General liability insurance
General liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from your work: a damaged countertop, a slip on a wet floor, a broken fixture.
Commercial clients and property management companies typically specify a minimum per-occurrence and aggregate limit, and often require being added as an additional insured. Ask your carrier how quickly they can issue certificates, because slow certificates lose contracts.
Janitorial bonding
A janitorial bond, a form of fidelity bond, covers loss from theft by your employees while in a client's home or facility. It is inexpensive relative to the trust it buys, and it is what the bonded in licensed, bonded and insured refers to.
Bonding is not liability insurance and does not replace it. Residential clients rarely know the difference, but commercial procurement teams do.
Workers' compensation
Once you have employees, workers' compensation is required in nearly every state, with differing thresholds, exemptions and owner-inclusion rules. Cleaning is physical work with real injury exposure: chemical burns, falls, repetitive strain.
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors to avoid workers' comp is a serious and commonly enforced problem in this industry. Get classification right first.
Commercial auto and equipment
Personal auto policies often exclude business use. If you drive to jobs carrying supplies, or your employees drive, discuss commercial auto or a hired and non-owned endorsement with your agent.
Insure equipment separately if you own machines, including coverage when they are stored in a vehicle overnight.
What clients ask for
- A certificate of insurance showing current general liability limits.
- Additional insured status for the property owner or management company.
- Proof of a janitorial or fidelity bond.
- Workers' compensation certificate when you bring staff on site.
- A completed W-9 for payment setup.