Are You Insured? Checking a Commercial Cleaner's Cover

"Are you insured?" is one of the first questions a facilities manager should ask us, and one of the last things a lot of cleaning firms want to talk about in detail. It is easy to say "yes, fully insured" on a quote. It is a very different thing to hand over a current certificate, name the correct limits, and explain what each policy actually pays out for when something goes wrong at 6am on a wet reception floor. We have been cleaning commercial buildings across Gloucestershire for years, and we have seen what a genuine claim looks like from the inside. This guide walks you through the insurance a commercial cleaner should carry in the UK, why each cover exists, and exactly how to check that a contractor is telling you the truth before you let them near your building.

Why an uninsured cleaner is your problem, not theirs

Here is the part that surprises people. When an uninsured contractor causes damage or injury on your premises, the financial risk does not stay neatly with them. If the cleaner has no valid public liability cover and no assets, the injured party's solicitor looks for the next available deep pocket, and that is frequently the occupier or the client who hired them. You can find yourself named in a claim for an accident your own staff had nothing to do with, simply because you brought the contractor onto site.

A few concrete scenarios we have either handled or been called in to fix after another firm walked away. A cleaner leaves a wet floor with no signage and a visitor slips and breaks a wrist. A buffing machine cable trips a member of staff carrying a hot drink. A caustic stripper is used on a sealed vinyl floor and lifts the finish across a whole corridor, costing thousands to relay. A vacuum is left running against a skirting board overnight and scorches the carpet. Each of those is a real number, not a hypothetical, and each is exactly what public liability insurance is designed to absorb. Without it, the money has to come from somewhere, and "somewhere" is often the business that signed the contract.

The core policies a UK commercial cleaner must carry

There is no single "cleaning insurance" product. A properly protected contractor stacks several policies together, and the important ones are not optional extras. When we quote for commercial cleaning work, this is the cover sitting behind every visit.

Public liability insurance

This is the big one for anyone working inside your building. Public liability covers injury to third parties (your staff, visitors, members of the public) and damage to third-party property caused by our work. For most commercial contracts you want to see a limit of indemnity of at least five million pounds. Larger clients, NHS sites, schools and blue-chip head offices routinely specify ten million as a condition of the contract, and there is a good reason for that: a single serious slip claim with long-term loss of earnings can run well past a million pounds once care costs and legal fees are added.

Employers' liability insurance

This one is not a nice-to-have, it is the law. Under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, any business in Great Britain with employees must hold employers' liability cover of at least five million pounds (most policies are written at ten million as standard). It protects the cleaning operatives themselves if they are injured at work. A cleaner who claims to have staff but cannot produce an employers' liability certificate is either breaking the law or using labour they are pretending not to employ, and both should make you nervous. The certificate must be displayed or available on request, and it names the insurer and policy number.

Treatment, care and custody cover

This is the one most clients have never heard of, and it is the one that quietly matters most in cleaning. Standard public liability often excludes damage to property that is in your "care, custody or control" while you are working on it. Think about what that means for cleaning: we are literally handling your desks, your IT equipment, your reception marble, your leather seating. If a cleaner knocks a monitor off a bench or stains a client's boardroom table, a bare public liability policy can decline the claim because the item was in the cleaner's control at the time. Proper contractors carry an extension for this. Ask specifically whether "care, custody and control" damage is covered and up to what value.

Loss of keys and lock replacement

Out-of-hours cleaning means holding keys, fobs and alarm codes. Lose a master suite key for a multi-tenant building and the cost is not a locksmith and a new key; it is re-suiting every lock the key opened, which can be a five-figure bill. A cleaner working after hours should carry loss of keys cover as part of their package. If they hold your keys and cannot confirm this, you are carrying that risk yourself.

How to actually verify the cover (not just take their word for it)

Anyone can type "fully insured and DBS checked" on a website. Verification takes ten minutes and it is worth doing before you sign, not after an incident. Here is the process we are happy to be put through, and one you should run on any contractor.

One more practical tip: insurance runs annually, so build a reminder to re-request certificates each year. A contractor who was fully covered when you signed can quietly let a policy lapse, and you will not know unless you ask. We send our clients updated certificates automatically at renewal, but you should never have to rely on a supplier remembering.

