CLEANING SERVICES
Commercial Cleaners Insurance
Cover built around what commercial cleaning actually involves: the property you work on, the keys you hold and the people you employ.
Public Liability Does Not Cover What You Are Cleaning
Cleaning business insurance covers the things that actually go wrong on a job: damage to a client's premises, an injury on site, or a claim from someone you have never met. We arrange business insurance for cleaning firms of every size, from a two-person operation to a contractor covering offices across the region.
Most people searching for insurance for cleaning businesses are not sure what they need. Business cleaning insurance usually starts with public liability, since that is what answers a claim for damage or injury at a client's site. Employers' liability follows once you take on staff, and equipment cover protects the machines that move between jobs. We arrange cleaning business insurance UK wide, and we will tell you plainly which parts you can do without.
Whether it's general liability insurance, employers liability cover, or specialised policies tailored to industry-specific risks such needle sweep insurance, investing in insurance is a strategic decision that enhances the resilience and credibility of a cleaning business in a competitive market landscape.
We also cover other types of cleaning insurance including domestic cleaning insurance, commercial kitchen, needle sweep & window cleaning.
What Commercial Contracts Ask For
Commercial contracts tend to specify insurance rather than leave it to you, and the numbers are usually the same ones.
£5m public liability is the common ask, rising to £10m on larger contracts, local authority work, and anything on a shared commercial site or in a managed building. Employers’ liability is £10m as standard.
Many contracts go further: naming the client as an indemnified party, requiring evidence of your damage to property being worked upon cover, or asking for a certificate before staff are issued with passes. None of that is difficult arranged up front, and all of it is awkward when a contract start date is a week away.
Send us the insurance clause with your details and we will make sure the certificate says what the client is looking for.
How Much Is Commercial Cleaning Insurance?
Across the cleaning policies we place, premiums start at around £57 a year for a sole trader window cleaner, and a larger contract cleaning business sits well above that. £301.
A commercial contract cleaner with staff sits well above a sole trader working in people's homes, so treat the bottom of that range as belonging to a different kind of business rather than as a target. Turnover, how many people you employ, the type of premises you clean, whether any work is at height, and your claims record are what move it.
These are premiums arranged for other cleaning businesses and are not a quote. Call 02382 000820 and we will go to the market for you.
Check Your Schedule
The extensions cleaning policies most often lack.
- Damage to property being worked upon
- Loss of keys and lock replacement
- Employee dishonesty / fidelity
- Equipment away from your premises
- The limit your contracts demand
- Flexible payment options
- Dedicated account managers
- Out-of-hours contact should you need to make a claim or just have a question
- A quick and easy, pain-free service
- An excellent customer experience
Keys, And Why They Are Their Own Section
Cleaners hold keys, and losing one is not a small claim. On a commercial building with a master suite, a lost key can mean rekeying every lock it opens, and the cost of that is measured in thousands rather than hundreds.
Loss of keys cover pays for replacing locks and keys after a loss, and it is normally an extension rather than something included as standard. Check the limit against the largest building you hold keys for, not the average. Some policies also require keys to be tagged in a way that does not identify the property and stored in a locked cabinet. Sensible practice anyway, and it is often a condition.
Staff, Vetting And Theft Allegations
Cleaners work unsupervised in buildings full of other people’s property, which creates an exposure most policies do not cover as standard: an allegation of theft. Even one that turns out to be unfounded can cost you the contract and the legal fees arguing about it.
Fidelity or employee dishonesty cover is the extension that responds to actual theft by staff. What prevents most of these becoming disputes at all is duller: references taken and kept, a documented key procedure, and knowing which of your people was in which building on which day. Insurers will ask about your vetting, and a straight answer helps the price as well as the claim.
Are Your Cleaners Really Self-Employed?
For employers’ liability purposes, often not. Regardless of what the invoices say. If you control when and how someone works, supply the equipment and materials, and send them to your clients, they will generally count as your employee even if they are self-employed for tax.
That matters because employers’ liability is compulsory the moment you employ anyone, with penalties running to £2,500 for each day uninsured, and because a claim from someone you had not declared is an uncomfortable conversation. Tell us how your people actually work and we will set the policy up to match. Premiums can be paid monthly or annually.
What We Need To Quote
Your annual turnover, how many cleaners you employ and how many are subcontracted, the type of premises you clean, whether any work is above ground-floor level, the limits your contracts require, whether you hold keys and for how many buildings, the value of your equipment, and your claims record for the last five years.
Protect Your Business
So why wait? Protect your business today with CoverTrade's comprehensive insurance coverage. Contact us now to schedule a consultation with one of our expert advisors.
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
Common questions
Does public liability cover damage to the thing I am cleaning?+
Usually not, and this is the exclusion that catches cleaners out more than any other. Standard public liability covers damage to other people's property generally, but most wordings exclude 'property being worked upon'. The carpet you are shampooing, the floor you are buffing, the upholstery you are treating. That is the item most likely to be damaged in a cleaning job. Cover for it is a specific extension, variously called treatment risk, damage to property being worked upon, or custody and control. Check your schedule for it by name.
What insurance do I need for a cleaning business?+
Public liability from £1m, with £2m or £5m depending on what your contracts require. Employers' liability the moment you employ anyone, including part-time and casual cleaners. Cover for damage to property being worked upon, which public liability wordings commonly exclude. Loss of keys, because you hold them. Equipment cover for machines and vacuums. And if you have staff going into client premises unsupervised, consider cover for theft or dishonesty allegations, which standard policies do not include.
How much is commercial cleaning insurance?+
Across the cleaning policies we place, premiums start at around £57 a year for a sole trader window cleaner, and a larger contract cleaning business sits well above that. A commercial contract cleaner with staff sits well above a sole trader working in people's homes. Turnover, how many people you employ, the type of premises you clean, whether you work at height, and your claims record are what move it.
Do my cleaners count as employees if they are self-employed?+
Often yes, for insurance purposes. If you control when and how they work, supply the equipment and materials, and send them to your clients, they will usually count as employees for employers' liability even if they invoice you and call themselves self-employed. Employers' liability is compulsory once you employ anyone, with penalties of up to £2,500 for each day uninsured, so this is worth getting right rather than assuming.
What if a client accuses my cleaner of theft?+
It is a real exposure and standard policies do not cover it. Cleaners work unsupervised in premises full of other people's property, and an allegation (even one that turns out to be unfounded) can cost you a contract and legal fees. Fidelity or employee dishonesty cover is the extension that responds to actual theft by staff. Vetting, references and a documented key procedure are what stop most of these becoming disputes in the first place.
What limits do commercial cleaning contracts require?+
Public liability starts at £1m, and £5m or £10m is what larger contracts, local authority work and shared commercial sites tend to ask for. Employers' liability is £10m as standard. Many contracts also require you to name the client as an indemnified party, and some ask for evidence of your damage to property being worked upon cover specifically. Send us the insurance clause with your quote request and we will make the certificate match it.
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