Cleaning and Janitorial Insurance in Florida
Most cleaning companies buy insurance because a client asked for a certificate. That is a reasonable way to start, and it usually produces a policy that satisfies the request and misses the two exposures that matter most in this trade.
The first is damage to what you were cleaning. The second is theft by an employee inside a client’s home or office. Neither is automatically covered by a general liability policy.
The Coverage a Client Contract Asks For
Property managers, office buildings, HOAs, medical offices, and retail landlords generally require the same three things:
General liability, usually at a stated limit. This covers injury to a third party and damage to property that is not yours.
Workers’ compensation, or a valid exemption on file, if you have employees.
Additional insured status for the client. This is the part that trips people up. A certificate of insurance proves a policy exists. The additional insured endorsement is the document that actually extends coverage to the client. Some property managers reject a certificate that arrives without it.
We can issue the certificate and the endorsement the same day. After the first one, you can pull certificates yourself from our system whenever a new client asks — most cleaning companies need several a month, and waiting on an agent for each one costs you jobs.
Care, Custody and Control: The Exclusion That Matters Most Here
General liability covers damage to property belonging to others. What it typically excludes is damage to property that was under your care, custody or control — meaning the thing you were working on.
For a cleaning company that is nearly everything in the room.
A cleaning solution that discolors a stone countertop. A vacuum that catches and pulls the edge of an area rug. A polish that damages a hardwood finish. A machine that scratches a floor. In each case the damaged item is the item you were cleaning, and standard general liability may not respond.
Some carriers offer a limited extension for this. It is worth asking about specifically, because in this trade the excluded category is the daily work.
Employee Theft Is a Separate Policy
Your employees have keys, alarm codes, and unsupervised access to homes and offices. If something goes missing, general liability does not cover it — theft by your own employee is excluded.
The coverage that responds is a janitorial bond, sometimes called an employee dishonesty bond or fidelity bond. It reimburses the client for theft committed by your employee.
Two reasons this matters beyond the claim itself. Many commercial contracts require it by name, so a company without one loses bids. And it is a genuine selling point with residential clients, who are letting a stranger into their house — “we’re bonded” means something specific and most of your competitors cannot say it.
Water and the Cleaning Company
The largest claims in this trade usually involve water.
A hose left connected. A sink or mop bucket that overflows on an upper floor. A carpet extraction machine that leaks overnight. The water reaches drywall, flooring, ceilings, and in an office building, the suite below.
Two habits reduce this materially: check every water source before leaving, and photograph any pre-existing damage in a new space before you start. The argument that a stain was already there only works with a photo.
Employees, Subcontractors, and Independent Contractors
Workers’ compensation applies to employees. Many cleaning companies use workers they treat as independent contractors, and that classification is examined against the actual working relationship — who controls the schedule and method, who supplies equipment and supplies, whether the worker operates an independent business — not against what the agreement says.
If you subcontract crews, you are responsible for verifying their coverage. Collect a certificate or exemption before they start, and keep it. Payments to an uninsured subcontractor can be added to your payroll at audit.
Vehicles
Cleaning companies drive constantly, and the exposure is often uninsured.
A personal auto policy generally excludes business use. A vehicle carrying supplies and equipment from job to job every day is being used commercially regardless of whose name is on the title.
If employees drive their own cars between jobs, hired and non-owned auto coverage is what responds for the business. It is inexpensive and frequently missing.
Equipment
Floor machines, extractors, vacuums, pressure washers, and pallets of supplies are not covered by general liability. That requires equipment coverage, and the questions are where it is covered — in the van overnight, in a storage unit, at a job site — and whether it settles at replacement cost or depreciated value.
Theft from work vans is common enough in South Florida that the storage conditions in the policy are worth reading.
What a Typical Program Includes
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General liability — third-party injury and property damage
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Janitorial bond — employee theft at client locations
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Workers’ compensation — required with employees
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Hired and non-owned auto — employees driving their own vehicles for work
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Equipment coverage — machines and supplies, on site and in transit
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Care, custody and control extension — where available, for damage to what you clean
Specialized Work Changes the Policy
Standard commercial and residential cleaning is one thing. These are different, and each should be disclosed:
Post-construction cleanup. Medical facility cleaning, with biohazard handling. Crime scene or trauma cleaning. Window cleaning above ground level, where height restrictions apply. Pressure washing, which raises its own water and surface-damage questions. Carpet and upholstery cleaning with chemicals.
A policy written for office cleaning does not describe a company doing post-construction work, and operating outside the described operations is how businesses end up insured but not covered.
Get a Quote
We work with cleaning and janitorial companies throughout Miami, Hialeah, Doral, Kendall, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and across Florida — from single-owner operations to companies running multiple crews.
Quotes are quick, and we can have your certificate and additional insured endorsement the same day. After that you can generate certificates yourself whenever a new client asks.
Miami 305-969-8776 · Orlando 407-993-2331 · Stuart 561-983-4333
Se Habla Español.
General information only, not legal advice. Coverage depends on the terms of your policy; refer to your policy for what applies to your business.
