Glaziers, Window and Door Contractors Insurance
Glazing has an unusual risk profile because the product is fragile before it is fitted, heavy while it is being fitted, and a security and fire barrier once it is. Breakage in transit and handling is a routine cost of business. Manual handling injuries are the most common employers liability claim. And once installed, a window or door that fails to perform can involve a compliance question rather than simply a defect.
The compliance element catches people out. Fire rated glazing, safety glass in critical locations, and thermal performance in replacement windows are all regulated, and installing the wrong specification is not just a workmanship issue. Where a fire rated screen turns out not to be, the exposure runs well beyond the value of the glass.
We arrange cover for glaziers, window and door installers and shopfront contractors, covering both domestic replacement work and commercial glazing, and the practical detail is usually about glass in transit, working height and whether you fit fire rated products.
What actually goes wrong
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Breakage in transit and handling
Glass breaks between the supplier and the opening, and a bespoke unit has a lead time that a stock item does not. Cover needs to extend to glass in transit and being handled, not just once installed, and on large commercial units the value of a single pane justifies attention.
Manual handling injury
Sealed units are heavy, awkward and often carried up stairs or through occupied buildings. Back and hand injuries are the dominant employers liability claim in this trade, and lifting aids and two person procedures are what underwriters ask about.
Working at height on shopfronts and upper floors
Replacing windows on upper floors and glazing shopfronts means working from access equipment above pavements and, in retail, above the public. Dropped glass in a public area is a serious injury exposure.
Fire rated and safety glazing compliance
Fire resisting screens, doors and safety glass in critical locations are regulated products with specified performance. Fitting the wrong specification, or compromising a certified system with incorrect beads or seals, creates a liability that a workmanship discussion does not capture.
Water ingress and sealed unit failure
Poorly sealed frames let water into a wall, and misted sealed units are the most frequent domestic complaint. Both are usually product or workmanship disputes rather than insurance claims, but where water damages a finished interior the consequential damage is a liability matter.
The cover we arrange
Policies are put together around how you work. Employers liability is included as standard wherever you employ anyone.
Public liability
Third party injury and property damage, including damage caused during installation and injury from broken or dropped glass. £2m for domestic work and £5m where you work on commercial premises or above public areas.
- Injury from broken or dropped glass
- Damage to buildings during installation
- Public areas and shopfronts
- Limits typically £2m, £5m or £10m
Employers liability
Legally required and included as standard at £10m. Manual handling and lacerations are the frequent claims, and working at height the severe ones.
- Legally required, £10m as standard
- Manual handling and laceration injuries
- Work at height
- Labour only subcontractors
Goods in transit and glass in handling
Covers glass and frames between supplier, yard and site, and while being manoeuvred into position. Bespoke and oversized units are worth scheduling given lead times and value.
- Glass and frames in transit
- Breakage during handling and installation
- Bespoke and oversized units
- Materials stored at your premises
Contract works
Covers the installation in progress, including glazing fitted but not yet handed over. On commercial contracts this matters where a facade is glazed over weeks and remains exposed to damage.
- Installation work in progress
- Glazing fitted but not handed over
- Materials on site
- Storm and impact damage
Tools and equipment
Suction lifters, glass manipulators, cutting equipment, access towers and hand tools. Glass handling equipment is high value and specialist enough to be worth listing individually.
- Suction lifters and manipulators
- Cutting and sealing equipment
- Access towers and ladders
- Vehicle conditions apply overnight
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Turnover split between domestic replacement, commercial glazing and shopfronts
- Whether you fit fire rated glazing or certified fire resisting systems
- Maximum working height, and whether you work above public areas
- The largest single pane size and value you handle
- Whether you manufacture or only install
- Whether you use mechanical glass handling equipment
- Any out of hours or occupied premises working
- Certification and registration schemes you belong to
- Five years of claims, including breakage and manual handling
What moves the premium
Where the price actually comes from, and which parts of it you can change.
Domestic or commercial
Domestic replacement windows are a relatively contained risk. Commercial glazing, curtain walling and shopfronts carry higher values, greater heights and more public exposure, and rate accordingly.
