5 Ways Professional Cleaners Can Avoid Liability Claims

Professional cleaners clean, sanitize, and disinfect client properties to ensure healthy and dazzlingly clean homes, offices, and workspaces.

Professional cleaners, with their meticulous and thorough approach, ensure all areas are cleaned to the highest standard. Their dedication creates an inviting environment for their business clients, enhancing their professional image.

Protecting your finances and reputation with a customized professional cleaner insurance policy is essential whether your cleaning business serves residential, commercial clients, or both. Here’s why:

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What Liability Risks Do Professional Cleaners Face?

Professional cleaners face a variety of liability risks while performing their duties. Here are some liability risks they encounter:

Third-party property damage

Cleaners may accidentally damage a client’s property or furnishings while performing their duties, such as breaking a valuable item while vacuuming or damaging furniture surfaces with harsh chemicals.

Third-party bodily injuries

A client or passerby could slip and fall on a recently mopped floor or trip over your cleaning equipment and be injured.

Allegations of theft

A cleaner may be accused of stealing an item from a client’s office or home or misplacing and losing an item belonging to a client while cleaning. 

Breach of contract claims

If your cleaning services are deemed insufficient, a client may allege professional negligence, which can lead to a claim of breach of contract. Moreover, a cleaner may be subjected to contractual liability if a client claims your services don’t live up to what you promised.

Environmental claims

Professional cleaners use different cleansers and chemicals to ensure a location is polished and sanitized. However, improperly disposing of cleaning chemicals and waste water can lead to environmental damage and trigger a claim against you.

5 Ways a Professional Cleaner Can Minimize Their Risks

Here are five things a professional cleaner can do to minimize their liability risks and avoid claims being made against them:

1. Conduct Equipment Maintenance and Site Inspections

Regularly check and maintain the equipment you use to prevent them from malfunctioning and potentially damaging client property or causing an injury. Also, carefully inspect the worksites to identify possible hazards that may lead to damages or a claim against you.

2. Choose Non-Toxic Cleaning Solutions

Where possible, use non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning products to prevent the risk of environmental liabilities or client claims of illnesses caused by the cleansers you use.

3. Adhere to Recommended Safety Protocols

Always use wet floor signage to warn others of slick surfaces to prevent slips and falls, and apply anti-slip strips on mats and rugs. Ensure adequate ventilation in any area when using chemical cleaning agents, and always wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when working with chemical solutions. 

4. Use Detailed Client Contracts

Providing your clients with detailed contracts to sign is a crucial step (speak to a lawyer for help drafting an effective client contract). These contracts clearly outline the scope of your services, helping to prevent misunderstandings. By maintaining accurate records and documentation of all client communications and work, you can provide evidence to defend yourself if facing a claim or lawsuit.

5. Get Adequate Insurance Protection

Ensure you have comprehensive insurance coverage for your business that adequately addresses your liability risks. A customized insurance policy can cover the cost of damages or losses you suffer if a client files a claim or legal dispute against you, and it can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your equipment, business property, or business vehicle following an unforeseeable event such as fire, water damage, theft, or an auto accident.

How Professional Cleaners Can Get Low-Cost Insurance Fast

Zensurance is Canada’s leading business insurance provider, helping hundreds of thousands of small business owners and independent professionals across hundreds of industries quickly get the affordable coverage they need.

Fill out our online application for a free professional cleaner insurance quote.

Our licensed brokers will shop our partner network of over 50 insurers to find you the low-cost coverage you need, customize it to suit your needs, and issue you a certificate of insurance to show your clients to verify your insurance.