Cleaning looks like a low-risk trade until something goes wrong. A wet floor without a sign, a bleach product on a stone worktop, a set of office keys left on a bus, a client's laptop knocked off a desk, a member of staff hurt on a ladder. Each of those lands on a different part of a cleaning insurance policy, and any one of them can leave a cleaner paying out of their own pocket.

This guide is for UK cleaning businesses of every size: self-employed domestic cleaners, small teams doing homes and holiday lets, commercial contract cleaners with offices, schools and retail sites, and specialists such as carpet, window, end-of-tenancy and after-builders cleans. It explains which covers are a legal requirement, which ones clients will ask for in a contract or tender, and which ones protect you against the claims cleaners actually face.

Sole traders are in scope. If you work alone, skip to the section for one-person cleaning businesses after the comparison table.

It's general information, not legal advice. Where we refer to law, it's the law of England and Wales unless we say otherwise, and policy wordings vary between insurers.

Want a second opinion on your current cover, or setting up for the first time? Speak to us and we'll check what you have against your contracts and the insurers on our panel.

Cleaning business insurance at a glance: what each type of cleaner usually needs

Not every cleaner needs the same policy. The table shows the covers that usually matter for each kind of cleaning business. "Legal" means the law requires it in the circumstances described. "Contract" means clients commonly require it. "Recommended" means it protects you against a real risk, but nobody can make you buy it.

The rest of this guide goes through each cover in turn, what triggers a claim, and what to check in the wording.

If you clean on your own: what a sole trader actually needs

If you're a self-employed cleaner with no staff, employers' liability insurance isn't usually a legal requirement, because the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 applies to employers in respect of their employees. Nothing in law makes you buy public liability insurance either. In practice, most one-person cleaning businesses still carry it, for three reasons.

1. You work in other people's property. Damage to a client's floor, furniture or belongings is a frequent cleaning claim. Without public liability or care, custody and control cover, you'd pay for it yourself.

2. Agencies, letting agents and many commercial clients ask for it. If you want work from platforms, agents or offices, they'll often ask for your certificate before you start.

3. Injury claims can be large. If a client or visitor slips on a floor you've just mopped, the claim is against you personally as a sole trader.

Things that change the picture for a sole trader:

• Taking on help. The moment someone works for you under your control, even part-time or "cash in hand", you may be their employer for insurance purposes. More on that below.

• Using your car for work. Driving between clients and carrying equipment is usually business use. Check your motor policy covers it; a social, domestic and pleasure policy generally won't.

• Holding keys. If clients give you keys or alarm codes, consider loss of keys cover.

• Setting up a limited company. That changes how the employers' liability exemptions work. See the next section.

Our guide to what insurance a UK business needs covers the basics for any new business.

Employers' liability: the cover the law requires

Employers' liability insurance covers your liability if an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their work for you. For cleaning companies, the obvious risks are slips and falls, ladder accidents, back injuries from lifting, and skin or breathing problems from cleaning chemicals.

Who must have it

Under section 1 of the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, every employer carrying on business in Great Britain must insure against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by employees and arising out of their employment. The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1998 (regulation 3) set the minimum: the policy must cover at least £5 million for any one occurrence, including costs.

HSE's guide to the law (HSE40) lists the main exemptions:

• Family businesses, where all your employees are closely related to you. This exemption doesn't apply to family businesses incorporated as limited companies.

• Companies employing only their owner, where that employee also owns 50% or more of the issued share capital.

Public bodies and some other employers are also exempt, but those rarely affect cleaning businesses.

Employed, self-employed or labour-only?

Cleaning businesses often use a mix of staff, part-timers and "self-employed" cleaners. HSE40 says that whether you need employers' liability for someone depends on the real nature of the relationship, not what you call it or their tax status. You may need it where:

• you deduct tax and national insurance

• you control where and when they work and how they do it

• you supply their materials and equipment

• they can't send a substitute if they can't do the work

• they're treated the same as other employees

A cleaner who works only for you, on rotas you set, using your products and equipment, is likely to be treated as your employee for this purpose even if you pay them as self-employed. If you use labour-only subcontractors, tell your insurer, because many policies treat them as employees.

Certificates and fines

You must display your certificate where employees can read it, or make it available electronically (HSE40 confirms electronic display has been allowed since 1 October 2008). Inspectors can ask to see it. According to HSE40, you can be fined up to £2,500 for every day you're without suitable insurance, and up to £1,000 if you don't display the certificate or produce it when asked.

