Commercial Cleaning insurance

Commercial cleaners work after hours in other people's buildings, so theft accusations, damaged equipment and slips are the claims to plan for. A janitorial bond often goes with the contract.

Averages are what Insureon's customers who are janitorial services pay, from Insureon's cost page; most of its customers have fewer than five employees. Across all its small business customers, general liability runs $265 to $3,030 a year.

• An employee is accused of theft in a client's office
• A floor machine damages a floor finish
• A visitor slips on a wet floor
• The wrong chemical damages a counter

Ask your agent, in these words:

• Would my policy pay if an employee is accused of theft in a client's office?
• Would my policy pay if a floor machine damages a floor finish?
• Would my policy pay if a visitor slips on a wet floor?
• Would my policy pay if the wrong chemical damages a counter?

A policy covers the work you describe on the application. From the commercial cleaning services list, name each of these and ask whether any is excluded: office or commercial clean; nightly office cleaning; restroom service; day porter; strip and wax; floor scrub and burnish; carpet extraction; interior and exterior windows; high dusting; post-construction clean.

Floor machines are worth listing. On the tools list, the items to list on the policy are auto scrubber; floor burnisher; carpet extractor; window cleaning kit, and from the starter kit, commercial upright vacuum; backpack vacuum; mop buckets with wringers and microfiber mops; janitorial cart; color-coded microfiber cloths.

Most states do not license commercial cleaning work as a trade of its own, so there is usually no state insurance minimum tied to a license. Cities and commercial customers can still set their own.

The SBA says every business with employees must carry workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance. Insureon's average for janitorial services is $114 a month, priced per $100 of payroll. A bond protects the state or the customer, not you; Insureon puts its yearly cost at a share of the bond amount:

Building managers and offices ask for a certificate and often a bond before the contract starts. Keep a PDF on your phone so you can send it the day they ask.