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Cleaning business insurance can protect you against a range of risks, giving you peace of mind that if the unexpected happens, you’ll be covered.
Whether you’re a residential or commercial cleaner, a lot can go wrong in your line of work. You’re dealing with chemical substances, electrical equipment, slippery surfaces and a range of other hazards.
From suffering an injury yourself or causing harm to a client or member of the public to damaging someone’s home or business premises, you have to be prepared for the worst. This means it’s essential to have suitable financial protection in place.
At Markel Direct, we offer insurance that can be tailored to suit your specific needs as a cleaner. We’re here to safeguard your business and allow you to concentrate on the task at hand.
Cover at a glance:
- Public liability cover up to £5m
- Protection for accidental damage to customer property
- Suitable for mobile, freelance and agency cleaners
- Employers’ liability, equipment and cleaning supplies cover, and occupational personal accident cover available
What is cleaners’ insurance?
Cleaning insurance is a range of cover options available to self-employed cleaners and cleaning businesses. The policy typically public liability insurance as well as tools insurance, employers’ liability cover, professional indemnity insurance, occupational accident insurance, and more.
Though many of the risks facing cleaners are universal, the nature of your cleaning business will likely have an impact on the types and level of cover you choose to include in your policy.
Cover starting from
£7 a month*
*Price based on a cleaner requiring £1 million of public liability insurance.
Do cleaners need insurance?
As a professional cleaner, you no doubt take great pride and care in the work you do. However, you can’t think of everything, and problems may arise. Possessions could get broken, and people may be injured. Unless you would be prepared to cover the costs associated with these accidents yourself, you should seriously consider taking out public liability insurance. You may also find that some clients insist you have public liability cover before they will do business with you.
You might want to take out insurance to cover your tools as well. As a cleaner, you rely on specialist equipment to get the job done, and some of this doesn’t come cheap. If your equipment was to be stolen or damaged, you might face a large bill to replace or repair it. Having tools cover in place as part of your cleaners’ insurance policy will ensure you’re not left counting the cost.
If you have anyone working for you, even if this is on a temporary or a part-time basis, it’s important to be aware that you’re required by law to take out employers’ liability insurance too.
Commercial cleaning insurance
Commercial cleaning insurance is for businesses that clean workplaces such as office buildings, shops, and restaurants. These companies tend to have a large team of cleaners who, as well as daily cleaning, will often undertake tasks that use specialist tools, such as deep cleaning, carpet cleaning, and hard floor care. Contracts may require the cleaners to meet strict health and safety standards.
Domestic cleaning insurance
Businesses that do the general cleaning of people’s homes are often smaller in scale than commercial cleaning companies and they may even be sole traders working alone. They will usually have a smaller range of tasks to complete and will use less specialised equipment and industrial cleaning chemicals. Domestic cleaning insurance will be tailored to meet the lower risk of house cleaning businesses.
Example policy documents
If you have an existing policy with us, please sign in to view your policy documents.
Below you will find examples of the documents provided.
Window cleaning insurance
Individuals and businesses who clean windows and other glass surfaces on buildings can be covered by window cleaning insurance. Whether you specialise in commercial to residential properties, being a window cleaner comes with certain risks.
Self-employed cleaner insurance
Self-employed cleaners face the same day-to-day risks as any other professional cleaner, however as a sole trader, you are personally liable for any losses your business makes. Meaning that if a client or member of the public were to make a claim against you, you would have to pay to defend the claim and any damages awarded, out of your own pocket. Self-employed cleaner insurance can protect your personal finances should something go wrong.
What insurance do cleaners need?
Our insurance for cleaners’ policy can include various types of cover. When you get a quote online, we will ask you a few simple questions about your cleaning business and offer you the relevant covers. You can choose to purchase all or some of the cover options, selecting those that best meet your business needs.-
Public liability insurance
As a cleaner, there’s always a chance that you’ll cause accidental injury or property damage. This is simply a risk of the job. Public liability insurance is there to protect you in these instances. It covers the cost of claims made by customers or members of the public for injury or damage caused by your work, and is available with cover limits of between £1 million and £5 million.
For example, you might be mopping the floor of a canteen when a member of the public slips on the wet surface, or you could be vacuuming a property when the homeowner trips over the electrical cable. Or perhaps you accidentally spill bleach on an expensive carpet, or scratch a window while polishing it. No matter how careful you are, you can’t eliminate the risk of accidents like this occurring, and if they do, you could be left facing the major costs of a claim.
