Solar Contractor Insurance

Solar work is roofing risk plus electrical risk, stacked. Your crew hauls fragile panels onto rooftops, then wires live DC circuits that can't be switched off — panels energize the moment light hits them. Carriers see two high-risk trades in one class code, and they price accordingly.

The most common claim, though, is neither a fall nor a fire. It's water. Every mount is a lag bolt through the roof — dozens of penetrations per install, in a state that gets 37+ inches of rain. One bad seal can leak invisibly for a year before the homeowner finds rot, wet insulation, or mold behind the drywall. Then the claim includes panel removal, roof repair, interior restoration, and remediation: $30,000 to $100,000, routinely. Washington's defect statute (RCW 64.50) keeps you exposed for six years.

Fire is the severity risk. A loose connector arcing under summer load, a botched inverter tie-in — solar electrical fires can take a house with them, and claims above $500,000 aren't hypothetical. That's why Washington requires solar contractors to carry both L&I registration (with the $15,000 specialty bond) and an electrical contractor license under RCW 19.28 for the wiring.

Your inventory is a claim waiting for a forklift. A single pallet of panels runs $15,000 to $40,000. Job-site theft, transit damage, one tipped lift — inland marine coverage protects the gear, and solar margins are too thin to skip it.

Solar is growing fast in Washington, and carriers are still deciding how they feel about it. Some rate it as roofing. Some as electrical. Some won't touch it. Who's willing to quote you matters as much as what you pay. We work with the markets that actually understand solar's mix — and we make sure completed operations covers the two claims that define the trade: the slow leak and the late fire.