What is janitorial insurance?
As with all businesses, even these janitorial work carries a certain amount of risk, which is why it is important to consider a janitorial service policy. Janitorial insurance can protect you from financial risks, such as someone slipping on a freshly waxed tile floor or tripping over the vacuum cord when one of your employees is just doing their job.
Who needs janitorial insurance?
Any business that provides services for everyday cleaning should consider janitorial insurance to protect their business from any claims that may arise on or after the job. These types of services could include:
- Office cleaning
- Cleaning and sanitizing rooms
- Vacuuming
- Sweeping up dust and debris
- Mopping of non-carpeted floors
- Taking out trash
- Restroom cleaning
What insurance do janitorial businesses need?
Carrying the right type of policy for your janitorial service company not only helps establish more credibility in the eyes of a customer but also is required by law in most states. It also makes your company seem more professional than one without insurance. Janitorial insurance usually encompasses general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, janitorial bonds, and more.
Common types of policies
General liability insurance
In the cleaning industry, this is also known as the slip-and-fall lifeline. Since freshly cleaned floors could still be wet or slippery, slipping and falling is one of the high-frequency accidents that occur. General liability insurance will help cover the costs if an accident like this were to happen. It covers bodily injury, property damage due to your work, and advertising injuries.
Commercial auto insurance
This insurance will protect you and your business from any claims made due to auto accidents. If you use a vehicle for day to day operations of your business, you should get a commercial auto insurance policy. Most states require this insurance from businesses if they have a vehicle.
Workers’ compensation insurance
Sometimes employees get injured on the job. This type of policy pays for medical costs and expenses for injuries and/or sicknesses incurred by employees while on the job. Also, worker’s compensation is mandatory in certain states.
Business owner’s insurance
You will most likely be using your own equipment and be carrying it to the different job sites to provide janitorial services. Business owner’s insurance covers your equipment, supplies, and physical location (if you have one) from fire, vandalism, and theft.
Janitorial bond
This is a type of surety bond which helps promote trustworthiness to clients. It is basically like an insurance company telling them that your business can be trusted and mitigates risk by reimbursing the client should an employee steal or break something accidentally.
What are the limits of janitorial insurance?
Depending on the types of jobs you contract or if you have more employees, you may want to look into higher limit policies. Commercial jobs tend to be riskier than residential and may require higher limits. Areas with a high volume of traffic have greater potential for an accident. The limits you choose should adequately cover your business should a claim be made against your company. Below is a basic guide to limits:
| General liability insurance | $300,000 – $2,000,000 aggregate |
| Commercial auto insurance | $25,000 bodily injury per person $50,000 bodily injury per accident $25,000 property damage per accident |
| Workers’ compensation | $100,000 bodily injury per accident |
| Business owner’s insurance | $2,000,000 aggregate |
| Janitorial bond | $2,500 – $100,000 aggregate |
How much does janitorial insurance cost?
There are several factors that affect your premium (but not limited to):
- Types of clients (commercial is higher risk than residential),
- Claims history
- Number of employees
- Deductibles
- Location
- Revenue of your business
- Coverage limits
Below is a good starting point to potential costs for janitorial insurance:
| General liability insurance | $350 – $8,000 annually |
| Commercial auto insurance | $1,500 – $4,500 annually |
| Workers’ compensation | $2,000 – $4,200 annually |
| Business owner’s insurance | $750 – $7,000 annually |
| Janitorial bond | $125 – $350 annually |
How to choose the best janitorial insurance
Here are several factors to consider when selecting a policy and provider:
- Customize: The provider should be able to customize their product to best suit the needs of your business. A provider that is not willing to work with you should not be the provider you work with.
- Customer feedback: To see what customers really think about them, check out reviews for each provider to get insight into their customer service and customer satisfaction. Third party companies like the BBB which rates how satisfied the public is with large companies, so this score is a good measure on how to qualify a provider.
- Options: Have the providers show a few different products and go through the different options, weighing the pros and cons of each one.