Painting contractor insurance in Spokane
A low-severity trade with one expensive exception — overspray, which travels further than anyone expects and lands on things that are costly to refinish.
Overspray is the claim that defines the trade
A spray rig on an exterior job on a breezy Spokane afternoon can mist a dozen cars in a car park two hundred feet away. Each one is a professional detail or a repaint, and the total gets into five figures before anybody is injured. It is the single most common painting liability claim and the reason masking discipline and wind judgement are underwriting questions, not just craft ones.
Lead paint and the RRP rule
Any disturbance of painted surfaces in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978 falls under the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which requires firm certification and certified renovators. Spokane has a lot of pre-1978 housing stock. Many general liability policies carry a lead exclusion, so the combination of doing RRP work and holding a policy that excludes lead is a genuine uncovered exposure — worth checking the form, not just the certificate.
Heights, and where the rate comes from
Interior painting and exterior painting rate differently, and exterior work above a certain height differently again. Crews doing both frequently get classified at the higher rate across the board. If your mix is mostly interior with occasional exterior, that split is worth documenting properly — it is one of the more reliable savings available in this trade.
Biggest exposures for painters
- Overspray drifting onto vehicles, neighbouring buildings and landscaping
- Lead paint disturbance in pre-1978 properties
- Falls from ladders and scaffolding on exterior work
- Solvent fire and improper rag disposal
Pre-filled for your trade. Two minutes.
Coverage
What painters usually carry
General Liability
The baseline policy.
Read moreWorkers' Compensation
Required in Washington for nearly every employer.
Read moreCommercial Auto
Coverage for the vehicles your business owns, leases, rents or asks employees to drive.
Read moreBusiness Owner's Policy (BOP)
General liability and commercial property bundled into one policy, usually for less than buying them separately.
Read moreQuestions
Painters insurance FAQs
Usually yes, as property damage to someone else’s property. Check the form though — a few carriers restrict or sublimit overspray specifically because the claims are so routine. If you spray exteriors regularly, ask the question before you bind.
If you disturb pre-1978 painted surfaces you need EPA RRP firm certification, and you need a policy that does not exclude lead. Many standard forms do exclude it. The two together are what makes this an uncovered gap for a lot of painters.
Painting is a relatively low-severity class, so rates compare well against other trades. The inputs are payroll, the interior/exterior split, how much work is above ground level and whether you spray. Getting the interior/exterior classification right matters more than shopping the price.
Other trades
We write these too
General Contractors
Registration, a bond, liability and workers’ comp — general contractors carry more moving parts than any trade we write, and the most contract-driven requirements.
Read moreRoofers
The hardest trade in construction to insure, and the one where carrier appetite narrows fastest.
Read moreElectricians
Low claim frequency, high claim severity.
Read morePlumbers
Every job you touch carries water, and water finds its way into places that cost far more to repair than the work you were paid for.
Read moreStart with your trade. We will take it from there.
Tell us what the business does and we will pre-select the coverage it normally needs, then compare carriers for you. About two minutes, no obligation.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (509) 944-0847.