Is equipment delivered to a site but not yet installed covered?

Not automatically. A shop property policy may stop at your premises, and general liability does not insure your own property; an installation floater is the usual answer.

Does general liability cover a refrigerant release?

It depends on the policy's pollution exclusion and any endorsement to it. Ask how refrigerant is treated and whether cleanup costs are included.

Is the L&I registration bond the same as insurance?

No. Registration with L&I calls for a surety bond and, separately, proof of a general liability policy. The bond is a condition of registering; the policy is the insurance.

What is stop-gap coverage?

Employer's liability coverage. Washington's state fund policy leaves it out, so it is purchased separately, usually as an endorsement, to answer claims the L&I policy does not.

Business · By industry · HVAC contractors

HVAC contractor insurance in Washington

For heating, cooling and refrigeration contractors in Washington, from a one-van service technician to crews installing systems in new buildings. The insurance questions follow the work: a rooftop unit waiting for a crane, refrigerant, the subcontract a general contractor requires, the people on roofs and in crawl spaces. Each lands on a different policy, so these are the areas to review.

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Who this page is for

Residential heating and cooling installers and service technicians
Commercial HVAC and refrigeration contractors
Contractors who also install wood, pellet or gas stoves

What to review

The questions that matter

Certificates, subcontracts and general liability

On a commercial install the general contractor's subcontract usually arrives before the equipment does, and it tells you what insurance to show. General liability is the policy behind the certificate: it responds when your work is blamed for an injury or for damage to property you do not own, and property managers who hire you for service work ask for much the same. Watch for four provisions: the GC or owner as an additional insured, your coverage primary and non-contributory, a waiver of subrogation, and limits above what you carry. Each is a question for the policy, not something to assume it does.

Refrigerant, equipment left on site and finished work

Two exposures are particular to the trade. A furnace or rooftop unit waiting on site for a crane can be stolen or damaged, and a shop property policy may not reach it; an installation floater is the usual question. Refrigerant is the other: a release can bring a general liability policy's pollution exclusion into play, and those exclusions can be broad. Ask how the policy treats refrigerant and whether a pollution endorsement is available. A system that fails after you leave is a completed operations question.

Gauges, recovery machines and hand tools

The tools of the trade, manifold gauges, recovery machines, vacuum pumps, brazing kits and hand tools, ride in the van from one call to the next, and a property policy written around your shop may not follow them out. Inland marine coverage, typically sold as a tools and equipment floater, is the usual way to insure items in the van, on a job and in storage. Before buying it, ask how items are valued, whether unscheduled tools carry a per-item limit, and whether theft from a vehicle is covered.

Service vans, trucks and technicians' cars

A service fleet, from the installer's box truck to the technician's van, needs commercial auto, with each business-titled vehicle listed. Technicians who drive their own cars to a job or a supply house are a different exposure, hired and non-owned auto, because the business can be named after a crash in a vehicle it does not own. That coverage answers for the business, not for the technician's car. The tools in the van raise one more question for the policy: whether a theft from the vehicle is covered under auto or under the equipment floater.

Workers' compensation through L&I

Most Washington employers insure workers' compensation through the Department of Labor & Industries, not a private carrier; the state fund is the insurer. L&I decides which risk classifications apply to an employer by looking at the nature of the work, assigns a base rate to each classification, and adjusts the employer's rate by its experience factor. L&I's classification plan places installation, service and repair of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and furnace systems in classification 0307, with wood, pellet and gas stoves as a subcode; confirm your own assignment with L&I, because the assignment follows the work performed, not the trade name. Stop-gap employer's liability is bought separately; the L&I policy does not include it.

What Washington asks of HVAC contractors

Contractor registration with L&I is Washington's requirement for construction contractors. It comes with a surety bond, $30,000 for a general contractor and $15,000 for a specialty contractor at the amounts in effect since July 1, 2024, and proof of general liability insurance with L&I as certificate holder. L&I's registration page distinguishes the two: a general contractor can perform most types of construction work and hire subcontractors, while a specialty contractor works only in the specialty it registered. Which description fits your business decides the bond. L&I also notes that electrical and plumbing work carry additional licensing requirements, so ask which apply when an install includes electrical connections or piping. The registration bond is not insurance and does not replace a liability policy.

Umbrella for contract limits above the primaries

Larger general contractors commonly specify liability limits that a standard policy does not carry, and the gap is usually closed with a commercial umbrella written above general liability, commercial auto and employer's liability. The umbrella only adds limits to policies it lists beneath it. Beyond that, ask whether it follows the primary policies' terms or brings exclusions of its own; for an HVAC contractor the pollution exclusion is the one to read, because refrigerant can fall under it. Ask too whether the umbrella extends over stop-gap, since employer's liability in Washington is stop-gap coverage bought separately, often as an endorsement to general liability.

Illustrative example

a rooftop unit stolen before the crane arrives

A contractor has a packaged rooftop unit delivered to a retail job on a Friday; the crane is booked for Monday. Over the weekend the unit disappears. Whether a policy pays depends on whether an installation floater or equipment coverage was in place, whether the unit counted as the contractor's property or the owner's under the contract, any site security requirement, and the deductible. The general contractor's builder's risk policy may or may not reach a subcontractor's materials. A real claim depends on the facts and the policy.

What to prepare

The mix of work: residential, commercial, refrigeration, service
Your L&I registration number and assigned risk classification
What your usual general contractors require in their subcontracts
The service fleet, its drivers, and any technicians who use a personal vehicle
Tool and equipment values, plus the value of units typically waiting on site
Number of employees, L&I hours by classification, current policies and recent claims

Request an HVAC contractor insurance review

Questions people ask

Quick answers

Not automatically. A shop property policy may stop at your premises, and general liability does not insure your own property; an installation floater is the usual answer.
It depends on the policy's pollution exclusion and any endorsement to it. Ask how refrigerant is treated and whether cleanup costs are included.
No. Registration with L&I calls for a surety bond and, separately, proof of a general liability policy. The bond is a condition of registering; the policy is the insurance.
Employer's liability coverage. Washington's state fund policy leaves it out, so it is purchased separately, usually as an endorsement, to answer claims the L&I policy does not.

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