Cleaner insurance: key facts
- Public liability is not a legal requirement for a self-employed cleaner, but most clients, letting agents and offices expect it.
- Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ anyone, with at least £5 million of cover. Fines can reach £2,500 a day.
- Cleaner insurance for a sole trader costs roughly £50 to £120 a year for public liability only (rough guide figure).
- Key cover pays to change locks if you lose clients' keys. A lost key ring can mean new locks for several homes.
- Policies differ on whether they cover damage to the item you are cleaning, such as a carpet or worktop. Check the wording.
- Cleaners you pay as "self-employed" may still count as employees for insurance purposes, depending on how they actually work.
- If you employ cleaners, COSHH rules require you to assess and control the risks from the chemicals they use.
- Driving between clients needs business use on your car insurance.
What does cleaner insurance cover?
Cleaner insurance is usually a bundle of covers rather than one policy. The core is public liability, which pays claims if you damage a client's property or injure someone. Most domestic cleaners add key cover, and anyone with staff must add employers' liability.
| Cover | What it protects | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Claims from clients or the public for injury or damage to their property, such as bleach on a carpet, a broken ornament, a flooded kitchen or someone slipping on a wet floor. | Every cleaner. This is the core of any policy. |
| Key cover | The cost of replacing locks and keys if you lose a client's key, including for several clients if a key ring goes missing. | Anyone who holds clients' keys or alarm codes. |
| Employers' liability | Claims from staff injured or made ill at work, for example a back injury or a skin reaction to cleaning products. | A legal requirement as soon as you employ anyone, including part-time help. |
| Damage to property in your care | Damage to the item you are actually working on, such as a rug, sofa or worktop. Sometimes called care, custody and control cover. | Cleaners doing deep cleans, carpet or upholstery work, or end-of-tenancy cleans. |
| Equipment | Vacuum cleaners, carpet machines, steam cleaners and other kit if they are lost, stolen or damaged. | Cleaners with expensive machines, especially kept in a car or van. |
| Personal accident | A payment if you are injured and can't work, for example after a fall on stairs. | Sole traders with no sick pay to fall back on. |
| Fidelity (employee dishonesty) | Theft from a client's home by one of your staff. | Cleaning businesses with staff. Some clients and contracts ask for it. |
| Business vehicle use | Driving to and between clients, and carrying equipment. | Any cleaner who drives for work. Arranged through your motor insurer, not the cleaning policy. |
Do cleaners need insurance by law?
If you work alone as a self-employed cleaner, insurance is not a legal requirement. Once you employ anyone, even one part-time cleaner, employers' liability insurance is compulsory, with at least £5 million of cover.
In practice, most cleaners get insured anyway:
- Clients ask for it. People are letting you into their home, often with their keys and alarm code. Many ask to see your certificate before you start.
- Letting agents and offices usually insist on it. End-of-tenancy work and commercial contracts often need proof of public liability cover, sometimes at a set minimum such as £2 million or £5 million.
- You are personally liable. As a sole trader, a claim for a ruined carpet, a water leak or an injury is paid from your own money if you have no cover.
Employers who don't hold employers' liability insurance can be fined up to £2,500 for every day they are uninsured, and must display or make available their certificate to staff. This applies across Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own, very similar, rules.
How much does cleaner insurance cost?
For a sole-trader domestic cleaner, public liability insurance costs roughly £50 to £120 a year. Adding key cover and equipment typically takes it to about £70 to £180, and a cleaning business with staff can expect roughly £250 to £700. These are rough guide figures.
| Typical set-up | Rough guide price per year |
|---|---|
| Sole trader domestic cleaner, public liability only | £50 to £120 |
| Sole trader adding key cover and equipment | £70 to £180 |
| Cleaning business with staff (adds employers' liability) | £250 to £700 |
What affects the price of cleaning insurance:
- Your level of public liability cover. £1 million, £2 million and £5 million are common. Commercial clients and letting agents may set a minimum.
- The type of cleaning. Regular domestic cleaning is usually the cheapest to insure. End-of-tenancy, deep cleans, carpet and upholstery cleaning, and office cleaning carry more risk.