Our employers' liability insurance guide covers the general rules for any UK business.

Public liability: the cover clients ask about first

Public liability insurance covers your legal liability for injury to members of the public and damage to their property caused by your business. For cleaners, "the public" includes your clients, their staff, their tenants, visitors and passers-by.

Typical claims:

• a visitor slips on a freshly mopped floor where no warning sign was used

• a client's tenant trips over a vacuum cable left across a corridor

• water from a carpet extractor seeps through a ceiling into the flat below

• a pressure washer damages a car parked next to a building

• an office worker reacts to a chemical sprayed near their desk

Three parts of the public liability wording matter more for cleaners than for most trades.

Care, custody and control

Many public liability policies exclude damage to property that's in your "care, custody or control", or property "being worked upon". For a cleaner, the floor you're cleaning, the sofa you're shampooing, and the worktop you're wiping are all arguably being worked upon. If your policy has that exclusion and no write-back, a claim for the very surface you damaged may not be covered.

Look for a policy that either removes the exclusion for clients' premises and contents, or adds a specific extension for property in your care, with a limit that suits the work you do.

Treatment risk

"Treatment risk" is the term many insurers use for damage caused by the process of cleaning itself: bleaching a carpet, etching marble with an acidic product, shrinking upholstery, discolouring wood, or stripping a floor finish. It's a frequent source of claims for carpet, upholstery and end-of-tenancy cleaners. Some policies exclude it, some cover it with a higher excess, and some include it in full. Ask the question directly.

Work at height and hazardous work

Some policies limit public liability where work is done above a stated height, or exclude certain activities such as rope access, high-rise window cleaning, biohazard cleans or work near railways. If you do any of these, make sure the policy description of your business includes them.

Our public liability insurance guide covers limits and how the cover works for UK businesses generally.

Loss of keys and alarm codes

Many cleaners hold keys to clients' homes or offices, and some hold alarm codes and fobs. If you lose them, the client will usually expect you to pay to change the locks, recode the alarm and, on bigger sites, replace access systems for the whole building. For a commercial client with a master key system, that bill can be large.

Loss of keys cover is usually an extension or a separate section. Points to check:

• What's covered. Replacement locks and keys, reprogramming fobs and alarm codes, and sometimes the cost of securing the premises until the locks are changed.

• Whose keys. Some extensions only cover keys belonging to clients, not to your own premises or vehicles.

• Theft versus loss. Some policies only pay if keys are stolen, not if you simply lose them.

• Conditions. Typical conditions include keeping keys separate from anything that identifies the address, and storing them securely when not in use.

Do cleaners holding keys need an SIA licence?

Usually not. The Private Security Industry Act 2001 makes keyholding a licensable activity, but Schedule 2 (paragraph 6(3)) says it doesn't apply to someone who holds a key for obtaining access to premises for purposes incidental to providing services that aren't security services. Holding a client's key so you can clean the building falls into that exception. If you're asked to respond to alarm activations, lock up and patrol, or check a building at night, that may be a security activity, and you should take advice before agreeing to it.

Other covers cleaning businesses use

Employee dishonesty (fidelity)

If a member of your staff steals from a client, the client may hold you responsible. Public liability policies generally don't cover theft by your own employees. Employee dishonesty or fidelity cover does, often subject to conditions such as taking references or carrying out background checks before someone starts. Commercial clients and agencies sometimes require it.

Tools and equipment

Industrial vacuums, scrubber dryers, carpet extractors, pressure washers and water-fed poles are expensive to replace. Most tools policies restrict cover for equipment left in a vehicle overnight, or require the vehicle to be locked and the equipment out of sight. Check the conditions match how you work.

Business interruption

If a fire, flood or other insured event stops you working, business interruption cover can pay your lost gross profit or increased costs. For most cleaning firms, the bigger risk is losing a key contract, which insurance doesn't cover. Business interruption is most useful if you have premises, a stock of products, or vehicles that are hard to replace.

Personal accident and sickness

If you're self-employed, you get no sick pay. Personal accident or sickness cover pays a benefit if you can't work because of injury or illness. It's not liability insurance, and it's separate from employers' liability.

Vehicles

If you or your staff drive between jobs, motor insurance needs business use, and for vans carrying chemicals and equipment, goods-carrying use. Staff using their own cars for work need business use on their own policies; check that before they start.

