Insurance for cleaners Insurance for cleaners

Our cleaners' insurance provides essential cover to protect your business from accidents and injuries, as well as damage to a client’s (or your own) property - whether you work solo or employ a crew.

Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.

Not sure where to start?

Find out what covers businesses like yours choose

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Cleaning business insurance quote

From£
5
per month

What does cleaning insurance cover?

From tripping over vacuum wires to spilling harsh chemicals – running a cleaning doesn't come without risks. And getting into a dispute with a client could get messy.

Whether you work solo or employ a crew, our cleaners insurance provides essential cover to protect your business from accidents, injury, damage to property and more.

10% of cleaners paid £7.15 a month or less for their Superscript business insurance between January and March 2023.

  • 5-star customer service and claims support
  • Change your cover when you need to, without additional fees
  • Choose from £1m, £2m, or £5m of public liability cover
  • Pay monthly or annually, it’s your choice

Be quote confident

We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.

So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.

As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.

What insurance does a cleaner need?

Public liability insurance

If you regularly enter clients’ homes or work around the public at commercial properties, public liability insurance for cleaners is essential for your business. If an accidental injury or property damage happens as a result of your cleaning work, public liability can cover the legal and compensation costs if someone were to make a claim against you.

Business equipment insurance

Cleaning takes a lot of equipment to get the job done and keep your business running, so protecting it all is important. If your cleaning equipment gets stolen or is accidentally damaged, business equipment insurance can cover the cost of repairing or replacing it, so you don’t lose out on work.

Employers' liability insurance

Whether they're full-time, part-time or temporary, employers’ liability (EL) cover is a legal requirement for most businesses that employ any staff in the UK business. Our customisable insurance means you can easily make changes to your policy regarding the number of employees you have and you won't be charged any extra fees.

Personal accident cover

This can pay a lump sum of up to £10,000 if someone working for the business suffers an accident that leaves them disabled and permanently unable to work.

It doesn't cover temporary illnesses and injuries, such as broken limbs and this covers anyone working for the business up to the age of 75.

Hired-in machinery cover

As a cleaning business, you might have to hire some specialist equipment from time to time. If you do, we can add extra cover to your policy to protect hired-in machinery from theft or damage.

Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.

Real Superscript insurance quotes by real cleaners

These real-life examples are to give you an indication of the sort of the cover options Superscript customers are looking for, and how much they were quoted. These customers' names have been changed.

£5.03/MONTH

Dana, a self-employed cleaner from Bristol with an annual turnover of under £50,000.

Quoted £5.03 a month in May 2022:

  • Public liability insurance (£1m limit)

£11.51/MONTH

Anastasia, a cleaner from Littlehampton, with an annual turnover of under £50,000.

Quoted £11.51 a month in March 2023:

  • Public liability insurance (£1m limit)
  • Portable tools cover (£1,000 limit)
  • Legal expenses cover (£100,000 limit)
  • Personal accident cover

£26.52/MONTH

Ash, a cleaning business owner from Colindale, with an annual turnover of under £50,000 and three employees.

Quoted £26.52 a month in June 2022:

  • Public liability insurance (£1m limit)
  • Portable hand tools cover (£1,000 limit)
  • Legal expenses cover (£100,000 limit)
  • Personal accident cover

Just need to insure your tools and equipment?

At Superscript, we offer special cover for just the tools and equipment of your trade. You won't be tied into taking out any other covers in your policy so you only pay for what you need.

As a professional cleaner, you can get simple, customisable cover for vital items of equipment such as:

  • Vacuum cleaner
  • Steam cleaner
  • Pressure washer
  • Equipment trolly
  • Phone

Read more about our tools-only cover.

Claims examples

The risks that could result in a claim are different for every business, but here are a few examples of real claims that cleaning businesses have had to make.

The damaged marble

An employee of a small cleaning business was cleaning an ornate marble sink in a customer’s home and accidentally used abrasive cleaning agents directly on the stone, which damaged the marble to the point that it needed to be replaced.

The business’ public liability insurance covered the cost of replacing the sink in its entirety alongside the cost of the installation.

The slippy floor

A contract worker of a cleaning business slipped on a customer's floor after having mopped it and fractured their wrist. They were unable to work for a period of four weeks, and proceeded to take action against the business via a solicitor, making a claim for loss of earnings, and damages.

The business’ employers’ liability insurance covered the legal and compensation costs involved in the claim.

The flooded carpet cleaner

A cleaning business noticed that their industrial carpet cleaner stopped working following a job. A repair report confirmed that water had damaged one of the components and that owing to the age of the appliance, it was not possible to repair it.

The business’ tools and equipment insurance covered the costs associated with buying a suitable replacement.

How do claims work?

1

Notify us of the claim

Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.

Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.

A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there's an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.

2

We'll get on the case

We'll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you'll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.

We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.

We'll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.

3

A decision is made

We'll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn't covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.

Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.

If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.

Meet our claims team

This is Luke, a Cert CII qualified claims handler and our in-house claims executive here at Superscript. Hi, Luke!

If you are making a claim for lost, stolen or damaged equipment, then Luke or one of our expert claims team will ask you as little as six quick questions, such as 'when and how was the item damaged?' and 'do you have proof of purchase?'.

Once you've answered the questions, they can then begin to resolve your claim and send your payment for processing that very same day!

If your claim is for legal or compensation costs, then the team will handle the process for you and keep you updated every step of the way.

Cleaning insurance FAQs

Do I need insurance to clean houses?

If you employ staff, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for most UK businesses.

It doesn't matter if it's one person or a team of people, if you're not covered for employers’ liability and you have employees, you could be fined up to £2,500 for every day that you didn’t have it.

While not a legal requirement, many cleaning companies find public liability essential to protect their business. This is because you regularly come into contact with other peoples’ property. Some clients may even insist that you have this insurance before taking you on.

How much is insurance for a cleaning business?

The cost of insurance for a cleaning company or sole trader varies depending on factors such as revenue, number or employees and how much cover you’d like. To get an idea of how much your premium would be, we'd recommend starting a quote. There's no obligation and it only take a few minutes.

Will switching from sole trader to a limited company affect my policy?

Yes, switching from a sole trader to limited company may affect your premiums as the legal structure of your business is changing and we usually provide additional cover for limited companies.

I sometimes work overseas, can you provide for that?

Yes, as long as your business is based in the UK, we can provide cleaning liability insurance for work anywhere in the world for a limited period each year.

What kinds of employees are covered under employers’ liability insurance?

All types of employee can be covered under the same policy for the same risks with Superscript’s employers’ liability. So, whether they’re full-time, part-time, subcontractors or agency staff, we have suitable cover for you.

Do you offer commercial and domestic cleaning insurance?

Yes. We offer a range of cleaning insurance policies including:

– Domestic properties only

– Domestic properties plus commercial properties, such as shops and offices

– Domestic and commercial properties with additional cover for hazardous locations

As part of my business, I sell a small number of cleaning products – do you provide cover for this?

Yes, as long as the products aren't homemade or rebranded and are kept at your business premises, we can add stock cover to your policy. And, if you have contents and equipment insurance, we can also protect your stock against theft from your vehicle if it’s left unattended.

Am I covered if I lose my clients’ keys?

Yes, we can extend your cover to include this as well as lock replacement.

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The FCA supervises UK financial services firms to protect consumers. We are directly authorised and regulated by the FCA and our Firm Reference Number is 656459. These details can be confirmed on the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk or by calling the FCA on 0845 606 1234.

A-rated financial strength

Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).

Protected by the FSCS

If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.