What Type Of Insurance Do I Need For A Cleaning Business?

As a cleaning professional, you face various risks while on the job, and to meet those risks head-on, you need to have the proper insurance coverage in place. If you don’t have insurance yet, you may wonder, “What type of insurance do I need for a cleaning business?”

A simple online search will show you more than enough results to make you question insurance even further. But before you push forward with your cleaning business insurance search, we want to explain some coverages you should look for in a policy.

GENERAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

Consider this: just one incident could wipe out your business for good — unless you’re prepared with the proper insurance coverage. That’s where general and professional liability can help. This type of coverage can respond to bodily injury or property damage claims that you could be legally obligated to pay due to your business operations. Here’s an example if you’re confused about when this coverage would apply:

Unbeknownst to you at the time, you accidentally spill a cleaning substance on your client’s expensive designer rug. Unfortunately, the stain has set in, and your client is so distraught over the incident that they take you to court.

Without liability insurance protection, you could be looking at a lawsuit that personally costs you hundreds to thousands of dollars. Depending on the covered claim, our policy offers a $1 million per occurrence limit that could help you out.

EMPLOYEE DISHONESTY INSURANCE

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates businesses lose 5% of their annual revenue to employee fraud and abuse. Small businesses—particularly those with fewer than 150 employees—are the most vulnerable to employee fraud schemes. As a business owner, you should consider adding employee dishonesty insurance to your risk management strategy because it may protect you from financial loss. Insurance providers design this type of coverage to recover inventory and revenue should an employee commit fraud.

Here’s when it could come into play:

Let’s say an employee of a janitorial business is cleaning an office and finds two envelopes full of cash inside someone’s desk drawer. They steal the money and end up purchasing a car.

You could be out of a great deal of money and ruin your relationship with that client if you’re not careful. With the help of our trusted partner, CNA Surety, you can protect your business from these situations.

EQUIPMENT & TOOLS INSURANCE

Cleaning gloves, dusters, and all-purpose cleaners, oh my! Cleaning professionals have many tools at their disposal. Some of these supplies have small price tags, while others are more expensive. If you’re not careful, you could have to deal with the theft of those items.

Equipment and tools coverage (also referred to as inland marine coverage) can cover materials transported over land or stored in an off-site location. You want to keep in mind that equipment and tool coverage will not cover:

• property at a fixed location (like in a building)
• your vehicle (the policy only covers items in transport)
• and any type of transport over water (it’s only designed to protect items transported over land)

Here’s an example of when you might use it:

You leave your last cleaning appointment and drive to a nearby diner to grab something to eat. While waiting for your food, someone breaks into your car and steals the company tablet used for transactions. You file a police report to report the tablet as stolen.

In this case, your equipment insurance could cover your loss for the tablet and broken window, helping to ease the stress of this unfortunate situation. 

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Workers’ compensation responds to medical expenses, lost wages, and rehabilitation costs for employees who are injured or become sick due to their job. This coverage could also pay death benefits to families of employees who are killed while on the job. This type of insurance gives your business additional protection should one of your employees get injured while on the job.

Let’s say your employee is vacuuming a client’s living room and strains themselves moving furniture. Since it’s a work-related injury, workers’ compensation insurance can respond to the costs relating to rehabilitation.

You can fill out a workers’ compensation insurance application and get in touch with a licensed agent today.

At Insurance Canopy, we pride ourselves in offering cleaning business insurance that is both suited for cleaning professionals and designed to protect your business from third-party claims. If you’re ready to protect your cleaning business, you can purchase your policy today And if you’d like more guidance, our licensed agents are happy to help.

All policies have conditions, limitations, and exclusions; please read the policy for exact verbiage. Claim scenario circumstances vary in nature, and similar claims do not guarantee coverage.