Tradesman: Cleaners & Cleaning Companies

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Cleaners & Cleaning Business Insurance

Public Liability Insurance

Small cleaning businesses have a legal duty to protect the public (and client) from injury or wrongful acts, either deliberate or the result of negligence by the business or an employee.

Whether a self employed sole trader or a small cleaning business, many cleaners are unaware that damage to property being worked on i.e. being cleaned, is often excluded from insurance policies. Which can leave the cleaner having to shoulder the full cost of a loss themselves.

Chemical Treatment Damage

According to a specialist cleaning insurer, chemical damage is a standard exclusion under most cleaning contractors and contract cleaners general tradesman policies for carpets, upholstery or soft furnishings.

Other points to remember are that although in theory you don't need Public Liability Insurance under law, many main contractors won't consider a suncontractor without it.

Theft and Loss

It's not surprising that cleaners forgetting to shut windows or doors, or not setting the security alarm is not too unusual.

As cleaners often work outside business hours, opportunistic thieves are quick to take advantage of the situation as there's less fear of discovery.

A good cleaners' insurance policy needs to cover you for this type of situation, and pay out a sum to help meet any losses you have to reimburse to the client.

Specialist cleaning insurers can also provide cover to protect you against common pitfalls - loss of keys, misuse of customers' telephones and theft of property.

Employers Liability Insurance

If you have employees or use labour only sub-contractors, even if they're self employed and carry their own insurance, you still need employers liability cover.

Do I need Insurance?

Do I need cleaners insurance, well there are many things that could go wrong:

• A domestic cleaning employee steals cash and valuables worth thousands of pounds from a customer's home
• A worker acccidently leaves keys in an office or shop door and the premises are burgled
• An employee sues you for industrial dermatitis caused by cleaning chemicals
• You cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a hotel carpet

The Cleaning & Support Services Association (CSSA) is the largest trade association for the cleaning and support services industry.

They offer a free business helpline for members on issues such as Health & Safety, Employment Law, payroll, tax and VAT.

Domestic, Commercial and
Industrial Cleaning Contractors Insurance

Direct Line Tradesman Insurance

Direct Line's new Tradesman Insurance is designed for established professional cleaners with up to 10 manual employees.

The Direct Line's Tradesman Insurance provides liability cover in a comprehensive standard policy. This gives up to £1m public liability cover, with option to increase up to £5 million and add additional covers such as employers liability cover and tools.

Camberford Law PLC

Based in Bromley in Kent, Camberford Law PLC has been providing specialist insurance for the cleaning industry since 1958.

As well as being advisors to the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc), they're associate members of the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA) and members of the Cleaning & Support Services Association (CSSA).

They insure most types of cleaning including office, domestic, carpet/upholstery cleaning, pressure washing and buildings, to name a few.

Policy features

Their exclusive Cleaning Contractors and Support Services Insurance Scheme includes:

• Employers' Liability
• Public Liability - £1m, £2m and £5m with higher limits available. Included in the public liability section are:
  • Products Liability - for legal liability from any product supplied, stored, handled, manufactured, treated, sold or distributed by you
  • Treatment risks (eg shrinkage, colour runs, using the wrong cleaning process on carpets, soft furnishings and upholstery)
  • Lapse of security at customers' premises caused by staff negligence
  • Damage to customer's property taken off site for cleaning
  • Damage to property being worked on
  • Loss of damage to workers' clothing and personal effects
  • Accidental destruction of customers goods
  • Financial Loss
• Legal Expenses
• Property - includes All Risks cover for cleaning machinery in the UK
• Motor Fleet Insurance
• Directors & Officers Insurance

Optional extras

• Loss of customers' keys to cover replacement costs plus any resulting
• Misuse of Customer Telephones
• Fidelity Guarantee (theft of money or goods by employees)

Policy holders can access a document drafting facility as well as an online Employment Manual.

Darwin Clayton (UK) Insurers Ltd

Independent insurance brokers Darwin Clayton (UK) Insurers Ltd come highly recommended by The Cleaning & Support Services Association (CSSA). They have two offices in the UK - Tunbridge Wells and Nottingham.

As well as contract cleaners insurance, they also specialise in providing cover for security companies, alarm installers and shop fitters.

Underwritten by Aviva, policyholders have access to the company's risk management package, a free legal helpline and help with training and consultancy services.

Policy features:

• Employers Liability - £10million
• Public and Products Liability - £5million (higher limits available)

Subcontractors are automatically included in cover, bona fide subbies aren't - they need their own insurance which you must check.

All the nuts and bolts you would expect from a specialist cleaners insurance policy are included e.g.:

• Damage tproperty being cleaned and Treatment Risks.
• Lapse in security of customer's premises
• Employee Dishonesty - £1m aggregate limit.
• Misuse of telephones - £50,000 aggregate limit.
• Loss of keys and resulting loss - £75,000 per section.
• Financial losses - £250,000 aggregate limit.
• Professional Indemnity £100,000 aggregate limit.