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Employers' liability insurance
Whether you have just one part-time employee or a large workforce, you’re required by law to have a minimum of £5 million of employers’ liability insurance. It protects you if a worker suffers an illness or injury as a result of their work. Our policies have a limit of £10 million.
Example of a claim:
One of your workers develops a skin rash after coming into contact with a cleaning chemical. They take legal action against you for their suffering
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Tools insurance
If thieves broke into your work vehicle while it was parked outside a client’s home, and stole valuable cleaning equipment, could you afford to buy replacements? Our tools insurance offers cover limits of between £1,000 and £5,000 for stolen, damaged or lost equipment, and you have the choice of covering your tools during working hours only (8am – 8pm) or protecting them on a 24-hour basis for added peace of mind.
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Legal expenses insurance
Legal expenses insurance can help to cover the cost of defending or pursuing legal actions against other parties such as suppliers, clients or employees. This could be for contract disputes, tax enquiries (including IR35), attending jury service, debt recovery, personal injury, as well as any award you are required to pay following an employment dispute with an employee. There is a limit of £100,000.
Example of a claim:
A supplier has failed to deliver building materials you’ve paid for and is ignoring your requests for a refund. You face the costs associated with recovering the debt owed to you.
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Occupational personal accident insurance
If you fall off a ladder while cleaning a window and badly injure your back or trip over your bucket while mopping a floor and break your wrist, occupational personal accident insurance can help to support your income if you’re unable to work. It either provides a lump sum or weekly payments, depending on the nature of your injury.
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Owned plant insurance
Owned plant insurance protects you if you have to repair or replace your own plant machinery, such as industrial pressure washers and steam cleaners, because it has been damaged or stolen. We offer cover limits of between £10,000 and £50,000.
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Hired in plant insurance
If you hire plant machinery, like a ride-on sweeper or a cherry picker, from a third party, hired in plant insurance offers cover if it’s stolen or damaged. Our cover limits range from £10,000 to £50,000.
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Contract works insurance
Contract works insurance covers the costs of repairing or redoing work on a construction site in the event of a flood, fire, theft or act of malicious damage.
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Goods in transit insurance
Goods in transit insurance offers protection for your goods if they are being transported from one location to another and are lost or damaged along the way. It can cover items being moved by a third-party carrier or your own vehicles.
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Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance protects you if a client takes legal action because you have made a mistake in any professional services you have provided. So, if you provide cleaning advice for a fee, such as which products to use for a certain job, you may benefit from this cover.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
How much does insurance cost for a cleaning business?
The cost of business insurance for a cleaning business or self-employed cleaner depends on a number of factors. For example, the size of your business will have an impact, as will the types of cover you choose and the level of protection you go for.
With prices starting from £7 a month*, purchasing cleaners’ insurance from us couldn’t be easier. Simply fill in our online quote form and we’ll give you a personalised quote. It’s up to you which covers you want to include in your policy, so you never pay for anything you don’t need.
Ready to build your quote?
Our simple quote process will help you to find the right business insurance for your individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
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Can I insure just my most expensive cleaning tools?
No, with our tools insurance for cleaners, you must cover all of your equipment. This is to make sure that you are fully protected in the event of a claim. Failing to get insurance for all of your equipment may result in your claim not being covered, or you receiving a smaller amount.
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Is business insurance a legal requirement for cleaners?
You are not legally required to take out cleaners’ insurance unless you have employees, in which case you are obliged by law to have employers’ liability cover in place. However, even though other types of protection are not mandatory, it’s important to consider the possible financial consequences if you lack the relevant types of protection.
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Do cleaners need professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance is only required if you offer professional services for a fee. This could include consultancy or advice on cleaning products or methods.
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What should I do if a client asks me for proof of insurance?
You may find that a client asks you for proof of insurance before they will allow you to clean for them. This is especially common if you’re working on commercial cleaning projects. If a customer does request this proof, simply show them the 'Confirmation of Liability Insurance' that we will email you as soon as you buy cleaning insurance from us.
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How is Markel regulated?
Markel is regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority. If you would like more details, visit the Financial Services Register.
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