CLEANING SERVICES
Domestic Cleaning Insurance
Domestic cleaners insurance for sole traders and small rounds, arranged by a UK broker. Public liability that answers for damage inside a client's home, cover for the keys you hold, and employers' liability the moment you take anyone on.
The Bit Public Liability Leaves Out
Domestic cleaner insurance is built around the risks of working inside someone else's home: a broken ornament, a damaged floor, or an accident involving the client. We arrange house cleaning insurance for sole traders and for agencies placing cleaners with regular clients.
Insurance for domestic cleaners usually starts with public liability, since that is what answers accidental damage in a client's home. Employers' liability follows once you take on staff, even part-time, and equipment cover protects the machines you carry between jobs. Domestic services insurance can be arranged for a single cleaner or a full round.
What separates domestic cleaning insurance from a commercial cleaning policy is where you work and what you are trusted with. You are alone in an occupied house, often with a key, around possessions nobody has valued and a client who is present. Commercial cover is written around premises, contracts and site rules, so it prices and words the risk differently.
We also cover other types of cleaning insurance including commercial, commercial kitchen, needle sweep & window cleaning.
Working In Someone Else’s Home
Domestic work puts you alone in someone’s house with their possessions, their keys and their trust, and the practical exposures follow from that rather than from anything dramatic.
Their belongings. A knocked television, a broken ornament, a vacuum that catches a curtain. Public liability handles these, so long as the item was not the thing you were working on.
Their keys. Loss of keys cover pays for a locksmith and replacement locks, and it is an extension rather than standard. Tag keys so they do not identify the address, and keep them somewhere locked.
Their suspicion. Allegations of theft happen, and an unfounded one still costs you the client. Fidelity cover responds to actual theft by staff; for a sole trader, a clear record of when you were where does more than any policy can.
How Much Is Domestic Cleaning Insurance?
Across the cleaning policies we place, premiums start at around £57 a year, and larger cleaning businesses sits near £301, with larger cleaning businesses running to £1,844. A self-employed domestic cleaner sits at the lower end of that.
It is one of the cheaper covers in any trade, largely because the claims are frequent but small. What moves it: your turnover, whether anyone works for you, whether you hold client keys, and your claims record.
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
What cheap online cover often leaves out.
- Damage to property being worked upon
- Loss of client keys
- Oven, carpet or end-of-tenancy work
- Anyone helping you, declared
- Equipment cover away from home
- 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
Ovens, Carpets And Specialist Work
Oven cleaning, carpet and upholstery cleaning and end-of-tenancy work all raise the same question in a sharper form, because the whole job is the treatment of an item that can be damaged by it. Caustic dip tanks, hot water extraction and strong solvents do not forgive a mistake.
If any of that is part of what you do, say so when you apply. Some policies rate it separately, some exclude particular processes, and the damage to property being worked upon limit matters far more here than for general housework. A dip tank in a van is worth declaring on its own account too.
If You Take Someone On
The moment you have someone working for you, employers’ liability becomes a legal requirement, and the penalty for going without runs to £2,500 for each day uninsured. That applies to part-time and casual help, and usually to people who invoice you as self-employed if you control when and how they work and supply the materials.
It also changes your public liability, because you are now answerable for what they do in a client’s home. Most domestic cleaners cross this line without noticing ( a friend helping on a busy week, a partner covering a round) so it is worth knowing where the line is.
What Clients Ask To See
Domestic clients increasingly ask for proof of insurance, and agencies and letting managers almost always do. What they usually want is a certificate showing public liability at £1m or £2m, in your business name, currently in date.
Keep a copy on your phone. It wins work: being able to send a certificate the same afternoon is a small thing that separates you from whoever cannot. Premiums can be paid monthly or annually.
What We Need To Quote
Your annual turnover, whether you work alone or have anyone helping you, the kind of cleaning you do and whether it includes ovens, carpets or end-of-tenancy work, whether you hold client keys, the value of your equipment, and any claims in 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 my public liability cover the carpet I ruined?+
Usually not, which surprises most cleaners. Standard public liability covers damage to other people's property, but the wording generally excludes 'property being worked upon'. The carpet you are shampooing, the worktop you are treating, the oven you are cleaning. That is precisely the item most likely to be damaged. Cover exists as an extension called treatment risk, damage to property being worked upon, or custody and control, and it is worth checking your schedule for by name.
Do I need insurance as a self-employed cleaner?+
It is not a legal requirement, but in practice it is essential and most clients now ask for it. Working alone in someone's home, the realistic claims are a spill that ruins a carpet, a knocked-over television, a mark on a worktop, or a door left unlocked. Public liability handles harm to the client and their property generally; damage to the item you were cleaning needs the extension above. Employers' liability only applies once you take someone on.
How much is domestic cleaning insurance?+
Across the cleaning policies we place, premiums start at around £57 a year for a sole trader, with larger cleaning businesses a long way above that. A self-employed domestic cleaner is at the lower end of that. Turnover, how many people you employ, and whether you hold client keys are the main things that move it.
What happens if I lose a client's key?+
Loss of keys cover pays for replacing locks and keys, and it is usually an extension rather than standard. For domestic work the cost is smaller than on a commercial building but still runs to hundreds of pounds once a locksmith is involved. Practical habits help as much as the cover: tag keys so they do not identify the address, keep them in a locked box, and record which of your people holds which key.
Am I covered if a client accuses me of taking something?+
Not by a standard policy. Working unsupervised in people's homes means allegations happen, and an unfounded one still costs you the client and possibly a solicitor's letter. Fidelity or dishonesty cover responds to actual theft by an employee. For a sole trader the practical protections are references, a clear record of when you were where, and never being the only possible explanation, some cleaners photograph the state of a room on arrival for exactly this reason.
Do I need cover if I only clean for a few regular clients?+
The exposure does not scale with how busy you are. One dropped bottle of bleach on a hall carpet is the same claim whether it is your third client or your thirtieth, and a serious accidental injury claim from a fall in a client's home would be far beyond most people's savings. Cover at this level is inexpensive, which is why almost every domestic cleaner carries it.
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