How much does cleaning business insurance cost?

Cleaning businesses and contractors spend an average of $48 per month, or $580 per year, for general liability insurance. House cleaners, window cleaners, carpet cleaners, and other professional cleaners may need this coverage in order to sign a commercial lease, get licensed, or work with certain clients.

General liability insurance covers legal costs when a third party (someone outside your company) files a lawsuit over property damage or a bodily injury. It also pays for advertising injuries, such as libel, slander, and copyright infringement.

Working in customers' homes and offices opens your business to liabilities. A customer might slip on a wet floor, or trip over your cleaning equipment. If they file a lawsuit, a general liability policy would help pay for your legal costs.

This is the average general liability insurance policy for cleaning businesses that buy from TechInsurance:

Premium: $48 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate

The cost of general liability insurance depends on several factors, including the policy limits and deductible you choose. Insurance providers will also consider your type of business, the size of your business, and any subcontractors or additional insured endorsements you may have.

Fortunately, LLCs and other small cleaning businesses don't have to pay a lot for insurance. Among cleaning businesses that buy with TechInsurance, 53% pay less than $50 per month for general liability insurance. Another 33% pay between $50 and $100 per month.

Factors such as your business revenue, size, and location affect your insurance costs. By choosing lower coverage limits or a higher deductible, you can reduce your premium to an amount that fits your cleaning company's budget.

The risks of your specific profession, such as house cleaning or window cleaning, are a major factor when determining your insurance costs.

That might include:

• Whether you have a storefront
• The amount of foot traffic
• Interactions with customer property
• The claims history of others in your profession

To some extent, you can predict how much you'll pay for insurance by looking at costs for similar businesses. On average, house cleaners pay a lower rate of $44 per month for general liability insurance, while pressure washing businesses pay a higher rate of $75 per month.

Below, you can see how much different cleaning professions pay for general liability coverage.

Small, low-risk cleaning businesses may be eligible for a business owner’s policy (BOP), which costs an average of $76 per month or $907 annually.

A business owner's policy bundles general liability coverage with commercial property insurance at a lower rate than buying these policies separately. It protects against the most common liability and property lawsuits and helps your business recover from a fire, burglary, or other property loss.

You can add business interruption insurance to a BOP to defend against the cost of a temporary shutdown tied to a covered property claim. For example, it would help pay for employee wages and the cost of renting an office while your carpet cleaning business is closed for renovation after a fire.

The cost of a business owner's policy mostly depends on the value of your business property. Other factors such as your business's size and location can also affect your premium.

On average, cleaning business owners pay $136 per month for workers' compensation insurance, or $1,627 annually.

State laws determine when you need workers' comp. In most states, you need it as soon as you hire your first employee. Only Texas and South Dakota do not have requirements for workers' comp, but it's still recommended.

Workers' compensation pays for medical expenses and provides disability benefits if you or an employee suffers an injury on the job, or develops an occupational disease.

For example, if a window cleaner falls off a ladder at a client's home and breaks their wrist, this policy would pay for their ambulance ride, medical appointments, and prescriptions. It also supplies part of the income they miss out on while they are recovering and unable to work.

Most workers' compensation policies include employer's liability insurance. This type of insurance helps pays for legal defense costs related to workplace injuries.

Though sole proprietors and independent contractors aren't often required to carry workers' comp, it's still a good idea to buy this coverage. If you're injured on the job, your health insurance plan will likely deny the claim, leaving you with hefty out-of-pocket medical bills.

The chance of an on-the-job injury is the biggest factor in determining workers' compensation insurance premiums.

As you can see, 36% of cleaning businesses pay less than $100 per month for workers' compensation insurance. And 67% pay $200 or less per month for insurance coverage.

Insurance companies will take into account the number of employees you have, their occupational risks, and your claims history when calculating the cost of workers' comp.

Cleaning businesses spend an average of $173 per month, or $2,075 per year, for commercial auto insurance.

Most states require this coverage for vehicles owned by a business. If you get into an accident, it can help pay for medical expenses, property repairs, and legal fees. It also covers vehicle theft and vandalism, in case your cleaning van or other company vehicle is stolen or damaged.

Keep in mind that sole proprietors and independent contractors who drive their own vehicle for work will need extra coverage as well. Your personal auto policy won't cover work-related accidents, so you'll want to consider buying hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA).

HNOA provides liability coverage for personal, leased, and rented vehicles driven for work purposes.

Insurance companies consider many factors when determining the cost of a commercial auto policy. That includes your employees' driving records, policy limits and deductibles, the number of vehicles you own and their value, and the coverage options you choose.

Cleaning businesses pay an average of $67 per month, or $801 annually, for commercial umbrella insurance.

Commercial umbrella insurance boosts the coverage of your underlying policies, such as:

• General liability insurance
• Commercial auto insurance
• Employer's liability insurance

For example, if a multi-vehicle crash results in costs that exceed the limits on your commercial auto insurance, then umbrella insurance would kick in to provide coverage, up to the limit of the umbrella policy.

This coverage is similar to excess liability insurance, which increases the limits on general liability insurance. You might need an umbrella policy to sign a commercial cleaning contract or to get coverage for the most expensive types of lawsuits.

Umbrella insurance is available in $1 million increments. The cost of an umbrella policy depends on how much coverage you buy, along with other factors.

The average cost of a janitorial bond is $11 per month, or about $126 annually, for house cleaning businesses and other professional cleaners. Outside of the cleaning industry, these bonds are referred to as fidelity bonds.

A janitorial bond acts as a contract between a business, its clients, and an insurance company. If an employee at your cleaning company steals from a client, the insurance carrier will compensate the client for their financial loss.

Unlike a business insurance policy, this money must be paid back to the company that issued the bond.

You may need to get a janitorial bond in order to work with certain clients or to get licensed in your state.

The cost of a fidelity bond is a percentage of the total bond amount.