Pressure washing services insurance checklist: what a pressure washing company should carry

The pressure washing company insurance checklist

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Pressure washing services usually carry general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto. Pressure and soft-wash companies spray water and bleach-based chemicals on siding, building tops and lots, send the runoff to the storm drain, and etch the window a customer never forgets. The property manager and the permit office ask for proof of each. The checklist below says what every item does, who requires it and how to check it on the policies you already have.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Who asks a pressure washing company for what

Who	What they usually want to see
Property managers & HOAs	General liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation
Cities, counties & permits	General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract
Landlords & commercial leases	General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

How to check what you already have

General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
Auto schedule. Every vehicle listed with the right garaging address and use; symbols that include hired and non-owned auto; physical damage with the lender as loss payee where the vehicle is financed.
Equipment schedule. Owned items scheduled above the per-item threshold, a blanket limit for small tools, leased or rented equipment included, and the valuation (replacement cost or actual cash value).
Pollution liability. Site-based or contractors form, claims-made or occurrence, the materials named (mold, asbestos, lead, fuels), and transport and disposal coverage.
Hired and non-owned auto. Look for the symbols 8 and 9 or an endorsement by that name on the auto or general liability policy; without it, staff in their own cars are uninsured on company business.
Employment practices declarations. Limit and retention, third-party coverage for claims by customers, and whether wage-and-hour claims carry any defence sublimit.

What usually goes wrong for pressure washing companies

Chemical runoff into storm drains and a municipal pollution citation.
Etched glass, stripped paint and water behind siding, excluded as property in your care.
Damage to the exact thing you are working on is excluded on most general liability forms; installation floaters and care, custody and control endorsements fill that hole.
A herbicide drift or fuel spill denied under the pollution exclusion.
Height exclusions on general liability policies written for ground-level work.
Theft from a locked truck overnight with no tools floater, or a per-item limit lower than the one tool that mattered.

What underwriters will ask a pressure washing company

The chemicals used and how runoff is handled, whether work is done on building tops and from lifts, and the residential share
Residential versus commercial split of the work
Whether any work is done above three stories or below grade
Products applied, applicator licences and how fuel and chemicals are stored
The maximum height you work at and how often
Fall-protection practices and training

Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.

Renewal timing

Audits at year end compare payroll, receipts and subcontractor costs with the estimate, so keep the wallet's size figures and the subcontractor certificates current. Start comparing sixty days before expiration, and ask for the limits the next contract will need rather than the ones the last one did.

Questions people actually ask

Is runoff from our chemicals a pollution exposure?

Yes, and municipalities enforce it. A pollution endorsement covers the citation and cleanup that general liability excludes; capturing or neutralising runoff on commercial jobs is what keeps the citation from happening.

We damaged siding on a house we were washing. Covered?

The siding was the property you were working on, so many general liability forms exclude it under care, custody and control. An endorsement removing the exclusion is the fix for a trade whose every job is someone else's surface.

Does general liability cover damage to a customer's property while I work on it?

It covers damage to the rest of their property, not usually the part in your hands. Many forms exclude property in your care, custody or control, so a pressure washing company that handles valuable items or systems needs an endorsement or an installation floater. The policy explainer in the wallet flags the exclusion when it reads your policy.

Does general liability cover a chemical application that damages a neighbour's plants?

Most general liability forms exclude pollutants, and pesticides and fertilisers count. A pollution endorsement or a separate contractors pollution policy is what responds, and licensed applicators are often required by the state to carry it.

Do I need workers' comp if my crew is small?

Most of the licensed states require it from the first employee, and general contractors require it from every sub whatever the size, because an uninsured sub's payroll is charged to their policy at audit. The state pages list each threshold with its source.