Pressure Washing Insurance – Cost and Types of Policies

When you are operating a business that is offering services for high-pressure cleaning, you are working with sophisticated and potentially dangerous equipment.

So there are many risks of injury, damage or equipment loss.

To protect your financial interests, you need to take out pressure washing insurance that can cover your liabilities in case something goes wrong.

Make sure that the money you have tied up in your business equipment isn’t lost through theft or vandalism.

We are speaking in this article mainly about businesses running pressure washing services.

Still, a lot of what we are saying also applies to your operations if you are running power washing services.

The main difference between pressure washing and power washing is the temperature of the water being used by the machinery. 

Pressure washing works at normal water temperatures, and gets its job of removing dirt, algae, and grime by pumping the water out at very high pressures.

On the other hand, power washing uses heated water and special chemicals to do the cleaning effectively. 

What this means is that some of the risks are different between pressure washing and power washing. 

Pressure washers use an electric or gas-powered pump to boost water pressure by up to 80 times normal tap pressures.

You may get around 50 psi (pounds per square inch) pressure from a garden hose or house tap, but professional pressure washers can generate as much as 4000 psi.

Their primary usage is to blast away stains from hard surfaces without damaging the material beneath.

Power washing uses hot water and special chemicals that dissolve all adhering dirt, oils and grime, and wash the polluted surface with clean water. 

In this article, we discuss the risks that a business offering pressure washing services must face.

Still, if you are running a power washing service, you can learn a lot from what we have written.

What are the risks that a Pressure Washing business should insure for?

All business owners have to protect themselves from lawsuits in case something unforeseen happens and a jury decides they are liable. 

Business liability insurance

These liabilities fall into two main categories:

General liability means that any business must operate with due care that other people are not injured, and their property is not damaged, by the business operations.

For this protection, you need to take out General liability insurance – which is sometimes referred to as “trips-and-falls” insurance, because it covers you in case someone visiting the place where you are working trips over something you have left lying on the floor.

Injuries resulting from a fall, or damage to their clothing or any other property, can cause them to sue you for recovery.

The claim can be settled by an agreed amount, or else needs to be defended in court.

You can then be faced with the double-up of legal fees of the other party as well as your own if a jury decides that you were in fact at fault and are liable.

Professional liability insurance is necessary for a pressure washing business because it is not always possible to get exactly the result that you promised or tried to achieve.

If, as a result of the work, something went wrong and the area of work itself, or space surrounding it, was damaged, then the customer may sue your business for recovery of the costs of repairs or replacement.

A typical scenario could be where you have been contracted to pressure clean a carport, including the walls and windows.

Suppose the operator of the machinery accidentally blows out some roofing or windows. In that case, the owner of the property can claim back the costs of repairs.

It’s important to know that professional liability insurance is not involved in payment disputes.

Suppose a customer decides that your work was not satisfactory and refuses to pay.

In that case, this is not something that is covered by professional liability cover.

Suppose you own a building or any property where you are operating your pressure washing business or leasing space from a landlord.

In that case, they can be protected with Commercial property insurance from damage caused by fires, storms, or earthquakes.

You can also protect your property’s value in case of deliberate damage like sabotage or vandalism. To cover these risks, you should have.

You probably are leasing trucks or vans if your work is happening on customers’ sites.

When you are transporting equipment and workers between your premises and customer sites, you need to cover the risks of accidents, theft and all other possibilities with Commercial Auto insurance.

It’s important to know that your private auto insurance does not cover you when using your personal car for any work purposes.

Commercial vehicle cover also provides for higher levels of claims – up to $1 million if there is a major claim.

To operate a modern and competitive pressure cleaning business, you need to have invested a lot of money in the equipment you need.

Pressure cleaners do not come cheap, and you could lose their value quickly in case of accidents, theft or vandalism.

Equipment Insurance gives you the satisfaction of knowing that if any of these happen, you will be able to immediately replace anything missing and be refunded by the pressure washing and window cleaning insurance company.

What could full pressure washing insurance cost?

Because every business is unique, we can’t say exactly what your own pressure washing business insurance cost will be.

The main factors that will influence the cost are the level of cover you decide to take, whether you accept paying a certain amount on each claim (known as the “deductible claim”), and your own history of insurance claims.

Insurance companies judge the level of all the risks they take and try to quote a fair premium.

Still, because we have experience with many other companies that work in businesses involved in similar kinds of work, such as electricians,  painters, handymen, solar panel installers, roofing repairers, plumbers, field service technicians and glaziers, we can give you some ideas about what small, medium and large companies can expect to pay for their pressure washing small business insurance.

FAQ

How to find the right pressure washing insurance companies where your business is located.

You can start by getting quotes from insurance agents and brokers located around where you will be based.

Searching the subject on Google is another way of getting good information.

We always advise you to get three or four quotes from different companies, but don’t simply choose the cheapest pressure washing insurance.

Make sure that all of the risks you need to face are covered by the policies.

Have there been cases where pressure washing accidents have resulted in serious injury?

One reported incident in Texas nearly required the amputation of a hand.

Thanks to the rapid intervention of a surgical team, the team of doctors saved the hand.

There are even some reports in The Natural Library of Medicine journals of fatal injuries.

Doctors reported another severe injury in Tennessee that caused severe laceration to the leg along with major vascular damage.

Do you get other benefits from having good insurance coverage?

Many potential customers will rather do business with a company that can demonstrate that they have full insurance.

The reason for this is they then are sure that in case there is any reason to go to court, they will get whatever amount the court decides on from the insurance company, and not have to worry that your business can’t pay the settlement without going bankrupt.

You can request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from your insurance company that can be displayed to your customers and included in your marketing.

This will bring customers to your operation in preference to your opposition when they don’t have such pressure washing insurance and bond.