Working height and access method
Ground floor and first floor work with towers rates differently from upper floor work with powered access or rope access. The access method matters as much as the height.
Pane size and value
Large format glazing raises the breakage and handling exposure sharply. Where you handle oversized units regularly, mechanical handling equipment improves the presentation.
Fire rated work
Fitting certified fire resisting systems introduces a compliance exposure that ordinary glazing does not have, and may point towards professional indemnity alongside the liability cover.
Breakage claims history
Frequent small breakage claims are priced hard. Many glaziers carry breakage as a business cost with a higher excess rather than claiming, which usually produces a better long term outcome.
Conditions and exclusions that catch this trade out
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Breakage of the glass you are working on
Glass in your care, custody and control is normally excluded from public liability, which means the pane you drop is not a liability claim. It needs to sit under a goods in transit or contract works section instead, and where neither exists the breakage is simply a business cost.
Efficacy and performance
Where a window fails to achieve a stated thermal or acoustic performance, that is a performance guarantee rather than damage, and policies generally exclude it. The same applies to misted sealed units, which are a product warranty matter.
Faulty workmanship
Refitting a badly installed window is your cost. Damage that the faulty installation causes, such as water damage to plaster and flooring, is a claim. The distinction matters because customers usually expect both to be covered.
Height restrictions
Standard wordings may restrict work above a stated height. Curtain walling and upper floor commercial glazing can exceed it, and where you use rope access or specialist equipment that needs declaring separately.
Fire rated products fitted incorrectly
Compromising a certified fire resisting system, by using incorrect beads, seals or fixings, can create a professional liability rather than a simple defect. Public liability may respond to resulting damage but not to the cost of replacing a non compliant installation.
Common questions
Is glass I break during installation covered by my insurance?
Not by public liability, which excludes property in your care, custody and control, and the pane you are fitting is exactly that. Breakage needs to be covered under goods in transit or a contract works section, and many glaziers carry it deliberately with a higher excess because small breakages are frequent enough that claiming for them damages the renewal. What public liability does cover is injury caused by broken glass and damage to the surrounding building.
What public liability limit do window fitters need?
£2m is typically enough for domestic replacement work, though many customers now expect more. £5m is the standard requirement for commercial contracts, shopfronts and anything on a main contractor's site, and £10m appears on larger commercial work. Since working above a public pavement raises the exposure regardless of the contract value, shopfront work generally justifies the higher limit whatever the client asks for.
Do I need extra cover for fitting fire rated glazing?
It is worth raising specifically. Fire resisting screens and doors are certified systems, and the certification depends on the whole assembly including beads, seals and fixings. Fitting a system incorrectly, or substituting a component, can compromise the fire performance, and the exposure if that is discovered after a fire runs well beyond the value of the glazing. This edges into professional liability territory rather than ordinary workmanship, so it should be declared rather than assumed.
Are misted sealed units an insurance claim?
Normally no. A failed sealed unit is a product failure and is dealt with under the manufacturer's warranty or your own guarantee, not under a liability policy. Insurance responds to damage and injury, not to a product not performing as promised, and efficacy is usually excluded explicitly. Where the failure lets water into a wall and damages plaster and flooring, that consequential damage may be a liability claim even though the unit itself is not.
What insurance do I need to work on shopfronts?
The same core covers with attention to two things. The public liability limit should reflect working directly above a pavement, so £5m or £10m rather than £2m, because dropped glass in a busy street is a serious injury exposure. And if you work out of hours, which shopfront work usually requires, check what the policy says about working in premises when they are closed and about any alarm or security systems being isolated while you work.
Does my insurance cover glass in the van overnight?
It depends on the section and the conditions. Glass and materials in a vehicle are usually covered under goods in transit rather than tools, and both sections carry vehicle warranties requiring the vehicle to be locked and often alarmed. Many wordings also restrict cover between stated overnight hours. Vehicle mounted glass frames are a visible target, so it is worth knowing exactly what your wording permits before leaving loaded stock out overnight.
Talk to somebody who knows the trade
Tell us what you actually do and we will come back to you with cover options built around it.