Cleaning and Facilities Management Insurance for contract cleaners and FM firms
Liability, client keys, cleaning teams, machinery and vans covered for firms that work inside other people's buildings every day. Specialist brokers compare cover that meets the insurance terms in your service contracts.
- Liability limits matched to client contracts
- Lost key and lock replacement for client sites
- Cover for staff dishonesty at client premises
Reviewed October 2026 by the MyBusinessComparison.com editorial team
What is cleaning and facilities management insurance?
Cleaning and facilities management insurance brings together the policies needed by firms that clean, maintain or run buildings on behalf of clients. It typically combines public and employers' liability, lost key cover, staff dishonesty protection, equipment and vehicle cover, with professional indemnity for firms that plan or manage services.
Most claims start on a client's site: a visitor slips on a freshly mopped floor, a chemical marks a stone surface, a set of master keys goes missing or a cleaner is accused of theft. Insurers know these patterns well, so specialist policies include extensions a general liability policy may leave out.
Clients set the starting point. Service contracts usually state the liability limit, require an indemnity to the client and ask for evidence of cover before work begins.
Cleaning and FM insurance at a glance
- Suits
- Contract cleaners, specialist cleaning firms and soft, hard and total FM providers
- Core policies
- Public and employers' liability, keys, fidelity, equipment and vehicles
- Compulsory part
- Employers' liability, for firms with cleaning or maintenance staff
- Insurers ask about
- Types of site, work at height, chemicals, contract terms and staff vetting
- Often required by clients
- A stated liability limit and an indemnity to the client
- Not included
- Asbestos work and most design advice, unless specially arranged
What insurance does a cleaning or FM company need?
These are the policies most cleaning and facilities firms put together. Larger contracts often decide the limits for you.
Public liability
Injury to building users and damage to client property, from slips on wet floors to chemical staining, flooding from a left tap or scratched glazing.
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers' liability
Claims from cleaners and engineers hurt at work, including manual handling, falls, chemical burns and repetitive strain. A business employing cleaners or engineers will almost always need it.
Read more about employers' liability insurance
Loss of client keys
The cost of replacing locks, key cards and access systems when keys entrusted to you are lost or stolen, often a contract requirement.
Staff dishonesty
Theft from clients by your own employees while on their premises, which a liability policy does not normally pay for.
Read more about crime and fidelity insurance
Equipment and machinery
Scrubber dryers, floor polishers, pressure washers, access equipment and tools, whether stored at your depot or left on client sites.
Read more about business equipment insurance
Vans and site vehicles
Vehicles taking teams and kit between sites, from a few vans to a mixed fleet with drivers on early and late shifts.
Read more about commercial vehicle insurance
Professional indemnity
Claims that advice, specifications or service management caused a client a financial loss, important for FM firms that design maintenance programmes.
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Environmental liability
Pollution from chemicals, waste water or spills at client sites, and the cost of cleaning up land or drains.
Read more about environmental liability insurance
Further options for cleaning and FM firms
- A fleet policy: one policy for vans, cars and site vehicles once the business runs several
- Commercial legal expenses: employment disputes, a common issue for firms with large hourly paid workforces
- Products liability: chemicals and consumables you supply or resell to clients
- Contractors' all risks: project work such as refurbishments carried out by an FM provider
Which cleaning and FM businesses do we help?
Cleaning ranges from routine office contracts to high risk specialist work, and insurers rate each very differently. Brokers regularly arrange cover for each of the firms below.
Running a laundry or trade business? See dry cleaner insurance or property maintenance insurance for trade firms.
- Commercial office cleaning contractors: evening and early morning teams across many client buildings, often holding keys and alarm codes
- Industrial and deep cleaning specialists: factories, food plants and warehouses, with machinery, chemicals and confined spaces
- Window and facade cleaning firms: ladders, poles, cradles and rope access, where height limits matter
- Healthcare and school cleaning contractors: infection control work in sensitive buildings with strict client vetting
- Washroom and hygiene service providers: consumables, units serviced on site and vehicles on regular routes
- Kitchen extract and duct cleaning firms: canopy, ductwork and fan cleaning in commercial kitchens, work insurers watch closely because grease build-up is a common cause of kitchen fires
- Oven, hob and extractor cleaning companies: commercial and domestic oven, hob and extractor hood cleaning, using dip tanks and degreasers, where scratched worktops, chemical damage and appliances refitted wrongly are the usual claims
- Builders' clean and end of tenancy teams: short notice work on sites alongside other contractors
- Specialist and trauma cleaning companies: biohazard, graffiti and fire or flood restoration work
- Soft FM providers: cleaning, security, reception and catering staff supplied under one contract
- Hard FM and building services firms: planned maintenance of heating, electrics and plant, often alongside electrical contractors' cover
- Total FM and integrated service providers: large multi service contracts where professional indemnity and high liability limits are expected
- Security and cleaning combined providers: manned guarding alongside cleaning, which needs security liability as well
How much does cleaning and FM insurance cost?
No two contractors are priced the same. Insurers look first at the work itself, then at your people and contracts.
Type of cleaning
Routine office work is rated lower than industrial, window, kitchen extract or trauma cleaning.
