It’s essential that you have the right insurance, but not very interesting talking about it, so let’s get this out the way as quickly as possible!
A self employed carpet cleaner without staff or premises will typically need the following insurance:
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is one of the main types of business insurance. It can cover compensation payments and legal costs if a member of the public (maybe a customer, a supplier, or a passer-by) sues your business because they’ve been injured or their property has been damaged.
So, if a customer trips over your vacuum hose and sues you, public liability insurance should cover you for this.
Treatment risk insurance
Public Liability Insurance does not normally cover you for damage to items you have worked on. This is where Treatment Risk Insurance comes in:
Treatment Risk Insurance covers you for damage caused to items you have cleaned. So, for example if you shrunk an expensive carpet, Treatment risk insurance should cover you for this.
Equipment insurance
You will also need to insure your equipment. We do have customers occasionally phone up who’ve had their equipment stolen, so make sure you’re covered. Often, policies don’t cover equipment that is stolen from a vehicle overnight – so make sure you check what’s covered with your broker.
Rough costs (2019):
Self employed carpet cleaner (no employees):
Public liability
- £2000,000 cover with Treatment Risk Insurance includedÂ
- Cost £520 (including Insurance Premium Tax)
Equipment cover
- £5000 equipment cover including overnight vehicle cover (including Insurance Premium Tax)
- Cost £140 (including Insurance Premium Tax)
Arrangement fee cost £60
Total Cost for above £705 (works out at £13.55 per week)
Specialist insurers for the cleaning industry:
Coversure Insurance Services
www.coversure-kidderminster.co.uk
01562 822664
Gleaming Insurance
www.gleaminginsurance.co.uk
0330 113 4660
Movo Insurance Brokers
www.movoinsurance.com
02922 400004
Please note:
The above is intended to give readers a rough idea of insurance costs. You will need to discuss with your insurance broker and check with them that you have adequate cover for your particular circumstances.
Thinking about starting a new carpet cleaning service?
Here’s how we can help:
- Get trained on up on one of our carpet & upholstery cleaning training courses
- We can help you spec a professional carpet cleaning machine to match your budget and business needs
- We can help you put together a complete start-up equipment package
- We can provide top notch on-going support and supplies as your business grows
