old male with HSG Professional Window Cleaner, was working at Disneyland Resort. Employee #1 was descending from the top exterior working platform of the Space Mountain building using a controlled descent apparatus (CDA), when the working line's shackle separated from the anchorage point that it was attached to. Prior to the descent, Employee #1 failed to connect his independent safety line and his working line to an approved tie back or other approved anchorage point, causing Employee #1 to fall approximately 45 ft. down a 32 degree sloped exterior building panel and into a rigid structure at the base. Employee #1 suffered severe and traumatic injuries, including but not limited to broken bones and lacerations, resulting in hospitalization in excess of 24 hours for treatment and surgery. HSG, Inc. was a large organization that specializes in professional window cleaning, and Employee #1 was a full-time employee that had worked for this employer for approximately ten years

Going back to the topic, workers compensation insurance will take care of employee hospitalization, treatment, and rehabilitation. It’s possible for an employee to die because of a window cleaning accident. And so, workers compensation insurance also provides death benefits. 

Umbrella Liability Insurance 

Your general liability policy comes with a coverage limit that you choose when purchasing your policy. Sometimes a single claim can go over your policy limit, leaving you with no other option but to break your business account to cover the remaining amount. 

Consider this scenario: your liability policy has a $500,000 coverage limit, and the court awards a claimant $1 million as compensation. Without umbrella liability coverage, your business will have to cover the rest, which can devastate your company's finances. But if you carry umbrella liability insurance, it will cater for the rest. You won't have to spend a dime from your business account.

Window Cleaning Van Insurance

Whether you own a single business van or a fleet of business vans, you need a tailored commercial van insurance policy to cover them. You or your employee might cause an accident while driving your commercial vehicle. This insurance plan can help you pay for medical expenses for any injured road users and repair or replacement costs for damaged properties.

Window cleaning van insurance doesn’t only take care of your liability for accidents the commercial van caused.  Insurance companies typically include additional protection such as:

• Physical damage coverage

• Medical payments or personal injury protection

Medical Payments/Personal Injury Protection

Medical payments or personal injury protection is an inclusion in window cleaning van insurance.  Medical payments or personal injury protection will shoulder:

• Extensive nursing services

• Emergency treatment

• Hospitalization

• Medical treatments and procedures

Your window cleaning business will get medical payments coverage if it’s in a no-fault state. On the other hand,  personal injury protection coverage is available for your window cleaning business if it’s in a fault state . 

Physical Damage Coverage

You might already know how physical damage coverage works by its name. Physical damage coverage will take care of the damages to your window cleaning business’s commercial van. This has two forms - collision physical damage coverage and comprehensive physical damage coverage. 

Collision physical damage coverage will cover parts repair or replacement if your window cleaning van was damaged after colliding with an object or another vehicle. On the other hand, comprehensive physical damage coverage will take care of parts repair or replacement if the window cleaning van incurred damage because of fire, theft, extreme weather, vandalism, and other covered perils. 

High Rise Window Cleaning Insurance

High-rise window cleaners go to extreme lengths and heights to work on windows. They often work from the building's exterior to effectively clean the window panes. You can imagine the severity of injuries and property damages that may occur if a scaffold fails and an employee (together with the cleaning equipment) falls while working on a skyscraper's 40th floor. 

Such an incident can result in severe injuries for the employee and anyone hit by the falling equipment and tools. Suppose a car is parked on the ground below and the falling objects damage the vehicle's sunroof. You'll incur significant financial losses after the injured parties file claims against your window cleaning business. 

Human error is innate, and you can't anticipate or escape it. High rise window cleaners insurance can cover the claimants' medical expenses and settlement fees. It also pays for the repairs and replacement costs of the damaged properties. 

Besides, high-rise window cleaning insurance has several other benefits.

• General contractors often outsource surplus work, and they might want to hire subcontractors. If you run a small window washing company, liability insurance can help you secure more work from a general contractor, who'll be at ease knowing that you have the necessary coverage to undertake the job.

• If you're an ambitious manager who wants to expand your business by bidding on municipal and federal window cleaning contracts, it's almost mandatory to hold adequate coverage.

• High-rise window cleaning insurance instills confidence among your clients and other end-users, knowing their needs are handled by a company with active insurance coverage against property damages and injuries.

Window Cleaning Insurance Costs

Window cleaning insurance cost varies based on different factors. Generally, small businesses can expect to pay lower monthly rates than large companies. Suppose you're shopping for pressure washing and window cleaning insurance. In that case, the average cost of window cleaning insurance is $54 per month or $648 annually for general liability coverage with a $1 million -  $2 million limit. 

Just like when calculating the pricing of house cleaning insurance, your carrier will consider several factors to give you an exact window cleaner insurance price. These factors include:

• Business location

• Number of employees

• The services you provide (residential or commercial)

• Business property and equipment 

• Annual and projected revenue

• Policy limits and deductibles

• The types of policies purchased

You can also get an idea about the cost of window cleaning insurance by looking at the price of the window cleaning insurance quote from numerous insurance companies. Since there are many, it’s best if you only look at the rates of the best carriers. The table below already did the job and all you have to do is check it out:

Combine General Liability and Commercial Property Coverage in a Business Owner's Policy (BOP)

Insurance companies often recommend buying a business owner's policy (BOP), which combines general liability and commercial property insurance. Purchasing a BOP lets you save on window cleaning insurance cost instead of spending more when you purchase the policies separately.