Best Janitorial Business Insurance

ERGO NEXT earned our top spot for the best small business insurer for janitorial companies due to its excellent coverage and affordability. We recommend comparing quotes from our other top picks, including The Hartford, Nationwide, Thimble and Simply Business.

*We based all scores on a janitorial business with two employees across professional liability, general liability, workers' comp and BOP policies.

Thimble offers competitive janitorial insurance at an average monthly cost of $51. For specific coverage needs like professional liability and workers' compensation, The Hartford and ERGO NEXT provide more affordable options than Thimble's general rates.

Janitorial business insurance costs for the four most popular coverage types, depending on the state:

• General liability cost: $138 on average per month, ranging from $111 to $160
• Workers' comp: $49 on average per month, ranging from $42 to $57
• Professional liability (E&O): $50 on average per month, ranging from $42 to $58
• BOP insurance: $202 on average per month, ranging from $166 to $237

Commercial janitorial businesses need comprehensive coverage. While general liability and workers' compensation form the basic foundation, tools and equipment insurance protects your valuable assets. 

Professional liability, commercial auto insurance (if you operate vehicles) and surety bonds are frequently required to satisfy client contracts and state regulations.

Commercial janitorial businesses need specific insurance coverages for financial protection against industry risks. Coverage amounts vary based on your operation size and client requirements:

• General liability insurance: Janitorial companies face third-party bodily injury and property damage claims regularly. Clients' employees can slip on freshly mopped floors, or cleaning chemicals can damage office furniture. Commercial janitorial operations need $2 million per occurrence with a $4 million aggregate limit to meet most commercial facility contracts.
• Workers' compensation: State law requires this coverage once you hire employees. Janitorial work puts employees at risk for back injuries from lifting, chemical burns from cleaning solutions and slip-and-fall accidents on wet surfaces. Workers' comp covers medical expenses and lost wages for work-related injuries. State requirements and your payroll determine your coverage limits.
• Professional liability insurance: Professional liability (errors and omissions) covers your business when clients claim inadequate cleaning services or negligence-caused damage. If a client alleges your team failed to sanitize a medical office properly or damaged equipment during cleaning, professional liability responds. Commercial janitorial companies need minimum limits of $1 million per claim with a $2 million aggregate for most client contracts.
• Tools and equipment insurance: Vacuum cleaners, floor buffers, carpet extractors and specialized cleaning equipment cost thousands to replace. Equipment breakdowns or theft stop operations immediately. Most commercial janitorial operations need coverage limits between $25,000 and $50,000, depending on equipment inventory value.
• Commercial auto insurance: If your team drives company vehicles or personal vehicles for business, you need commercial auto insurance. A $1 million combined single limit policy with liability, comprehensive and collision coverage meets most client requirements.
• Surety bonds (janitorial bonds): Commercial clients require janitorial bonds before awarding cleaning contracts. Janitorial bonds guarantee service completion and protect clients from employee theft or intentional damage. Commercial janitorial companies face bond requirements between $25,000 and $100,000 for most commercial properties. Larger facilities or government contracts require higher bond amounts.

Here's a step-by-step method for finding the best and cheapest business insurance for your janitorial company.

ERGO NEXT is the best insurer for janitorial business insurance, while Thimble offers the cheapest option overall. We also recommend getting quotes from The Hartford, Nationwide and Simply Business. For the best deal, consult agents and similar businesses, research costs and companies and compare multiple quotes.

We answer frequently asked questions about janitorial business insurance:

We selected the best business insurer for janitorial companies based on the following criteria:

• Affordability (50% of score): The lower a company's costs compared to the competition based on our base profile for four core coverage types, the better the company performs.
• Customer service (30% of score): We scored providers on overall customer satisfaction using industry studies, customer review forum ratings and public forum sentiment analysis from sites like Reddit.
• Coverage (15% of score): We scored business insurance providers for this category based on the flexibility, payment and actual coverage options.
• Financial stability (5% of score): Using financial stability industry ratings from companies like AM Best and Moody's, we created an overall rating to judge how likely companies are to pay out claims compared to the competition.

All pricing in this article is based on the following base profile to represent the vast majority of small businesses in all states:

• Three-person business with two employees
• Coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million total per year for all but BOP, which includes the same coverage plus $5,000 of business property coverage
• $150,000 in payroll
• $300,000 annual revenue