Contract Cleaners
Frequently Asked Questions
Public & Employers Liability Insurance for Contract Cleaners - from Polished Insurance.
We have put together a list of questions and answers to help you understand the different types of insurance available to contract cleaners and cleaning contractors from Polished Insurance.
Polished Insurance is a trading name of Allied Insurance Services Ltd, an independent insurance broker based in Wigan who specialise in arranging insurance for all types of cleaning companies and have many thousands of customers in the cleaning industry.
You can ring us on 0844 815 6211 (a local rate number, not a premium rate number) or you can email us at info@polished-insurance.co.uk.
We can offer quotes for all types of cleaning from high level window cleaning to machinery cleaning and many more. We have thousands of clients with a wide variation of cleaning activities done between them. We will endeavour to offer quotes for any customer that contacts us, no matter how obscure the cleaning work carried out.
Whilst we don't offer online quotes via this website we do have another website where you can get quotes online. However, all the insurers who provide quotes via this site will exclude "damage to property being worked upon", whilst if you contact us via this site we will provide quotes with and without this cover. The site is called ContractorsCompare.com
This is usually excluded under most policies for cleaners. It means that whatever you are cleaning isn't insured at the time you are cleaning it. Whether it's a carpet, item of furniture or window, if you damage it, it isn't covered. Daft isnt it? That is a standard exclusion under 90% of policies for cleaning contractors and contract cleaners. But don't worry we can provide the cover.
Yes you can from Polished Insurance, click here to request a quote.
Depending on the type of cleaning you do you may get between 1 and 3 quotes. We have worked hard to arrange schemes with two insurers to offer covers that other insurers won't offer. We will therefore provide a quote from one of these insurer's plus one other quote from an insurer that excludes the extra covers to allow you to compare cover and make an informed decision.
No it isn't. You can work as a contract cleaner without public liability insurance, but we would advise against it. Cover is relatively inexpensive particularly compared to the cost of any claims you would have to pay yourself without it. Most main contractors will insist you have cover before you can work for them. Employers Liability Insurance is legally required if you employ anyone or use labour only subcontractors. For more information visit our Liability Insurance Glossary or ring us on 0844 815 6211 (local rate).
Any company whether Ltd or not that employs one or more employees is legally required to have the cover. There are exemptions for businesses (non Ltd) who only employ close members of their family. All Ltd companies with more than one director need employers liability insurance regardless of who they employ. For more information you can visit Who needs Employers Liability Insurance or download the HSE's Guide to Employers Liability (Compulsory) Insurance Act 1969
You can choose to pay the premium we quote to you in the following ways;
- Monthly by direct debit - subject to a deposit and finance charge
- By debit or credit card - subject to an admin charge
- By cheque
The finance charge will differ depending on the premium. As a rough idea they will be as follows;
- Premiums under £500 - 8%
- Premiums over £500 - 6% (subject to a minimum charge of £50)
We make a 2.5% charge for credit card payments and a £0.50 charge for debit card payments.
We will need to collect at least 10% of the premium before cover can commence. If you are paying by direct debit this becomes the first payment, with 9 further payments collected from your bank starting 30 days thereafter.
We can offer many different types of insurance for the cleaning industry including Van and Motor Fleet Insurance, Commercial Legal Expenses Insurance, Life Insurance and Income Protection Insurance.
You can also contact us for advice - give us a call on 0844 815 6211 (local rate)