- Staff. Employers' liability is priced largely on your wage bill and the number of people you employ.
- Turnover and number of clients. More homes visited means more exposure.
- Key cover limit and how many clients' keys you hold.
- Extras, such as equipment, personal accident and fidelity cover.
- Your excess and claims history.
Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) at 12% is added to most business insurance premiums. A broker can give you an actual price once they know how you work.
What to check before you buy cleaning insurance
Two cleaner insurance policies at the same price can cover very different things. Check these points in the policy wording, not just the summary.
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Property being worked on | Some policies exclude damage to the carpet, sofa or surface you are cleaning. This is one of the most common reasons cleaners' claims are refused. |
| Key cover limit | Changing locks on several homes after losing a key ring can cost well over £1,000. Check the limit per key and per claim. |
| Types of cleaning covered | Make sure end-of-tenancy, office, carpet, oven or window cleaning is listed if you do it. |
| Public liability limit | Check it meets what your clients, letting agents or contracts ask for. |
| Who counts as an employee | Check the policy covers helpers, subcontractors and casual staff, however you pay them. |
| Theft by staff | Standard public liability does not usually cover theft. You may need fidelity cover if you employ cleaners. |
| Excess | The amount you pay towards each claim. A high excess can make small claims, like a broken ornament, not worth making. |
Rules and regulations cleaners should know
Cleaning has no licence in the UK, but health and safety law still applies. If you employ anyone, you must hold employers' liability insurance, assess the risks of their work and control their exposure to hazardous cleaning chemicals under COSHH.
- COSHH. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 require employers to assess and control the risks from hazardous substances, which includes many bleaches, descalers, oven cleaners and disinfectants. In practice: read the safety data sheets, choose safer products, provide gloves, train staff and record your assessment. Northern Ireland has its own equivalent regulations.
- Risk assessment. Employers must assess the health and safety risks of the work. If you employ five or more people, you must write down the significant findings.
- Wet floors and trailing cables. Slips and trips are a common cause of injury claims. Use warning signs on wet floors, especially in offices and shared areas.
- DBS checks. Cleaners don't legally need a criminal record check for ordinary domestic or office work, but many clients like to see one. A basic check is available through the DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland in Scotland and AccessNI in Northern Ireland.
- Self-employed or agency. If you run a cleaning agency that introduces self-employed cleaners to clients, your insurance needs are different from a business that employs cleaners directly. Explain your model to the broker.
Common claims for cleaners
Most claims against cleaners are for accidental damage to a client's property, followed by lost keys and slips or trips. The examples below are typical of what public liability and key cover are designed to pay for.
- Bleach on a carpet. A splash of bleach leaves pale marks across a client's fitted lounge carpet, and the whole room needs re-carpeting.
- A broken ornament. You knock a valuable vase or picture off a shelf while dusting.
- A flood from a tap left running. A tap left on in an upstairs bathroom overflows and damages the ceiling and flooring below.
- The wrong product on the wrong surface. An abrasive cleaner scratches a granite worktop, or a descaler damages a natural stone floor.
- A slip or trip. A client slips on a floor you have just mopped, or trips over your vacuum cable and breaks a wrist.
- Lost keys. Your key ring goes missing, and the locks on four clients' homes have to be changed.
- An injured employee. A member of staff hurts their back moving furniture, or develops dermatitis from cleaning products, and makes a claim.
Starting a cleaning business: checklist
Before you take your first paying client, register with HMRC, get public liability and key cover in place, sort out business use on your car, and agree terms in writing with each client.
- Register as self-employed with HMRC, or set up a limited company.
- Get insured: public liability and key cover as a minimum, plus equipment cover if you use expensive machines.
- Add business use to your car insurance if you drive to clients.
- Agree terms in writing with each client: what you clean, which products you can use, how keys are held and what happens if something is damaged.
- Consider a basic DBS check. Clients often ask, and it helps you win work.
- Before you hire anyone, add employers' liability, carry out a COSHH assessment and a risk assessment, and think about fidelity cover.
