House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your House Cleaning and Maid Service enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your House Cleaning and Maid Service business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant chance not just of losing some money but of a complete wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the upshots of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business?

What this means, for any House Cleaning and Maid Service business owner, is that if some customer claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your House Cleaning and Maid Service business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like New Jersey, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a judge can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have claimed.

When you are running your House Cleaning and Maid Service operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance protect you from?

For your House Cleaning and Maid Service business, the most important kinds of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any House Cleaning and Maid Service business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any House Cleaning and Maid Service business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your House Cleaning and Maid Service business from the claims themselves and as well to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your House Cleaning and Maid Service business for them, you can quickly face a law suit.

Even if the matter against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Most small House Cleaning and Maid Service business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for House Cleaning and Maid Service

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business

Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the van itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your van is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.

The required value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your House Cleaning and Maid Service business needs specialized and dedicated equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your House Cleaning and Maid Service business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your House Cleaning and Maid Service business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any House Cleaning and Maid Service business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your House Cleaning and Maid Service business operates in areas of high risk, like California or North Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of House Cleaning and Maid Service business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends completely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business

Is your House Cleaning and Maid Service business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for House Cleaning and Maid Service – are special policies where you can cover a designated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having less premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of larger business activity, get the existing cover improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business

You have the choice to combine a few of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized House Cleaning and Maid Service businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

As well, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your House Cleaning and Maid Service business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if any hired hand experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits include medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer having to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation rates are computed based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your House Cleaning and Maid Service businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your House Cleaning and Maid Service operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small freelance House Cleaning and Maid Service businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Oregon, they will be about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your House Cleaning and Maid Service business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for House Cleaning and Maid Service operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect House Cleaning and Maid Service business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my House Cleaning and Maid Service business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Certain other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small House Cleaning and Maid Service business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance.

How much will House Cleaning and Maid Service business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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