What insurance does a cleaning business need?
There's no one-size answer. The right mix depends on how you work, who you work for, and what your contracts ask for. These are the coverages a cleaning business typically looks at first:
General liability
The foundation for cleaning work: damage to client property and third-party injuries like wet-floor slips, with the $1,000,000 per-occurrence limit commercial clients typically request.
Business property
Vacuums, buffers, and supplies travel to every job, so this helps protect the equipment your schedule depends on against theft and damage.
Commercial auto
If you drive between jobs with equipment and supplies, that's business use of your vehicle, which personal auto policies often exclude.
Coverage always depends on your specific situation. The fastest way to see what fits is to get a quote and review your options.
What does it protect against?
The risks that matter aren't abstract. They're the everyday accidents of the work. A few scenarios that turn into real claims:
You damage something you're cleaning around
A buffer scratches a hardwood floor, a spray bottle tips onto a laptop, or an heirloom vase comes off a shelf while you're dusting. Cleaning work happens surrounded by other people's property, and one wrong move can cost more than the client pays in a year.
Someone slips on a floor you just mopped
An office worker rounds the corner before the floor dries and goes down hard. Wet-floor slips are the signature cleaning-business claim, and third-party injuries like this are exactly what general liability is designed to address.
A key goes missing or a door is left unlocked
Clients hand cleaning businesses their keys and codes. A lost key that forces a building re-key, or a claim that follows an unlocked door, lands on your business, and commercial clients ask about your coverage before they hand over access.
A product damages the surface it was meant to clean
The wrong chemical etches a stone countertop, bleaches a carpet, or clouds a glass shower door. Chemical damage claims are common in this trade because the damage is often permanent. Replacement, not cleanup.
Certificates of insurance
Commercial work is where certificate-of-insurance requests start for a cleaning business: office buildings, property managers, and janitorial contracts almost always require a COI, often naming the building or management company as certificate holder, before your crew gets access. Residential clients increasingly ask too, especially before handing over keys. Olli's general liability policies include instant certificates, so a new contract doesn't stall on paperwork.
New to certificates? Start with our guide to the certificate of insurance: what's on one, who asks for it, and how to provide yours.