Janitorial insurance is a group of policies cleaning businesses purchase to cover their risks and protect their assets. Every cleaning business from residential maid services to commercial janitorial companies needs business insurance, but which policies they buy and how much their coverage costs depends on their business operations. Cleaning business insurance costs for a small company typically range from $350 to $8,000 per year, depending on the coverage.
Online brokers like CoverWallet make getting janitorial insurance coverage easier. You fill out a single application to get multiple quotes from top carriers. Complete a free, no-obligation questionnaire online and get covered in minutes.
Cleaning Business Insurance Costs
Janitorial insurance costs range from about $350 to $8,000 per year for general liability for a small housekeeping business. If that business also needed workers’ compensation, the price tag could go up by another $2,000 or more. For comparison, large commercial janitorial businesses might pay between $8,000 to $12,000 annually.
Janitorial Insurance Costs by Policy & Coverage Amount*
Insurance Type | Coverage Amount | Annual Premiums |
|---|---|---|
General Liability | $300,000 to 2 million aggregate | $350 to $8,000 |
Commercial Property | $5,000 to $10,000 | $380 to $1,000 |
Business Owner’s Policy (BOP) | $2 million aggregate | $750 to $7,000 |
Commercial Auto | $25,000 bodily injury per person $50,000 bodily injury per accident $25,000 property damage per accident | $1,500 to $4,500 |
Workers’ Compensation | $100,000 bodily injury by accident, per accident | $2,000 to $4,200 |
Inland Marine | $5,000 to $10,000 | $180 to $900 |
Umbrella | $1 million | $400 to $1,500 |
*Based on commercial cleaners with five or fewer employees
Your total cleaning business insurance cost is the sum of all your yearly premiums. Still, businesses with similar insurance needs can end up paying different rates because insurers look at a variety of factors to determine the premium, such as:
- Clients: Business owners with commercial and industry contracts face greater risks, so they pay more for their janitorial insurance coverage than those who take only residential work.
- Revenue: Businesses that earn more have more to lose, and that makes them riskier to insure, causing their rates to go up.
- Claims history: Businesses with few or no claims usually get more favorable rates because insurers assume that they are safer than others.
- Employees: Having more employees increases your workers’ comp premiums automatically because you have more people to cover, but other policy rates may also go up because of the additional risks employees bring.
- Location: A business located in a flood zone, in a high-crime area, or far from a fire station pays more for their janitorial insurance than those that are not.
- Coverage limits: Increasing your limits provides greater coverage, and it also means you pay more for your insurance.
- Deductibles: Higher deductibles usually mean lower premiums, but make sure you choose an amount you can afford to pay if a disaster strikes.
Because cleaning business insurance costs vary from carrier to carrier, business owners should get multiple quotes from top janitorial insurance companies before they pick their policies. This gives them a chance to compare rates and policy terms to find the right coverage for their business. Business owners who don’t have the time to shop around for policies can use a broker like CoverWallet to get matched up with the provider that’s best for them.
“Cleaning companies have very specific needs when it comes to insurance, and there are only a handful of companies that specialize in working with them… In my first few years of business, I used three or four insurance companies instead of one. Once I found a company that specializes in insurance for cleaning companies, I consolidated coverages and saved about $6,000 per year.”
—Ryan Knoll, Owner, Tidy Casa Cleaning and Maid Service
Types of Janitorial Insurance Coverage
Cleaning business insurance isn’t a specific policy you can buy. Instead, it’s any number of commercial policies janitors may need to protect their businesses. Each policy covers a specific set of risks. For example, general liability, which can cost anywhere between $350 and $2,500 per year, covers customer lawsuits. However, cleaning businesses can face other risks that require other policies like commercial property and business auto.
Most Common Cleaning Business Insurance Policies
Type of Insurance | What It Covers |
|---|---|
General Liability Insurance | Third-party claims for bodily injury or property damage |
Commercial Property Insurance | Damage to physical business assets like buildings, equipment, and supplies |
Commercial Auto Insurance | Injuries, property damage, and lawsuits arising from accidents involving business-owned vehicles |
Inland Marine Insurance | Business property as it moves between job sites |
Workers’ Compensation Insurance | Employees’ medical bills and wage replacement following work-related illness or injury |
Umbrella Insurance | Claims that exceed limits on liability coverage |
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance protects cleaning businesses when third parties accuse them of causing bodily injury, property damage, or reputational harm through copyright infringement or defamation. Policies cover repair bills, medical expenses, and your legal defense in liability lawsuits. Because clients’ lawsuits could be your greatest financial risk, general liability is the most important coverage type for most cleaning businesses.
Some situations that trigger your general liability insurance coverage include:
- A customer slipping on their clean floor after you mop it
- Your employee knocking over an expensive statue in your client’s lobby
- A competitor claiming your tweet about their service is defamation
“Every cleaning business should own general liability insurance, especially when it will be working on the premises of a client’s place of business or personal residence. The potential for damage to a third-party’s property, even if you are not at fault, may result in expensive court costs and lawyer fees. Also, most companies you do business with will ask for proof of insurance or a certificate of liability insurance (COI).”
—John Espenschied, Agency Principal, Insurance Brokers Group
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance covers the cost of repairing or replacing your cleaning business’s physical assets up to your policy limits. These assets typically include your office space, its furniture and fixtures, and your cleaning equipment and supplies. Business owners who lease commercial space can get property insurance for equipment and supplies.
