What Coverage Does a Small Cleaning Business Need?

You don’t need a large janitorial company with dozens of employees to have business risks. A one-person residential cleaner, a small office cleaning company, or an owner working with a few helpers can all face unexpected situations.

You’re working inside someone else’s home or business. You may handle furniture, electronics, flooring, fixtures, and other property. You may carry cleaning equipment and supplies from job to job and drive to several customer locations in the same day.

Business insurance can help protect the cleaning business you’ve worked to build—but different risks may require different types of coverage.

The Short Answer

What Insurance Should a Small Cleaning Business Consider?

A cleaning business may need general liability, a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP), workers’ compensation, commercial auto, business property or equipment coverage, and potentially a business bond. Other coverage may become relevant depending on whether you have employees, what types of properties you clean, and how your business operates.

Inside Your Customer’s Property

When Your Workplace Belongs to Someone Else

A cleaning business is different from a business where customers simply walk into a store. Your work often takes place inside someone else’s home, office, store, apartment building, or other property.

That means you’re regularly around property that doesn’t belong to you. Floors, furniture, appliances, electronics, windows, fixtures, artwork, and personal belongings may all be around you while you work.

Even when you’re careful, accidents can happen. That’s one reason insurance can be especially important for a cleaning business.

A Simple Example

One Cleaning Job Can Create More Than One Type of Risk

You’re cleaning a customer’s home. While working, cleaning solution accidentally damages an expensive surface. Later, the homeowner walks across an area you’re cleaning, slips, and alleges that the accident caused an injury.

Now imagine you also had someone helping you that day and that person was injured while carrying cleaning equipment.

Those situations involve different exposures. Customer property, third-party liability, and injuries involving someone working for you may not all be addressed by the same coverage.

Building Your Protection

Insurance a Cleaning Business May Want to Review

The coverage you need depends on what you clean, who works with you, the equipment you use, your customers, and how your business operates.

General Liability

What Happens If Someone Says Your Cleaning Business Caused an Injury?

Cleaning naturally involves wet floors, equipment, supplies, cords, and people moving through the area where you’re working.

For example, a customer or visitor could allege that they slipped in an area you were cleaning and were injured.

General liability insurance may help address certain covered bodily injury and property damage claims made against your business. Commercial customers, property managers, and other clients may also ask you to provide proof of liability insurance before allowing you to perform work.

You’re Working Around Their Property

What If You Accidentally Damage Something While Cleaning?

Even experienced cleaners can have accidents. The wrong product may be used on a surface, equipment may bump into furniture, or an item may accidentally be damaged while you’re working.

The details matter. Coverage for property damage depends on what happened, what property was involved, and the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the applicable policy.

Important

“I’m Careful” Isn’t the Same Thing as “I’m Insured”

Being careful is important, but accidents and allegations can still happen. Insurance is designed to help address qualifying unexpected losses—not replace good business practices. A cleaning business should understand both the precautions it takes and the protection provided by its insurance.

Different Jobs. Different Exposures.

What Type of Cleaning Do You Do?

Not every cleaning business operates the same way. The properties you enter, services you perform, equipment you use, and customers you serve can affect the insurance that should be reviewed.

When Someone Works With You

What If You Have a Helper or Employee?

You may normally clean by yourself but bring someone with you for larger homes, office jobs, move-out cleanings, or busy days. Or your business may grow to the point where someone regularly works alongside you.

Cleaning can involve lifting, repetitive movement, wet surfaces, stairs, equipment, and other situations where someone working for you could be injured.

How a worker is classified can affect your responsibilities. If someone works for your cleaning business, discuss the arrangement with your insurance professional and understand the workers’ compensation requirements that apply in your state.

From One Customer to the Next

Your Cleaning Business May Spend a Lot of Time on the Road

For many cleaners, driving is part of the workday. You may leave home in the morning, travel to several customers, carry cleaning supplies or equipment, and return home after the final job.

Personal auto insurance and commercial auto insurance are not the same. If a vehicle is owned by your business or regularly used for business activities, discuss how the vehicle is being used and whether commercial auto coverage should be considered.

Insurance & Bonding

Does a Cleaning Business Need to Be Bonded?

Customers sometimes ask whether a cleaning company is “insured and bonded.” Insurance and bonds are not the same thing, and a bond does not replace general liability or other business insurance.

Depending on the type of cleaning business and customer requirements, certain bond options may be worth reviewing.

If a customer, property manager, or contract requires you to be bonded, find out exactly what type of bond and amount is required before purchasing it.

Think About Your Business

Questions to Ask About Your Cleaning Business

• Do I clean homes, businesses, or both?
• Do customers give me keys, codes, or access to their property?
• Could I accidentally damage expensive customer property?
• Do I use specialized cleaning machines or equipment?
• Do I have an employee or someone who regularly helps me?
• Do I drive between several cleaning jobs each day?
• Does my vehicle carry business equipment and supplies?
• Do commercial customers ask me for a Certificate of Insurance?
• Does a customer or contract require me to be bonded?
• Would I be able to handle a large claim against my business on my own?

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions Small Cleaning Businesses Ask About Insurance

Insurance for Cleaning Businesses

You Take Care of Your Customers’ Property. Protect the Business Behind the Work.

Tell us what you clean, where you work, whether anyone helps you, and how your business operates. Best Formula Insurance can help you review coverage options that may fit your cleaning business.

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