What Type of Insurance Does Your Pool Cleaning Business Need?

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What Risks Does a Pool Cleaning and Repair Business Face?

Although there are steps you can take to ensure your team is ready for the season, any pool cleaning and repair business needs insurance to protect against the various risks and liabilities they face. Liability insurance is critical for any small business owner or independent contractor to safeguard their assets if they need to file a claim or if a claim is filed against them.

Here are some of the reasons why:

• Accidents and Injuries: Cleaning pools involves using chemicals and working with machinery, which can be dangerous. A pool cleaning business may face claims for bodily injury or property damage resulting from accidents on the job, such as slips and falls, chemical burns, or equipment malfunctions. General liability insurance is designed to pay for third-party bodily injury claims.

• Property Damage: A pool cleaning business may be responsible for damage to client properties, such as accidentally breaking a pool tile, a chemical spill that harms people or property, or damaging pool equipment during the cleaning process. General liability insurance also protects you from the cost of third-party property damage claims.

• Lawsuits and Legal Claims: A pool cleaning business may face legal claims from clients who are dissatisfied with their services or believe they were harmed somehow. Even a frivolous lawsuit can cost you thousands of dollars to defend yourself, and a recent Zensurance survey of Canadian consumers finds a shocking majority of respondents would sue a small business or independent professional for various reasons.

• Business Interruption: If a pool cleaning business cannot operate due to an insurable loss, such as a natural disaster or equipment theft, it can result in lost income and other expenses. Business interruption insurance can help cover your operating overhead, including lost income, employee payroll obligations, utility bills, and loan and mortgage payments if you’re forced to temporarily close while repairing damages to your gear or buying new equipment.

• Auto Accidents: Pool cleaning businesses need to travel to their clients’ locations to do their work. The possibility of getting into a collision or auto accident that damages your company’s vehicles due to traffic, poor weather, driver fatigue, and distracted driving is always prevalent. Commercial auto insurance is vital to cover any vehicle used for business purposes. Most private-passenger car insurance policies do not cover damages to a vehicle that’s used for business purposes or the policy’s coverage limit may be insufficient.

What Should a Pool Cleaning and Repair Business Insurance Policy Include?

A pool cleaning and repair business needs several types of insurance coverage to form a comprehensive pool cleaning and repair insurance policy to protect its operations and assets. 

Here are some of the most common types of insurance such a policy contains:

• General Liability Insurance: General liability insurance covers claims of third-party bodily injuries or property damages that may arise from your business’s operations. For example, if a client slips, falls, and is injured while you’re cleaning their pool, general liability insurance would cover their medical fees.

• Commercial Auto Insurance: Covers your business vehicles transporting equipment, people, and materials to client locations. A basic or standard commercial auto insurance policy mandated by your provincial government may not be sufficient coverage for your business. However, you can increase your coverage limits and add optional coverages, such as collision or upset insurance and comprehensive insurance to up your protection.

• Commercial Property Insurance: Commercial property insurance covers damage or loss to your business property, including your contents like office furniture, electronics, equipment, tools, and supplies, because of fire, water damage, a natural disaster, theft, or vandalism.

• Pollution Liability Insurance: Pool service companies and technicians use chlorine to disinfect swimming pools and hot tubs. However, if misapplied, chlorine can cause harm to your clients and their properties. Moreover, if chlorine or other chemicals you use spill, leak, or combust while in transit or storage, it can harm the environment and public health. Pollution liability insurance covers clean-up expenses, civic fines, and legal settlements.

• Tools and Equipment Insurance: You need equipment to service your clients’ properties. But if they’re damaged, lost, stolen, or vandalized, tools and equipment insurance – sometimes called contractor equipment insurance – can cover the repair or replacement cost. 

• Cyber Liability Insurance: Cybercrime can affect any small business or self-employed technician. Whether a type of cyber-attack or an accidental data breach that exposes your clients’ private information, cyber liability insurance helps cover the cost of repairing your software systems, credit monitoring, and notification fees.

How to Get the Pool Cleaning and Repair Insurance You Need

Getting the protection your pool cleaning and repair business needs is easy through Zensurance.

Fill out our online application for a free quote. 

With over 50 insurers in our partner network, our friendly brokers can quickly get the low-cost policy you need and advise you on the coverage limits you may require.

– Updated April 5, 2024.