Public liability insurance

In case your cleaning business causes accidental injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for cleaners?

Claims against your business for:

• you injuring someone else while you’re cleaning, or afterwards, as a result of your cleaning work
• injury or damage caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you must have employers’ liability insurance – it’s a legal requirement)

For example:

• you drop thick bleach on an expensive carpet by mistake and the mark can’t be removed, so your client is holding you responsible for the cost of a new carpet
• someone breaks their wrist by slipping on a wet floor you’ve just mopped or tripping over the power cable of your vacuum cleaner
• your employee accidentally smashes an expensive Chinese vase as they’re vacuuming a client’s house

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case something happens to your employee while they’re working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• injuries or illness experienced by your staff due to them being employed by your cleaning company

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• an employee suffers skin burns from the strong cleaning chemicals you’ve instructed then to use for removing a stubborn buildup of limescale
• an employee slips on a wet floor and fractures their pelvis

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to your business and office equipment.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• theft or loss of the equipment you use to run your business (specifically operational equipment rather than cleaning equipment) while stored at your business premises or out and about
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your business equipment

For example:

• the tablet, laptop or mobile phone you use to manage your cleaning bookings is stolen from your business address or a client’s house, so you need to replace the items

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case something happens to your cleaning equipment.

What’s typically covered by cleaner tools insurance?

• theft or loss of your cleaning equipment (especially handheld tools and portable electronic devices) while you’re completing a job, or while they’re stored in your vehicle
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your cleaning equipment

For example:

• your vacuum cleaner and pressure washer are stolen from your van while it’s parked outside a client’s property
• the electrics in your steam cleaner are damaged by a power surge at a client’s house, so you need to pay for a repair

Read more about tools insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you need to pay legal costs as the owner of your cleaning business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• the cost of resolving legal operational issues, including disputes with staff
• the cost of claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass
• tax and compliance investigations into your cleaning business
• day-to-day support over the phone, from tax and legal advice to crisis communications expertise that could repair your business’s reputation

For example:

• HMRC raise concerns about your company’s tax affairs, and you need help getting your bookkeeping in order and fielding questions about irregularities in your expenses for cleaning equipment
• HMRC selects you at random for a full audit, so you need assistance from an accountant
• you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of an employee

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit due to injury or death (at work or outside of work) for the people you’ve specified in your policy

For example:

• you trip over a bucket of water you’re using to mop, breaking your arm and leaving you unable to do any cleaning work for a month
• your employee shuts their hand in a car door on the way into work
• you sprain your ankle at a family event at the weekend

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does cleaning insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider office cleaner or carpet cleaning insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Window cleaning insurance
• Cleaning business insurance
• Jet washing
• Swimming pool cleaners
• Drain cleaners
• Wheelie bin cleaner

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.