How to Choose the Best Coverage As a Professional House Cleaner

Professional cleaners must know what’s best for their business, and that includes choosing the best coverage. But how can housekeeping services protect themselves in cases where items get lost or broken, or when their clients aren’t satisfied?

Here are 3 essential coverage professional house cleaners must consider:

• Business License. A business license is the single most important thing professional cleaning services must have. It’s a document or certificate that’s issued by your government. In simple terms, a business license gives you permission to operate in your local region, province, state or country. Having a business license proves that you are a legitimate housekeeping company. Though not legally required, it’s highly recommended as some local area mandates it, and governing bodies can impose fines or force you to shut down if you don’t have it.
• Insurance. Commercial insurance are insurance policies that can prove to be very useful in case of damages. They offer peace of mind in daily operations and emergencies as well.
• Workers Compensation. Consider getting workers compensation if you have employees, as it gives coverage in the instance that an employee gets injured while working.
• Professional Liability Insurance. Your cleaning service will be protected by dissatisfied clients who claim you didn’t perform the service, or if for valid reasons you’re unable to complete a job.
• General Liability Insurance. General liability protects your business and yourself whenever you experience personal injury or in cases of property damage. It’s one of the best insurance coverage to get, especially in the housekeeping industry.
• Commercial Car Insurance. House cleaning services with commercial trucks or vans should get a commercial car insurance. This covers employees, cleaning products and equipment in case of an auto accident.
• Business Owner Policy. A customizable set of coverage for business owners. Here, you’ll be able to choose from several policies according to the nature of your business and needs. Getting a BOP may be advantageous for you in several instances. One, you can bundle the policies you think you need in one neat package. You can take out what you don’t want and only pay for the ones you do. Also, a BOP can give you more savings compared to buying each individual policy.
• Bonds. Bonds are a type of coverage that’s customer-centric. This means that you guarantee that your housekeeping services will be completed, or else your client gets a refund. Bonds can be obtained from third party services, and can help your business in certain finance-related situations. Customers will often prefer a bonded company as it gives them a sense of security and legitimacy compared to ones that don’t. There are different bonds, with each catering to unique purposes within the cleaning business.
• Contract Bonds. Contract bonds are mostly to cover the cleaning services you offer. If your business operates in high-value contracts and have a set budget, deadline or requirements, then it makes sense to invest in a contact bond. This type of bond gives clients reassurance that you’ll be true to your contract terms.
• Business Service Bonds. Business service bonds are a kind of fail-safe that protects your clients from unscrupulous employees. It can be useful in cases of employees stealing money or valuable goods from clients, or when they damage or break items such as furniture, electronic devices and others. Clients will then gain peace of mind knowing that if anything happens to their home as it’s being cleaned, your company will cover it.
• Fidelity Bond. In simple terms, a fidelity bond covers financial loss. An example of how a fidelity bond works is when you have a house cleaning staff and you want to be protected from stealing or embezzlement, among others. For businesses where employees handle cash and transactions on an everyday basis, are hired regularly or make home visits, getting a fidelity bond is a sound choice.

Which Professional House Cleaning Coverage Should You Choose?

Knowing which coverage to choose can be tricky, but ultimately it depends on several factors- how big your cleaning business is, how many staff you employ, where you are located and how protected you want to be. As you grow your company you’ll have an idea of which insurance or bond you need to gain more clients, and which ones will make you the preferred choice over other cleaning services.