What insurance does not replace: training, method and risk assessment

Insurance is the safety net, not the trapeze act. A firm that leans on "we're insured, don't worry" is telling you they expect accidents. The far more reassuring answer is that claims are rare because the work is done properly in the first place. That comes down to trained operatives, the right method statements and risk assessments (RAMS) for each site, correct signage, and COSHH-compliant handling of chemicals.

When we take on a new site we produce a site-specific risk assessment before the first shift, not a generic template. Wet floor signs go out and stay out until the floor is dry. Trailing cables are routed away from walkways. Chemicals are decanted, labelled and stored to COSHH standards, and operatives are trained on what not to mix (the classic being bleach and acidic descaler, which produces chlorine gas). For our office cleaning contracts, that discipline is why the vast majority of our clients go years without a single incident. The insurance is there, current and generous, but the aim is never to need it.

There is also a reputational layer here. An accident on your premises, even a minor one, creates disruption, paperwork and awkward conversations with staff or tenants. A cleaner who is properly insured but sloppy still costs you time and goodwill. Look for both: real cover on paper, and a real safety culture on the ground.

Insurance as a sign of a serious business

The way a cleaning company handles the insurance conversation tells you a lot about how they will handle everything else. Firms that produce certificates without being chased, carry proper limits, extend their cover for care and custody and keys, and welcome verification are usually the same firms that turn up on time, train their people and answer the phone when something needs sorting. Firms that get vague, defensive or slow when you ask are showing you their whole operating standard in miniature.

We would rather over-explain our cover than have a client discover a gap during a claim. If you would like to see our current employers' liability and public liability certificates, or you want us to confirm limits against your lease or your own insurer's requirements, just ask. Call us on 0800 069 9055 or email [email protected] and we will send everything across, along with a straightforward quote for the work. You can also read more about our full range of commercial cleaning services and how we set up new contracts.

Frequently asked questions

Is a commercial cleaning company legally required to be insured?

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement in Great Britain for any cleaning business that employs staff, with a minimum limit of five million pounds. Public liability is not a legal requirement in the same way, but it is effectively essential; almost no reputable client will let an uninsured contractor onto their premises, and many commercial leases make it a condition. In practice, any legitimate commercial cleaner will carry both.

How much public liability cover should my cleaner have?

Five million pounds is the sensible floor for most commercial work. Many larger organisations, public sector sites and schools specify ten million as a contractual requirement, and a single serious injury claim can genuinely reach those levels once loss of earnings, care and legal costs are included. Check what your own lease or insurer requires, and make sure the contractor's limit meets or exceeds it.

What is "care, custody and control" cover and why does it matter for cleaning?

Standard public liability policies often exclude damage to items that are in the cleaner's care while they work on them, which is a problem in cleaning because we handle your equipment, furniture and surfaces constantly. A treatment or care, custody and control extension covers accidental damage to those items, for example a scratched boardroom table or a knocked-over monitor. Always ask whether it is included and up to what value.

How do I check a cleaning company's insurance is genuine?

Ask for the actual certificates showing the insurer, policy number, limit of indemnity and expiry date, and confirm the named insured matches the company you are contracting with. Check the policy's trade description covers the tasks you need, and for larger contracts phone the broker or insurer named on the certificate to confirm cover is live. Re-request certificates each year, because policies renew annually and can lapse.

What happens if an uninsured cleaner causes damage or injury on my premises?

If the contractor has no valid cover and no assets to pay a claim, the injured party's solicitor will often pursue the occupier or the client who hired them instead. You can end up drawn into a claim, and your own commercial insurance and premiums may be affected. That is why verifying a contractor's cover before they start work protects you as much as it protects them.

Does insurance mean accidents are more likely to be handled quickly?

Yes, in the sense that a properly insured firm has a clear route to resolve genuine damage or injury without dispute over who pays. But the better indicator is a low incident rate in the first place, which comes from trained staff, site-specific risk assessments, correct signage and COSHH-compliant chemical handling. Good cover and good practice should come together; be wary of a firm that offers one without the other.

Will you provide your insurance details before we sign a contract?

Absolutely, and you should expect any serious contractor to do the same. We provide current employers' liability and public liability certificates on request, confirm our limits against your requirements, and are happy for you to verify them with our broker. Contact us on 0800 069 9055 or [email protected] and we will send everything you need before you commit to anything.