Window cleaning is rated on how you reach the glass. A reach and wash pole operator working from the ground is a different risk from somebody on a ladder at second floor level, and different again from a firm using a powered platform on a commercial contract. Insurers ask the method first, and the answer moves the premium further than the turnover does.
Reach and wash, ladders, and the height question
Pole systems keep the operator on the ground and are the cheapest method to insure for that reason. Ladder work is governed by the Work at Height Regulations 2005, which require height work to be avoided where reasonably practicable and properly planned where it cannot be, and the Health and Safety Executive publishes what safe ladder use looks like. A round that uses ladders should say so and should be able to describe how they are footed, secured and inspected.
Water, and the damage claims that follow it
The characteristic window cleaning claim is not a fall, it is water: an open window, a poorly sealed frame, a conservatory roof, or a run of water into a commercial unit below. That is third party property damage and sits in public liability, subject to any exclusion for property in your care, custody or control, which is worth checking because the glass and frame are the thing being worked on.
Commercial contracts and the platform
Office blocks, schools and retail parks set the limit, commonly five million pounds, ask for evidence before access is granted, and sometimes require a method statement. Where a powered access platform or a cradle is used the exposure changes again and both the operator's training and the equipment's inspection regime become part of the underwriting. Hired access equipment is also the hire company's property and your contractual responsibility.
The van, the tank and the kit
A reach and wash van carries a tank, a filtration system and poles, and the water in the tank changes the vehicle's handling and its weight class. The van needs motor cover in the right use class, the equipment needs a tools section, and the tank installation is a modification that should be declared. None of that is difficult and all of it is the sort of detail that decides a total loss settlement.
Questions people ask about insurance for window cleaners
What insurance do window cleaners need?
Public liability at the limit commercial contracts require, employers' liability once anybody is employed, equipment cover for poles, tanks and filtration, and motor cover for the van in the right use class. Cover for damage to property being worked on is worth checking specifically.
Does the method affect the premium?
Substantially. Reach and wash from the ground is cheaper to insure than ladder work, and powered access on commercial contracts changes the rating again. Insurers ask the method before the turnover.
What limit do commercial contracts ask for?
Five million pounds is the usual figure for offices, schools and retail parks, with two million common for domestic rounds. The contract or the site induction names it and evidence is asked for before access.
Am I covered if water gets inside a building?
Water damage to a third party's property is what public liability answers for where you are liable, subject to any care, custody and control exclusion covering the glass and frames themselves. That exclusion is the one to check on this trade.