Cleaning Business Insurance Ontario

What Is Cleaning Business Insurance?

Cleaning business insurance, also known as janitorial insurance or cleaners insurance, is a form of business insurance that covers sanitation and custodian companies from many of the financial risks inherent in their line of work. While such work might seem low-risk on the surface, any business owner knows there are plenty of ways their company can lose thousands of dollars from an unforeseen situation.

Risks these janitorial companies run vary based on the type of work they do but can include slip and fall accidents, damage to or loss of keys or equipment, damage to their own or a client's building, all risks faced by any company that travels, and many others. This type of insurance for cleaning businesses allows these custodian services to continue to thrive, even when blindsided by an accident.

Who Needs Cleaning Business Insurance Coverage In Ontario?

If you own a janitorial or cleaning service or work as an independent cleaning contractor, then you should have cleaning business insurance coverage. You are likely familiar with some of the risks in your work. For instance, if you're mopping a floor and someone trips and falls, you may be liable for a lawsuit and have to cover medical expenses. Likewise, if you use a cleaning agent and damage the surface, you could be held legally responsible for property damage if there's a bad reaction. A single accident like this can cause significant damage to any company, especially a small business.

It's essential to protect yourself, your company and any staff you employ. Otherwise, you may need to pay out of pocket for costs that you weren't expecting. In this event, your cleaning business could fall into the red, and you may need help figuring out how to pay.

Avoid this stress by investing in cleaning business insurance so you can breathe easy knowing you're covered in an emergency. Insurance for cleaning businesses gives you the coverage you need to protect yourself from this catastrophe. To establish the best coverage for your cleaning or janitorial company, book an appointment to speak with one of our expert insurance brokers today.

What Does Cleaning Business Insurance Cover?

The level of coverage you need as a cleaner or janitor depends mainly on how big your company is, how many individuals you employ, and the nature of your work. For instance, a cleaning company that primarily works in office buildings may have different cleaning business insurance needs than a sanitation service that works with manufacturing companies or a carpet cleaning company. Similarly, a freelance cleaner or company with only a few employees will have different needs than a large corporation with many franchises. A house cleaning company will also need different coverage than a commercial cleaning company. While the experts at Morison Insurance can help you establish what kind of coverage you need, it helps to determine which options are available for your unique janitorial insurance policy. Below is a range of coverages commonly purchased by cleaning companies.

General Liability Insurance

Commercial general liability insurance policy protects your interests in two main areas: third-party bodily injury and property damage. Third-party bodily injury coverage protects you if a third party is injured because of something to do during work. A common concern for cleaning professionals is that an individual may slip and fall on a wet floor, causing injury. This opens you up not only to a potential lawsuit, where you may wind up paying significant legal fees and pay for any damages and medical bills. Liability coverage protects you from paying for these out-of-pocket expenses, which could be financially crippling for both large and small cleaning businesses.

Liability insurance protects you from liability for property damage and subsequent remuneration. For example, say a new employee accidentally mixes two cleaning agents that, when combined, damage your client's tiled floor. You would be responsible for the repair costs. Paying these high legal fees would also create financial stress for you and could also put your company in the red.

Commercial Property Damage

Building and structure coverage can protect your cleaning service if you operate out of a head office or have a storage facility where cleaning supplies, tools and equipment are stored. Should a fire break out in the building or any similar event occur, it's crucial to have a commercial property policy to protect your property. If you don't, you may need to pay for repairs, damages, and out-of-pocket replacements.

Lost Key Coverage

Losing a set of keys to an office building, shop, or restaurant can cause a headache. You will be responsible for replacing the set of keys you lost the lock and all subsequent copies of the key. After all, a lost set of keys can be a security risk to the property and business owner. These costs can set you back significantly, so it's best to include them with your cleaning business insurance policy since you could lose your keys anytime.

It's important to note that, should you or one of your employees accidentally leave a building unlocked and it's robbed in the middle of the night. For example, say valuable merchandise or a till float is stolen—then lost essential coverage would not include the cost of replacing the lost cash and inventory.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Do you transport equipment, cleaning supplies and employees in a commercial vehicle? Even if you're a solo operator and use your personal vehicle for commercial purposes, it's vital to check with your janitorial insurance broker to see if you need commercial auto insurance. Using a personal vehicle for work-related reasons may mean you're not covered for risks such as collision, theft, property damage, or bodily injury caused to a third party while driving for business purposes. Having commercial auto Insurance as part of your janitorial insurance policy provides you with the necessary coverage.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Tools, supplies, and cleaning equipment are essential to your custodial business. While anything breaking down will have a negative impact, cleaning tools like industrial ride-on floor scrubbers can be very costly to replace, often costing thousands of dollars. With the right cleaning company insurance policy, you can be protected by equipment breakdown insurance against a variety of risks that come your way.

