Is YOur janitorial service provider properly insured? Here are the 4 kinds of insurance every janitorial service should have before working on your property.

Insurance may be a boring topic but it’ important- especially when working with janitorial service contractors. Verifying that the janitorial service company you are working with is properly ensured protects your business from unnecessary risk. Also, it’s a good sign that you are working with a responsible professional business when proper business insurance is maintained, and proof of coverage is readily available. 
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Knowing that business insurance is critical and every business you work with should be properly covered leads to an important question. What insurance coverage should you ask janitorial service contractors to provide proof of having before working with them? That is the exact question we will answer in this article. We will explain what insurance coverage any responsible janitorial service should be able to easily provide and why it is important. We will also include some helpful tips on how to obtain and maintain these insurance records.  

General Liability Insurance

Business owners purchase General Liability insurance to protect their businesses from various claims against their businesses. General Liability insurance usually covers: 

• Bodily injuries 
• Property damage 
• Personal injury 
  
  

When a janitorial service has General Liability Insurance it also protects your business. How? If an employee of the janitorial service causes damage to the building or equipment, that insurance policy would cover the loss. If someone in your building is injured by fault of the janitorial service, your business is protected from liability. Without the janitorial service having General Liability insurance, your business could be held liable. 

General Liability Insurance does have coverage limits. According to Insurance Tech, the most common General Liability coverage purchased by small businesses have a coverage limit of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limit. In most cases, this type of policy is perfectly reasonable and adequate.  ​

Speak with your legal or risk team to determine what level of coverage your business should require janitorial services to have to service your building. Keep in mind that if a janitorial service must increase their insurance coverage to meet your requirements, that additional expense may be passed on to your business.  
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A responsible janitorial service will already have this insurance coverage in place and can easily provide proof of coverage.

Worker's Compensation Insurance

Worker’s Compensation is required by Florida law. All businesses who have employees are mandated to have this insurance coverage. Worker’s Compensation insurance helps provide medical care and compensation to employees injured on the job.
 
So, if a janitor falls while mopping the floor in your office building, the janitorial services’ Worker’s Compensation Insurance would cover this accident. These types of injuries happen every day. There is not a reason to believe that one cannot happen to someone while cleaning your building.
 
If the janitorial service you are working with does not have Worker’s Compensation Insurance, they can face stiff fines and penalties. But your business could also be put at risk of being sued. It is never worth the unnecessary risk.

​Requiring proof of Worker’s Compensation Insurance before having a janitorial service start work on property is a smart, proactive way to ensure that any janitorial service employee working on your property is properly covered in the event of an injury. ​

Employee Theft Coverage

Depending on the type of business you operate, you may want extra assurance against theft of property. If the janitorial staff will have access to facilities that house substantial amounts of inventory, electronics, or retail stores you may have concerns about things going missing.
 
Employee theft coverage provides extra protection beyond that of General Liability Insurance to protect your business in the event of a theft. You can have more peace of mind that anything that may get stolen will be replaced and minimize any negative impact to your business operations and clients.  

Automobile Insurance

Automobile insurance may seem like a strange thing to require from a janitorial service. But in some situations, it is important that your janitorial service provider has this type of insurance.

Depending on how your janitorial service operates, they may transport employees using company vehicles to clean your building. Or their employees may drive a company owned vehicle to your building to clean.
 
In either case, if a company vehicle is being driven to your facility, the janitorial service should have sufficient automobile insurance. Why? We’ve all seen those stories about cars driving into buildings.

While you cannot control the driving skill and ability of you janitorial service's employees, you can ensure that your property is protected in the event of an incident or any type of damage that can be caused by a vehicle.

Helpful Tips 

So now that you know what insurance coverage your janitorial service provider should have, let’s talk about how to manage this information to make sure you always have the most accurate, up to date information. Below are a few tips and suggestions to gather and manage insurance information. 
 

• Request a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from the janitorial service provider before they begin work on your property. 
   
• Require that your business be listed as additional insured on the COI documentation.  
   
• Make note of the expiration date on the COI documentation. You will want to remind yourself to request updated insurance documents at the time of expiration. This ensures that the janitorial service provider has maintained insurance and is currently covered. 
   
• File COI documents in a central location. This will allow anyone in your business 
  responsible for facilities to be able to refer to these documents if needed. Doing so will also provide for safekeeping and access through internal employment changes.  ​

Insurance is an important part of your partnership with any janitorial service. Your janitorial service being properly insured protects you from a variety of potential risks that could impact on your business. By following the tips above and developing insurance criteria, you will position yourself to partner with responsible janitorial service providers who have your best interests in mind. 

​Quality Maintenance & Repair Service Inc
​Quality Maintenance & Repair Service Inc is a full service commercial janitorial company. We provide office cleaning, medical office cleaning multi-tenant office cleaning for in Jacksonville Florida and surrounding areas. In additional to janitorial service, we can help you easily maintain your building in excellent condition with maintenance services such as window cleaning, carpet cleaning and tile cleaning services.  ​
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