Cyber

If you hold alarm codes, client access details, staff records or payment details, a data breach could be expensive. Small cleaning firms rarely buy cyber insurance, but larger contract cleaners with digital rota and access systems sometimes do.

Winning contracts: what tender and contract insurance clauses usually ask for

Commercial cleaning contracts and tenders almost always have an insurance clause. Public sector buyers, facilities management firms and large offices tend to use similar wording. The table below explains what each common requirement means and what to send.

Before you sign, compare the clause with your current schedule. If the contract asks for something you don't have, it's usually easier to fix before you start than after a claim. If the client is a public body, our public sector contracts insurance guide explains how procurement insurance clauses tend to work.

When you take over a contract: TUPE

If you win a contract cleaning job from another contractor, the cleaners who worked on that contract may transfer to you. Regulation 3(1)(b) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) covers "service provision changes", including where a client's activities pass from one contractor to another. For insurance, the point is simple: your headcount and wage roll may jump overnight. Tell your insurer, because employers' liability premiums are usually based on wages, and a policy with a much smaller declared wage roll can cause problems at claim time.

The law cleaners need to know (and how it links to insurance)

Health and safety law doesn't require you to buy anything other than employers' liability insurance. But following it makes claims less likely and easier to defend.

COSHH: cleaning chemicals

Under regulation 6 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), an employer mustn't carry out work that's liable to expose employees to substances hazardous to health unless they've made a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk and the steps needed to meet the regulations. Regulation 7 requires the employer to prevent or, where that isn't reasonably practicable, adequately control exposure. Many cleaning products are hazardous substances, so a written COSHH assessment, the right gloves and ventilation, and clear rules about not mixing products are basic risk control. If a cleaner develops dermatitis or asthma, the first thing an insurer will ask for is your COSHH assessment.

Work at height

HSE says the Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply if you're an employer or you control work at height, including facilities managers and building owners who contract others to work at height. Window cleaning, high-level dusting and cleaning in atriums all count. Regulation 6 requires work at height to be avoided where reasonably practicable and, where it isn't, requires suitable measures to prevent falls. HSE says ladders can be a sensible option for low-risk, short-duration tasks, though they shouldn't automatically be your first choice. For window cleaning, working from the ground with water-fed poles is one common way to avoid work at height altogether.

Portable appliance testing

HSE confirms that the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment to be maintained to prevent danger, but don't make PAT testing, or testing every year, a legal requirement. The right approach depends on the type of equipment and how it's used. Cleaning equipment that's dragged around, wet, and used every day is the kind of kit where regular checks make sense. Some clients and insurers require a record of inspection and testing anyway.

Waste carrier registration

If your business transports waste, for example taking away rubbish from after-builders cleans or clearing end-of-tenancy properties, GOV.UK says you must register as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency in England. Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 also places a duty of care on anyone who transports or disposes of waste to keep it secure and transfer it only to an authorised person. GOV.UK warns that you can get an unlimited fine if you transport waste without registering. Fines and penalties for breaking the law generally aren't insurable.

Consumer law for domestic clients

If you clean for consumers, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 implies a term that you'll perform the service with reasonable care and skill. Section 57 says you can't exclude that liability in your terms. Under section 2(1) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, you also can't exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence. In practice, this means your terms and conditions can't do the job of insurance: if you damage a client's property through carelessness, you're responsible regardless of what your terms say.

For commercial cleaning contracts, the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (section 13) implies a similar term to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill.

Six cleaning incidents and which policy responds

These are examples to show how covers usually fit together, not real claims. What actually happens depends on the policy wording and the facts.

1. A visitor slips in an office reception you've just mopped. No warning sign was out. The visitor claims for an injury. This is a public liability claim. Your insurer will ask for your method statement, your risk assessment, and whether signs were used. If your policy has "indemnity to principal", it can also defend the client if the visitor sues them too.

2. Bleach marks on a client's new carpet. A cleaner uses the wrong product during an end-of-tenancy clean. This is damage to property being worked on. Whether it's covered depends on whether your policy covers treatment risk and property in your care, custody and control. Without that cover, the bill is yours. Letting agents sometimes withhold payment or deduct it from your invoice, so check the agent's terms too. Our guide to tenant damage and deposits explains the landlord side of the same problem.