Wage roll and headcount
Headcount, hours and the split between cleaning and engineering staff set the employers' liability premium, often with actual wages declared and the premium adjusted after the policy year.
Turnover and contract mix
Turnover sets most of the public liability rate, and insurers load it for sensitive sites such as hospitals or food factories.
Limits required by clients
Higher liability limits written into contracts add to the premium, especially above the primary layer.
Work at height and chemicals
Rope access, cradles, pressure washing and hazardous substances all change how insurers see the risk.
Claims and staff controls
Past claims, how staff are vetted and trained, and how keys are logged and stored all make a difference.
What cleaning and FM insurance often leaves out
Every insurer sets its own terms. These exclusions cause the most disputes for contract cleaners and FM providers.
- Damage to the exact surface or item being cleaned, unless a working on extension is included
- Asbestos disturbance and removal, which most cleaning policies exclude or limit very tightly
- Work above the height limit in the policy, or rope access that was not declared
- Theft by staff, unless fidelity cover has been added
- Extra responsibilities you sign up to in a client contract, such as uncapped indemnities, that go further than ordinary negligence
- Faulty design or specification, which needs professional indemnity
- Vehicles driven on public roads, which need motor fleet cover
Specialist cleaning policy or general public liability?
Many firms start on a basic liability policy. As contracts grow, a cleaning specific policy usually fits better.
| Feature | Cleaning and FM policy | General public liability |
|---|---|---|
| Damage to the surface being cleaned | Often covered by a working on extension | Usually excluded |
| Lost client keys | Included or available as an extension | Rarely included |
| Staff theft at client premises | Fidelity cover can be added to the same package | Not covered |
| Contract requirements | Indemnity to the client and higher limits built in | May need endorsements to meet contract terms |
| Usually suits | Cleaning and FM firms with staff on client sites | Firms with little on site work |
How to arrange cover for a cleaning or FM business
The right information up front means insurers can price your contracts properly and quickly.
Gather your contract requirements
Note the liability limits, indemnity clauses and any other insurance terms in your main client contracts.
Describe the work in detail
Types of site, specialist cleaning, work at height, chemicals and any maintenance or project work.
Confirm your workforce
Headcount, wage roll, agency staff, staff transferring in with new contracts and how everyone is vetted.
List equipment and vehicles
Machinery values, where it is kept overnight and the vans or cars each team uses.
Look past the premium
Check key cover limits, height limits, working on extensions, excesses and asbestos terms.
Talk to a cleaning and FM specialist
Give us an outline of your contracts, teams and equipment, and a broker who works with contract cleaners will compare options.
Get a quoteCleaning and FM insurance FAQs
How much does cleaning company insurance cost?
It depends on the type of cleaning, your wage roll and turnover, the limits your contracts demand, work at height and your claims record. An office cleaning contractor and a kitchen extract specialist of the same size can see very different quotes.
What public liability limit does a cleaning company need?
Your client contracts usually decide it. Many commercial, public sector and facilities contracts set a minimum limit and ask for proof of cover before work starts. Many firms set the limit by their most demanding contract and review it whenever a tender asks for more.
Does insurance cover a cleaner damaging a client's property?
Usually, yes, for accidental damage to the client's building and contents. Damage to the exact surface being cleaned, such as a marble floor etched by the wrong chemical, is often excluded unless the policy includes a working on extension.
Is theft by a cleaner covered by public liability?
No. Public liability covers accidental injury and damage, not dishonesty. Theft by your staff from a client needs fidelity cover, and insurers will want to know how employees are vetted and supervised.
What happens if we lose a client's keys?
With lost key cover, the policy pays to change locks, recode access systems and replace keys or fobs. Insurers usually expect keys to be coded rather than labelled with the client's address, and kept in a locked cabinet.
Do window cleaners need different cover?
Often, yes. Many cleaning policies set a maximum working height or exclude cradles and rope access. Firms that clean high rise facades need those methods declared and accepted by the insurer.
Do facilities management companies need professional indemnity?
Most do once they plan maintenance, specify work or manage subcontractors. If a planned service misses a defect and the client suffers a financial loss, professional indemnity insurance responds where liability cover will not.
Are agency workers covered under our employers' liability?
Usually, if they work under your direction, but insurers vary. Wages paid to agency and temporary staff are usually declared, and it is worth confirming whether the supplying agency also holds employers' liability.
Is oven cleaning and kitchen extract cleaning covered?
Yes, when declared. Oven, hob and extractor cleaning firms working in homes and commercial kitchens need liability for chemical damage and appliances refitted wrongly. Kitchen extract cleaning is rated separately because a fire blamed on missed grease can be costly, so insurers ask about cleaning records and certificates.
How do I get a quote for cleaning or FM insurance?
Put in a request here and a broker who places contract cleaning and FM risks will be in contact. The insurance clauses from your main contracts are the most useful starting point, followed by a summary of the work, headcount, wage roll, equipment, vehicles and any previous claims.
Find cover that meets your cleaning contracts
Liability, keys, staff and vehicles arranged together, so you can show clients the right evidence of cover.