What insurance does a pressure washing business need?
There's no one-size answer. The right mix depends on how you work, who you work for, and what your contracts ask for. These are the coverages a pressure washing business typically looks at first:
General liability
Covers third-party property damage and injuries, including completed operations for damage that shows up after the job, with the $1,000,000 per-occurrence limit commercial contracts typically require.
Commercial auto
Trucks and trailers hauling rigs and tanks between jobs are business vehicles, and personal auto policies often exclude business use.
Workers' compensation
Slips, chemical exposure, and equipment injuries add up once you have a crew, and this handles their medical costs and lost wages.
Business property
Pressure washers, surface cleaners, and hose reels represent real equipment value, and this helps protect what your schedule depends on against theft and damage.
Coverage always depends on your specific situation. The fastest way to see what fits is to get a quote and review your options.
What does it protect against?
The risks that matter aren't abstract. They're the everyday accidents of the work. A few scenarios that turn into real claims:
Pressure strips paint off siding
You set the nozzle too aggressive on an old wood-sided house and strip paint down to bare wood in streaks. The homeowner's repaint bill is a property damage claim, and it's one of the most common in the trade.
Water forces its way behind trim or windows
High-pressure water finds a gap around a window frame or under a door threshold and soaks the wall cavity behind it. The damage doesn't show until drywall stains or mold appears weeks later, well after the invoice is paid.
A slip on a wet surface
A homeowner walks out to check on the work and slips on the soaked walkway you just cleaned. Third-party injuries at the job site, whether it's a client, a passerby, or another contractor, are a classic general liability claim.
Etched or cracked concrete
Too much pressure at too close a range etches a pattern into a driveway or cracks aging concrete that couldn't take the force. What looked like a routine clean turns into a resurfacing bill charged to your business.
Certificates of insurance
Property managers, HOAs, and commercial clients are the usual sources of a certificate request for pressure washing: most want proof of general liability before you're added to a maintenance schedule, and franchise and commercial contracts often spell out specific limits. Olli's general liability policies include instant certificates, so proof is ready when a contract needs it.
New to certificates? Start with our guide to the certificate of insurance: what's on one, who asks for it, and how to provide yours.