Additionally, cleaning business owners should consider the following endorsements:
- Lost key coverage: Pays for rekeying a building if you or your employees lose the keys
- Employee dishonesty: Pays for a client’s property when an employee steals it
You can choose to insure your business property either at actual cash value or replacement cost. Actual cash value replaces at market value minus depreciation and has lower premiums, whereas replacement cost pays what it costs to replace the item at today’s value but has higher premiums.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Cleaning businesses that own cars, trucks, vans, or a combination of vehicles need commercial auto insurance in case one is involved in an accident. Policies can cover your repairs and medical bills, the other driver’s damages, and your attorney’s fees if the other driver sues. What your auto policy pays for depends on which coverage options you pick.
Commercial auto coverage options include:
- Liability: Pays the other driver’s medical and repair bills or your legal bills if they sue as most states require you to have at least liability coverage for your business-owned vehicles
- Collision: Covers your repair bills after a car accident
- Comprehensive: Pays your repair bills after damage is caused by something other than a car accident like theft or vandalism
- Medical payments: Covers you and your passenger’s medical bills after a car accident regardless of who caused the accident
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Covers your medical and repair bills after an accident with a driver who either doesn’t have coverage or whose coverage is insufficient for the damages
- Hired and nonowned liability: Pays the other driver’s medical and repair bills after an accident in a vehicle that’s rented, hired, or leased but not owned by your business
Personal auto policies exclude business driving when the vehicle in question is used primarily for business, but they may cover periodic business trips. Cleaning business owners who use their own car or truck for work need to review their policies or work with their agents to make sure they are covered.
Inland Marine Insurance
Inland marine insurance is a type of property coverage that follows your equipment as it moves between work sites or is stored in an off-site facility. In comparison, commercial property insurance only covers items at the location listed on the policy. This is insufficient for most janitorial and cleaning businesses because most need to transport equipment and supplies to their clients’ homes or offices.
Aside from covering your business’s physical assets away from your main location, inland marine acts much like commercial property. It covers similar perils, such as fire, wind, theft, and vandalism, and it can be written on an actual cash value or replacement value basis.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Most states require businesses with even a single employee to carry workers’ compensation coverage to pay for their lost wages and medical bills if they suffer a work-related illness or injury, such as:
- Chemically induced lung disease after years of inhaling toxic materials
- Broken arm after falling down the stairs
- Work-related lower back pain
In some states, workers’ comp policies include coverage for your legal defense if an employee claims your negligence or intentional acts caused their injuries.
Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance extends the limits of your other liability policies, which means it picks up where the others fall short. For example, if you have a general liability limit of $300,000 but your cleaning business has legal fees of $350,000, umbrella insurance covers the remaining $50,000.
Commercial umbrella policies only extend coverage on certain policies, including:
- General liability
- Employer’s liability
- Commercial auto liability
On top of providing additional coverage, a commercial umbrella policy can help you land large commercial jobs where the contract requires larger liability limits. Your umbrella coverage helps you meet the requirements and usually costs less than adding to your general liability limits.
Janitorial Bonds
A janitorial bond, or surety bond, is a three-party agreement between your cleaning business, your client, and an insurer, or surety. The agreement states that the surety will pay the client if something goes wrong and then get reimbursed by you. Cleaning and janitorial bonds typically cost between 1% and 15% of the total amount of the bond,
Janitorial bonds typically cover two types of claims:
- Employee theft
- Failure to deliver on a contract
A surety bond works more like a guarantee than traditional insurance. This, plus the fact that your insurer promises first to pay and then get reimbursed by you, makes getting janitorial bonds more like qualifying with a lender than buying insurance from an agent.
“A janitorial bond is a great form of advertising for cleaning businesses because it tells potential customers their business is trustworthy. The bond serves the purpose of protecting clients in the event of theft by the business’s employees. This bond typically can be purchased for amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 in coverage … with premiums starting in the low $100 range per year.”
—Jeremy Schaedler, President, Schaedler Insurance Agency, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Janitorial Insurance Coverage
This article covers most of the information you need to choose the appropriate janitorial insurance for your operations. However, every cleaning business has its quirks, so we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions here.
Do I need insurance to start a cleaning business?
Every state has its own rules regarding licensing. Some may require janitorial insurance to get your business license or a service contractor’s license, so it’s a good idea to contact your state government before you apply. Even if insurance isn’t required, you may still want coverage to both protect your business and earn prospects’ trust.
Do home-based businesses need janitorial insurance?
You most likely need janitorial insurance if you run your business from your home office. Most homeowner’s insurance policies exclude business activities, so your insurer may decline work-related claims like a delivery person slipping on your front walk when they’re delivering cleaning supplies. Home-based business owners can usually cover their risk with a BOP.
Does my cleaning business insurance cover independent contractors?
Some basic business policies, such as general liability, specifically exclude 1099 employees. That’s a big risk to your cleaning business because clients may sue you for independent contractors’ mistakes. This is why it’s important to work with an agent who can help you decipher your policy and advise you on what to do about the gaps.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re a sole proprietor offering house cleaning services or own a janitorial cleaning company, you need quality small business insurance. Even if your business assets are limited, and you don’t have expensive equipment to cover, you can still be liable for third-party property damage and injuries. Getting adequate insurance coverage is essential to protecting your business when the worst-case scenario happens.
Purchasing the right janitorial insurance for your company can be a relatively inexpensive way to protect against a loss so severe it puts you out of business. If you need reliable coverage for your cleaning business fast, connect with an expert at CoverWallet today.
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