Optional extras

• Environmental clean-up costs - £1m or £m
• Buildings and contents
• Money on your premises and in transit
• Personal accident/assault for employees carrying cash
• Worldwide cover for plant, stock, materials, laptops
• Business interruption
• Legal Expenses
• Engineering
• Directors & Officers
• Personal Accident
• Motor Fleet insurance

You can submit an online enquiry form at dcuk.co.uk and they'll get back tyou in 48 hours.

Polished Insurance

Wigan-based Polished Insurance, an arm of Allied Insurance Services Ltd, specialise in providing cleaning insurance for domestic, commercial and industrial cleaning contractors including self employed cleaners and contract cleaners with employees or sub contractors.

All types of cleaning are covered including:

• Shop
• Office
• Builders
• End of tenancy
• School
• Window
• Conservatory
• Gutter & Fascia
• Communal
• Machinery
• Carpet & Upholstery

They offer three types of cleaners insurance - for Contract Cleaners, General Cleaners and Industrial Cleaners.

You can choose from Public Liability insurance or combined Public & Employers liability insurance cover including issues not normally covered by standard tradesman policies:

• Loss of customers' keys
• Damage tproperty being worked upon
• Treatment Risks
• Temporary removal of customers' goods
• Misuse of customers' telephones
• Failure tsecure customers' premises

Depending on your sector, they aim tprovide you with between 1 and 3 quotes - twfrom insurers whprovide cover that other insurers don't offer, and the third from a mainstream insurer that excludes specialist covers for your trade.

You can pay premiums monthly, though you'll be charged for this. For premiums under £500, expect tpay around 8% interest. Over this amount, around 6%. (Prices correct at Oct 2010.)

Cleaning businesses can alsget cover through Polished Insurance for:

• Van and Motor Fleet Insurance
• Commercial Legal Expenses Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Income Protection Insurance

polished-insurance.co.uk

UK Special Risks Ltd

When it comes tspecialist cleaning insurance, it's hard timagine an insurer whoffers wider coverage than Chatham-based UK Special Risks Ltd.

They've got 50 years' experience in providing cover for the cleaning industry under their belt, and on the face of it looks like there's nclean-up job they won't touch.

Specialist areas include:

• BiHazards - Crime scene and trauma cleaning including the cleaning of bodily fluids
• Shot/sand blasting and pressure washing buildings and structures
• High access cleaning work using hydraulic platforms, ladders and abseiling or cradle work
• Industrial cleaning including use of dry ice cleaning

Their definition of cleaning even reaches tthe area of pest control and covers the use of shotguns and poisons.

They alscover more run of the mill cleaning contractors, janitorial suppliers and facilities management companies.

As you would expect, cover is provided for those areas that general tradesmen policies tend toverlook, including:

• Damage tproperty being worked on ( carpets, windows etc).>
• Failure tsecure customer's premises correctly (eg not setting the alarm systems, or leaving windows or doors open) with cover for resulting losses. Loss of Keys - Losing keys can render a customer's premises insecure - we provide cover for replacement locks / keys in such circumstances.
• Misuse of Customer Telephone systems
• Accidental Damage of customer's goods as well as customer's cleaning equipment.

You can buy cover for cleaning equipment anywhere in the UK, as well as your office contents.

You can choose between Public and Products Liability of £1m, £2m, £5m or £10m.

Employers Liability is £10m but you can get a higher limit if you need it.

ukspecialrisks.co.uk

Mill Hall Insurance

Essex-based Mill Hall Insurance offer insurance specifically for carpet cleaning companies. It wins the seal of approval from the National Carpet Cleaners Association (NCCA).

Open tsole traders, partnerships and limited companies, as well as carpet and upholstery cleaners it's alssuitable for other trades including:

• General cleaners - domestic, commercial and industrial
• Drain cleaning including repair, maintenance and excavation work
• Wheelie bin cleaners (domestic )
• Window Cleaning including heights above 10 metres

They'll alsconsider pressure water washing & jetting.

If you sign up for a policy they'll calculate the premium on your estimated annual turnover, wage roll and payments tsub contractors.

Towards the expiry date of the annual policy, you'll be asked tsubmit the actual figures for the period. If higher than originally estimated, you'll need tpay an extra premium. If it's lower, there's nrefund.

The minimum insurance premium is £262.50 (correct at Oct 2010).

Policy features

• Public & Products Liability - £1m, £2m or £5m but £10m is available
• Employers' Liability - £10 million
• Treatment Risks - for damage tcarpets, curtains and upholstery caused by using the wrong cleaning products
• Damage tProperty Being Worked On

Optional extras

• Loss of Keys
• Plant & Equipment - All risks cover

Policies are underwritten by Casualty & General Insurance Company ( Europe) Ltd.

For a quotation, fill in the online quote form and they'll get back tyou.

millhall.com