Domestic cleaner insurance vs cleaning business insurance
A self-employed domestic cleaner usually needs public liability and key cover. A cleaning business with staff, office contracts or end-of-tenancy work usually needs employers' liability, higher liability limits, and often fidelity and equipment cover too.
| You are | Usual cover |
|---|---|
| Sole trader cleaning homes | Public liability (often £1m to £2m), key cover, personal accident, business use on your car. |
| Sole trader adding end-of-tenancy or deep cleans | As above, plus cover for property being worked on and equipment cover. Letting agents may ask for a higher liability limit. |
| Small office or commercial cleaning | Public liability, often at £5m to meet contract terms, plus key or access card cover. |
| Cleaning business with staff | All of the above, plus employers' liability (compulsory), and often fidelity cover. |
If you only work for one household as their employee, for example paid through their payroll, your employer's home insurance and employers' liability may apply rather than your own policy. Most cleaners are self-employed, so they need their own cover.
Why use a broker rather than buying online?
Buying online suits many sole-trader cleaners with simple needs. A broker is useful when your work is less standard, for example you employ staff, do end-of-tenancy or commercial cleaning, or want to be sure the policy covers damage to the property you are working on.
A broker who arranges cover for cleaners can compare insurers, explain exclusions such as property being worked on, check the key cover limit suits how many keys you hold, and help if you ever need to claim.
For a wider guide to every type of business cover, see our small business insurance guide.
Related guides
Cleaner insurance: frequently asked questions
Do cleaners need insurance in the UK?
A self-employed cleaner working alone is not legally required to have insurance, but most clients, letting agents and offices expect public liability cover. If you employ anyone, employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement with at least £5 million of cover.
How much does cleaner insurance cost?
As a rough guide, a sole-trader domestic cleaner pays roughly £50 to £120 a year for public liability only. Adding key cover and equipment typically costs about £70 to £180, and a cleaning business with staff roughly £250 to £700. Insurance Premium Tax at 12% is included in these rough guide figures.
What is public liability insurance for cleaners?
Public liability insurance for cleaners pays compensation and legal costs if you accidentally damage a client's property or injure someone while working. Typical claims include stains on carpets, broken ornaments, water leaks and people slipping on wet floors.
Am I covered if I damage the carpet I'm cleaning?
It depends on the policy. Some public liability policies exclude damage to the property you are working on, while others include it or let you add it. If you do carpet, upholstery or deep cleaning, ask the broker to confirm this in writing.
What happens if I lose a client's keys?
Key cover pays the cost of replacing locks and keys if you lose a client's key. Without it, you would usually have to pay yourself, which can be expensive if you lose a key ring with several clients' keys on it.
Do I need employers' liability if my cleaners are self-employed?
Possibly. Insurers and the HSE look at the actual working relationship, not the label. If you control when and how they work, provide the equipment and they can't send a substitute, they may count as employees, so tell your broker how your helpers work.
Does cleaner insurance cover theft?
Standard public liability does not usually cover theft from a client's home. Cleaning businesses with staff can buy fidelity cover, which protects against theft by employees. Accusations of theft against a sole trader are generally not covered.
What level of public liability cover do cleaners need?
£1 million is the minimum most insurers offer, and £2 million is common for domestic cleaners. Commercial clients and letting agents often ask for £5 million, so check your contracts before you buy.
Does domestic cleaner insurance cover end-of-tenancy cleaning?
Not always. End-of-tenancy and deep cleaning involve more chemicals, equipment and risk of damage, and some policies list them separately. Tell the broker about every type of cleaning you do so it is included.
Do I need a DBS check to be a cleaner?
There is no legal requirement for most cleaners to have a DBS check, but many clients prefer one. A basic check is available through the DBS in England and Wales, Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI in Northern Ireland.
Is my equipment covered if it is stolen from my car?
Only if you have equipment cover, and even then many policies require the vehicle to be locked with the kit out of sight. Some exclude theft from vehicles overnight, so check the wording.
Do I need business car insurance as a cleaner?
Yes, if you drive to clients' homes or between jobs. Most social, domestic and pleasure policies don't cover driving for work, so you need business use added to your motor insurance.