Commercial cleaning insurance is one of the few areas of facility management where the downside of not verifying is genuinely severe. A crew member injured in your building without workers' compensation coverage can become your liability. A contractor without general liability and no assets to pursue leaves you with the cost of damage they caused. Verification takes ten minutes; the alternative can take years to resolve.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance covers property damage caused by the contractor during the course of work. If a crew member breaks a window, knocks over a piece of equipment or damages flooring through improper chemical use, general liability is the coverage that pays the claim.
What to verify: that coverage is current (check the expiration date on the certificate), that the coverage limit is appropriate for your facility size, and that the policy is not a certificate from a coverage that has since lapsed. Ask for the certificate directly from the contractor's insurer, not just a copy from the contractor.
Workers' Compensation Insurance
Workers' compensation coverage for cleaning crew members is the coverage that matters most to building owners and property managers. Here is why: if a cleaning crew member is injured on your premises and the cleaning contractor does not carry workers' comp, the injured worker's attorney will look at every party with liability exposure — including the building owner. Whether that exposure sticks depends on jurisdiction and specific circumstances, but the exposure is real and the legal process is expensive even when you prevail.
In Arizona, workers' compensation is required for all employees. Independent contractor structures are sometimes used by cleaning companies to avoid the requirement — which is a practice worth asking about directly. Ask: are the crew members who will be in my building employees or independent contractors? If independent contractors, what coverage do they individually carry?
Surety Bond (Cleaning Bond)
A cleaning bond is a surety bond that protects clients against theft by crew members while working on the premises. The bond does not replace screening or supervision, but it provides a documented financial remedy if a theft claim arises.
For facilities with high-value equipment, medications, or accessible cash or financial instruments, bonding is particularly relevant. The bond amount should be proportional to the exposure in your building.
Additional Insured Status
Building owners and property management companies often require that they be listed as additionally insured on the cleaning contractor's general liability policy. This means that in the event of a claim arising from the contractor's work, the additional insured party has direct standing with the insurer rather than going through the contractor. Request additional insured status before the first clean and confirm it appears on the certificate.
Certificate of Insurance — What to Read
A certificate of insurance is the standard one-page document issued by an insurer confirming active coverage. When reviewing it, check: the policy effective dates (is coverage current?), the named insured (is it the company you are contracting with, not a parent company?), the coverage limits, and whether workers' comp is listed. A certificate without workers' comp listed is not evidence that the contractor lacks it — it may be on a separate certificate — but it is a prompt to ask.
Do not accept a certificate that is more than 30 days old at contract signing. Coverage can change between issuance and use.
See El Mirage Commercial Cleaning's insurance and bonding page → • Request a quote