General Liability Insurance
General liability is the cornerstone of pressure washing insurance. It protects you against third-party property damage and bodily injury claims — etched concrete, broken windows, overspray drift, and customers slipping on wet surfaces.
General Liability for Pressure Washing Contractors
High-pressure water is powerful enough to strip paint, etch concrete, and shatter glass in an instant. General liability (GL) is the policy that responds when your work damages a customer's property or injures a third party — and it's required by virtually every commercial client and property manager.
What GL Covers
- Property damage: Etched concrete, stripped paint, broken windows, damaged screens, light fixtures, and landscaping
- Overspray drift: Detergent or water overspray that drifts onto vehicles, neighboring buildings, or plants
- Water intrusion: Water forced behind siding, under doors, or into a building causing interior damage
- Bodily injury: A customer or passerby who slips on a wet surface you created
- Personal & advertising injury: Libel, slander, or advertising-related claims
Why Pressure Washers Are Higher-Risk
Few trades cause property damage as easily as pressure washing. A few seconds too long on soft wood, a wrong nozzle on a painted surface, or wind catching your spray, and you have a claim. Because you work directly on the customer's most visible surfaces — driveways, siding, decks, storefronts — the margin for error is small and the claims are frequent.
Certificates for Commercial Clients
Property managers, HOAs, retail chains, and general contractors require a certificate of insurance naming them as additional insured before you set foot on site. We issue certificates and additional insured endorsements same-day so you never lose a job waiting on paperwork.
What GL Does NOT Cover
GL has a pollution exclusion — it does not cover runoff, chemical discharge, or environmental claims (that's pollution liability). It also won't cover your own equipment (tools & equipment) or your vehicles (commercial auto). It's one essential layer of a complete program.
What's Covered
Frequently Asked Questions
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the standard most commercial clients, property managers, and HOAs require. Larger commercial accounts sometimes require higher limits backed by a commercial umbrella.
It depends. GL covers damage to surrounding property, but damage to the specific item you're working on can fall under care, custody & control limitations. We make sure your policy is structured to cover the realistic property-damage exposures of pressure washing.