Public liability insurance
Public liability covers injury to a third party or damage to their property caused by your work. For cleaners the everyday risks are real: a scratched worktop, a flooded bathroom, a client slipping on a wet floor, a damaged appliance.
Cover is normally quoted at set limits of indemnity. Commercial clients and agents often stipulate a minimum limit in their contracts, so check what the work you want actually requires before you buy the cheapest policy.
Employers' liability insurance
If you employ anyone in the UK, employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement, with limited exceptions such as certain close family arrangements. It covers claims from employees injured or made ill through their work.
This applies to employees, not necessarily to genuinely self-employed subcontractors, but employment status is decided by the reality of the working relationship rather than the label on a contract. If you direct someone's hours, methods and equipment, treat status carefully and take advice.
Key cover and loss of keys
Most regular domestic and holiday let work involves holding keys. Losing a set can mean replacing locks across a building. Key cover, sometimes an add-on rather than a standard inclusion, pays for lock replacement and can be a condition of agent work.
Whatever you insure, run a strict key process: tagged with a code rather than an address, logged against the job, and never labelled with the property.
Tools, equipment and treatment risk
Standard policies rarely cover your own machines. If you own a carpet extractor, jet washer or commercial vacuums, insure them separately, including cover in a vehicle overnight if that is where they live.
Treatment risk cover matters if you carry out specialist processes, such as carpet or upholstery cleaning, where damage arises from the treatment itself rather than an accident. Read the policy wording rather than the sales page.
What clients actually ask to see
- A current certificate of public liability with the limit stated.
- Employers' liability certificate if you have staff on site.
- Risk assessments and COSHH data sheets for commercial contracts.
- Proof of any specialist cover for machinery or treatments.
- Evidence that named cleaners are covered under your policy.