3. A cleaner loses the master key for a block of offices. The client changes every lock on a master key system. That's a loss of keys claim, not public liability. If you only have the extension for stolen keys, a lost key may not be covered.

4. Your employee hurts their back lifting a scrubber dryer into a van. This is an employers' liability claim. Your insurer will want manual handling training records and your risk assessment.

5. A cleaner you pay as self-employed falls from a ladder. They work only for you, on your rota, with your equipment. Their injury claim is likely to be treated as an employment claim. If your employers' liability policy doesn't cover them, or you don't have one, you're uninsured for the claim and may also have broken the 1969 Act.

6. A member of staff steals jewellery from a client's home. The client wants compensation from you. Public liability won't usually cover theft by your own staff. Employee dishonesty cover may, if you met its conditions on references and checks.

Before you renew: a checklist for cleaning businesses

Go through this list at least once a year, and whenever you win a new contract or change the services you offer.

1. Business description. Does the policy describe everything you do, including window cleaning, carpet cleaning, after-builders cleans, waste removal and any work at height?

2. Wage roll and headcount. Is the declared wage roll right, including part-timers, seasonal staff and anyone transferred under TUPE?

3. Subcontractors. Have you told the insurer about labour-only and bona fide subcontractors?

4. Turnover. Is your declared turnover up to date? Public liability is often rated on it.

5. Care, custody and control. Is property in your care covered, and does the limit suit the sites you clean?

6. Treatment risk. Is damage caused by the cleaning process itself covered?

7. Keys. Is loss of keys covered, for loss as well as theft, with a limit that fits your largest client's lock system?

8. Contracts. Does your cover meet every insurance clause in your current contracts, including indemnity to principal?

9. Vehicles. Do your motor policies, and staff motor policies, include business use?

10. Paperwork. Are your COSHH assessments, risk assessments, training records and equipment checks up to date and easy to find?

If you're trying to keep costs down at renewal, our guide to reducing commercial insurance costs covers the levers that usually work. If you also do repair or maintenance work as well as cleaning, read our contractor insurance guide, and for electrical work our electrician insurance guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do self-employed cleaners need insurance by law?

Not usually, if you work alone with no employees. Employers' liability insurance is only compulsory when you employ people, and public liability isn't a legal requirement. Most self-employed cleaners still carry public liability because they work in other people's homes and many agents and clients ask for it.

What insurance does a cleaning company need?

Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ staff, with a minimum of £5 million including costs. Public liability is usually needed to win contracts. Most cleaning companies also need loss of keys cover, cover for property in their care, and employee dishonesty cover if clients ask for it.

Does public liability insurance cover damage to the item I'm cleaning?

Not always. Many policies exclude damage to property in your care, custody or control, or damage caused by the cleaning process (treatment risk). Check that your policy includes both, especially if you clean carpets, upholstery or stone surfaces.

Do I need employers' liability insurance for self-employed cleaners who work for me?

Possibly. HSE says what matters is the real relationship, not the label. If you control their hours and methods, supply their equipment and products, and they can't send a substitute, they may count as employees for this purpose. Tell your insurer about everyone who works for you.

Is loss of keys cover part of public liability?

Usually not. It's normally a separate extension or section. Some only cover keys that are stolen, not lost. If you hold keys for commercial premises with master key systems, check the limit carefully.

Do cleaners need an SIA licence to hold client keys?

Usually not. The Private Security Industry Act 2001 excludes keyholding where the key is held for purposes incidental to providing non-security services, such as cleaning. Responding to alarms or patrolling premises may be different, so take advice before you agree to it.

Do I need to PAT test my cleaning equipment?

The law doesn't require PAT testing or annual testing, according to HSE. It requires electrical equipment to be maintained so it's safe. For heavily used cleaning equipment, regular visual checks and periodic testing are a sensible way to show that, and some clients and insurers ask for records.

Does my cleaning insurance cover a cleaner who steals from a client?

Public liability generally doesn't cover theft by your own employees. Employee dishonesty (fidelity) cover is designed for that, usually with conditions about references and checks before someone starts.

Talk to us about your cleaning insurance

Whether you're a self-employed cleaner setting up, or a contract cleaning company bidding for a new site, send us your current schedule and any contract insurance clauses. We'll check them against each other and against the insurers on our panel. Speak to us.

Meshed is a trading name of Mesh'd Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 1033248). We charge a flat 10% broker fee. This guide is general information, not legal advice.