When you own a commercial window cleaning company, you have to do everything you can to protect your business and employees. To do this, you need to make sure you carry the right window cleaning insurance policies, and that the coverage levels you carry will protect you from risk or loss.
Insurance coverage isn’t just vitally important for your business. Your customers will also need to know that your policies also protect them from liability and damages in the event one of your employees, or someone else at their site, is injured while you work. They will also want to make sure you have evidence of coverage for property damage, and that you carry full worker’s compensation coverage too.
Why Does My Business Need Window Cleaner’s Insurance?
Window cleaning can be a very good business venture, with lucrative returns at times. It is also inherently risky, especially if you have employees working at height on scaffolding or rope systems high above the street. Even ladder work on low-rise buildings can come with risks.
Even with all of the safety protocols you have in place, it’s possible that one of your employees could still be injured on the job. The client’s property might also be damaged, if a ladder were to fall and strike a building or falling tools landed below. With the right window cleaning public liability insurance, you can protect your business and minimize any financial impact and risk.
How Much Could an Incident Cost Me Without Insurance?
You have worked incredibly hard to build your commercial window cleaning company, and invested a lot of time and effort to grow your business over the years. You don’t want to see all of your hard work erased because of an accident or incident on one of your job sites. If you were to forego insurance, a single incident like a slip and fall might cost you $20,000 out of pocket. Injury to a client or damage to their property could easily result in you being liable for $30,000 in damages.
Most states will require that you carry appropriate insurance, and in the know customers will surely insist on seeing your evidence of coverage before signing on with you as a client. Your Certificate of Insurance can help you close deals, and build trust with prospective customers.
Paying for Your Insurance Policies
When you work with the right insurance agent, they can create customized coverage that is tailored to your needs and budget. If you are a smaller company just starting out, you don’t need the same plan as a large enterprise that has been in the market for years. You can pay for window cleaning insurance by the month.
When the agent is preparing your quote, they will factor in your annual revenue, location and number of employees. They will take the time to understand your business, and can create a policy that helps protect you against risk and can grow with your business over time.
General Liability Policies
Your general liability policy can cover damages to a client property, slip-and-fall accidents and potential personal injury lawsuits. Basically, it offers you financial protection in case someone other than one of your employees gets hurt. It also covers you in the event you are held responsible for damaging any property that is not owned by you. Potential commercial clients will often require you to have this coverage.
These policies can help pay for medical payments, damage to property and associated legal judgements and fees. In the event that an individual who is not one of your employees is hurt and you were at fault, you’ll be covered under the “bodily injury” clause. If you cause accidental damage to your customer’s physical property, it can help pay for replacement or repairs. It can even pay for reputation harm, in a case such as one where one of your employees libels or slanders your customer.
Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance Policies
In addition to the foundational coverage offered by a General Liability policy, owners of commercial window cleaning companies also find it worthwhile to add umbrella / excess liability coverage. This type of policy boosts the typical limits that would be found on other liability policies carried by a window cleaning business.
Many times potential clients will want to see that you have higher liability limits, so these policies provide a cost-effective way of satisfying those customer requirements. This type of policy can be applied to employer’s liability, commercial auto insurance and general liability insurance claims.
Workers’ Compensation Policies
Most states will require that you have a workers’ compensation policy in place if you have employees. These policies cover medical costs for employees injured or hurt while working for you, as well as disability benefits and any legal fees that accrue from work-related accidents. As a sole proprietor, this type of policy could also help protect you from a work injury expense that may not be covered by your health insurance policy.
If one of your employees is injured on the job, this policy can help pay for necessary medical care and for wages the employee loses due to this work injury. It can pay for expenses such as examinations, treatment and rehabilitation programs. Your injured employee can be compensated for lost wages, which can give them the time they need to recover before returning to the workplace.
Employees can also receive benefits to pay for retraining if they need to move to a new position, or permanent benefits if they can not return to work at all. As an employer, if you did not have this coverage you would be directly liable for all of these costs.
Window cleaning can be inherently risky, and expose a company and its owners to potential liabilities. To protect your valuable business venture against unpredictable events, you need to make sure that you carry full coverage for public liability and workers’ compensation. These policies will help guard you against financial risk, and also protect your potential clients from liability. Providing evidence of insurance will help reassure your clients, and help you close more business. If you want to work with a professional commercial window cleaning company that is fully insured, call us today at (773) 227-4522 or email us at anchors@shineongroup.com. We are ready to serve you, and take care of all your window cleaning needs.
