Window Cleaning Insurance UK: What Cover You Need in 2026
Public liability is the one every customer asks about, but it's rarely the only cover you need. Here's what window cleaners in the UK and Ireland actually have to carry, and what each policy really pays for.
Most self-employed window cleaners in the UK carry public liability cover of £1m–£5m, plus tools and equipment cover for their poles, pump and tank. If you employ anyone — including a part-time helper on PAYE — employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, not an option.
1. Public liability — the one customers ask for
Covers injury to other people and damage to their property caused by your work: a pole through a conservatory panel, water damage to an open window, a bucket knocked onto a parked car. £1m is the usual entry level; £5m is often required for commercial contracts, schools, NHS sites and managed estates.
2. Employers' liability — legally required if you employ
If you have employees, UK law requires employers' liability insurance, typically to £10m, and penalties for going without are steep. The grey area most cleaners get wrong is the 'self-employed subbie' who works only for you, in your uniform, on your round — that arrangement can be treated as employment. Check the wording with your broker rather than assuming.
The employment status of a helper affects insurance, tax and holiday pay all at once. Get it confirmed in writing before their first day, not after an incident.
3. Tools, equipment and van contents
A modern water-fed pole setup — poles, brush heads, hose reel, pump, controller, RO/DI system and tank — is easily £3,000–£5,000 of kit sitting in a van overnight. Standard van insurance usually excludes tools left inside. Add a specific tools policy, note whether it covers overnight theft from a vehicle, and keep serial numbers and receipts.
4. Working at height and ladder use
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to any ladder work you do. Many insurers now either exclude ladder work above a set height or charge more for it, which is one reason water-fed poles became the default. If you still use ladders, tell your insurer honestly — an undisclosed ladder claim is the most common way cover fails when it's actually needed.
5. Other cover worth pricing
- Personal accident / income protection — you are the business; a broken wrist stops all revenue.
- Commercial vehicle insurance with business use, not social-domestic-pleasure.
- Professional indemnity if you survey, advise or hold keys.
- Key cover and treatment risk if you enter properties for interior cleans.
- Cyber and data cover if you store customer details and card mandates digitally.
What it typically costs
A sole trader with £2m public liability and modest tools cover commonly pays somewhere in the region of £150–£350 a year in 2026, depending on turnover, ladder use, commercial work and claims history. Adding employers' liability for one or two staff usually pushes the total into the £400–£900 range. Treat these as market ranges to sense-check a quote, not a promise — every broker prices risk differently.
How to prove cover to customers
Ask your insurer for a certificate PDF and keep it where you can send it in seconds. Homeowners rarely read it, but commercial buyers, letting agents and estate managers will always ask, and the ones who ask are the ones who pay on time. Publishing an 'insured to £5m' line on your quote page removes an objection before it's raised.
GDPR and customer data
If you keep names, addresses, photos of properties and payment mandates, you're processing personal data. Register with the ICO if required for your setup, keep records only as long as you need them, and use tools that let you export or delete a customer's data on request.
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