Employee Theft Coverage

Naturally, when you employ your staff, the last thing you expect is that they will steal from you or that your business could be the victim of employee theft. Part of the reason that you put candidates through interviews is to get a better idea of who you can trust, especially when you're not there. However, the unfortunate reality is that it's common for businesses to be victims of fraud or employee theft. After all, it only takes one bad apple to set your business back. It's best to prepare for the worst-case scenario. With any luck, all your employees will be honest, hardworking people, so you won't have to worry about filing an employee theft insurance claim.

Disability Coverage

Designed to help you meet your income needs while you recover from or adjust to an injury or illness that prevents you from working, disability insurance is beneficial for custodians and cleaning professionals. While completing your work, you might slip on a wet surface, pull a back muscle, or be burned by a cleaning agent. While you heal from your injury, you don't want to be left struggling to make ends meet. Even if you have a savings account, why not keep it for a rainy day? Instead, your best option is to invest in disability insurance. Usually, you receive a monthly benefit with disability insurance, so you can focus on getting better without being distracted by financial concerns.

Worker's Compensation Insurance

It's important to have worker's compensation insurance as part of your cleaning business insurance policy to protect your employees from getting injured on the job. However, many business owners don't realize that the government will provide workers' compensation insurance so you can have peace of mind knowing your employees will be looked after.

How Much Coverage Is Recommended For Cleaning Business Insurance?

The cleaning business insurance package that would work best for your company depends on several factors. The size of the cleaning business, the value of equipment used, whether or not a vehicle is used, and the chemicals used are just some factors in determining the level of coverage recommended for each business.

Are My Cleaning Tools Covered?

It depends. Sometimes, they are, and sometimes, they need an additional option like tools and equipment insurance. Please speak to your Morison Insurance Broker to find out more or when you begin a cleaning business insurance quote. 

Do Home-Based Businesses Need Cleaning Business Insurance?

Yes. Even if you operate your business from home, you still need cleaning business insurance to protect against claims that could happen while you work—as most of your clients operate in commercial or residential buildings.

How Much Does Cleaning Business Insurance Cost?

Insurance for cleaning businesses does not have a set cost. Due to each custodian company having different needs and different risks, all quotes will be different. Our dedicated and insightful brokers at Morison Insurance will happily get you a cleaning business insurance quote for your cleaning business. Having the right insurance for you will help ensure you're properly protected and can focus on satisfying your clients.

What Impacts Cleaning Insurance Rates?

Your rates are based on a range of factors. Your dedicated Morison Insurance broker will be able to walk you through what these are in greater detail, but a basic outline includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• The projected revenue you expect to make in the upcoming year.
• Your past claims history.
• The size of your business.
• The number of staff you employ.
• The years of experience you have.
• Whether you were insured in the past.

How Can I Lower My Cleaning Business Insurance Rates?

It is understandable to want to save some money on your insurance bill. Luckily, plenty of options are available to save money on insurance for your cleaning business. This includes the following:

• Increase your deductible
• Take extra steps to increase workplace safety
• Avoid making claims on small losses
• Keep records and ensure paperwork shows that you are taking steps to decrease risk

Please note that this list does not include every way to lower the cost of your cleaning business insurance costs. You can speak with your Morison insurance broker to find out more.

What Information Do I Need To Get A Cleaning Business Insurance Quote?

When applying for cleaning business insurance, you can get a head start by ensuring your paperwork is in order beforehand. One way to get ahead is by knowing what questions your insurance broker may ask while establishing the best coverage for you—based on your company's unique needs. For instance, some of these questions may include:

• Do you subcontract work? If so, what percent of your overall operations are subcontracted out?
• Do you have contracts in place with your sub-contractors?
• Do you request proof of contractor insurance from your sub-contractors?
• Do you have insurance now?
• Have you been cancelled/declined/non-renewed in the past five years?
• Have you had any claims in the past five years?
• What are your gross annual revenues?
• Do you do any work in industrial, manufacturing or airport sites?
• Is this your full-time or part-time job?
• Do you have safety procedures in place to prevent accidents?
• Do you perform interior work only?
• Do you offer any repair work?
• Do you offer any remediation work, such as asbestos or mould removal?
• Do you have written contracts in place with your customers outlining your responsibilities?
• The specific types of cleaning services your business offers

Please note that this is not a complete list. If there are other issues, your Morison Insurance broker will kindly let you know.

Where Can I Get A Cleaning Business Insurance Quote?

You can get a cleaning business insurance quote from Morison Insurance Brokers. We are proud to say that we are a family-owned and operated business, and we treat all our clients with the same family-oriented mindset. Building lasting relationships with all our clients is our top priority, so we go above and beyond daily to ensure our clients receive the best insurance coverage possible.

Contact our brokers to learn more about cleaning business insurance today. We invite you to give our team a call at 1-800-463-8074. You can also inquire about a quote online.