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When you are in the market for a new cleaning services company, you may think about asking what the rates for various services are, if the company offers all the services you are looking for, and how long an average maintenance cleaning visit may take to complete—which are, of course, all very important questions to ask. 

However, you might not be asking one of the most essential questions that could end up costing you dearly.

“Is your company insured and bonded?”

Leaving this question out of your initial interview of a cleaning services company can lead you to hire a cleaning company that is not bonded and insured. This potentially can be a critical and very costly mistake. 

Here’s why:

Wait, what is cleaning service insurance, anyway?

Before we even get into the details of what can happen if you hire a cleaning company without the proper cleaning service insurance, let’s talk about what house cleaning services insurance and bonding are exactly. 

Most legitimate professional cleaning services will have at least three types of insurance to protect their clients and themselves:

• House Cleaning Liability Insurance – This is a general type of house cleaning insurance policy that covers the cleaning company in the event of any accidents that may happen while the cleaning staff is working. This includes if something gets accidentally damaged or destroyed or if someone gets injured as a direct result of the cleaning staff member’s actions.
• Worker’s Compensation – Sometimes referred to as Worker’s Comp, this type of insurance for cleaning services will cover the cleaning service staff members if they should get injured or sick as a result of something that happens on the job.
• Commercial Auto Insurance – Much like your own personal car insurance policy, commercial auto insurance covers businesses in the event of a car accident involving one of their vehicles. This includes any property damage and injuries due to the accident.
• Commercial Bonding Insurance – This is a type of insurance coverage that ensures that the house cleaning clients’ possessions are safe and secure while the cleaning company staff is working in your home. As not every background check is flawless, bonding insurance is something even cleaning companies with the most thorough hiring processes should have. 

Bonds will also protect clients in that they ensure the company will fulfill their promises of workmanship and deliver the services as stated in their contract. Most bonding insurance applications require companies to prove financial stability in order to obtain the bond.

Along with this, bonds fill in the gaps in coverage where other types of insurance may not fully cover costs, such as actual replacement values of high-end electronics, artwork and other higher-value items if they are damaged, destroyed or go missing. 

If the cleaning company doesn’t have these insurance policies, how can that affect you?

Hiring an uninsured cleaning service can result in your cleaning bill being unexpectedly high. Let’s think about some situations that, as bad as they may sound, could potentially happen and cost you if your cleaning service is uninsured:

• The cleaning service staff member is working in your home and takes a wrong step while vacuuming the stairs. The vacuum—and the worker—find themselves suddenly at the bottom of the stairs. She’s injured badly and won’t be able to return to work for a long time, if ever.

Her medical bills, rehabilitation services bills and loss of income due to the fall may be up to you to cover since she fell on your property.

• A cleaning service staff member is working on cleaning your kitchen counters and fails to use the right type of cleaning solution for the surface, resulting in pitting, scratches and permanent damage to your kitchen surfaces. 

The repair and possibly replacement would be covered only by an apology from an uninsured cleaning service, leaving you with a hefty bill for the repair or replacement needed to correct their negligent actions.

• An uninsured, unbonded cleaning service performs a routine cleaning of your home while you are away at work, and later that day your teen goes to play video games only to find their Xbox, controller, and headset all missing. Then you discover that several of your basically priceless collectibles are gone. 

The replacement of these missing items, if at all possible, will be your responsibility.

What are the benefits of hiring a professional cleaning service that is insured and bonded?

A reputable, professional cleaning services company will carry liability insurance and worker’s compensation insurance and have a bond in place. 

These reputable companies like Mops and Buckets will not only have a higher standard for quality employees, performing thorough background checks and training, but also offer their clients—and employees—the comfort of knowing that if something should happen while cleaning your home, insurance policies are in place that will have them fully covered.

A professional cleaning service with proper insurance will have coverage in place to protect you from having to endure the financial hardship of dealing with a lifetime of expensive medical and rehabilitation bills from an injured cleaning staff member or replacement costs of items damaged or destroyed while a cleaning person was working in your home.

A professional cleaning service that is bonded will be more likely to perform their work as contracted and will protect you by taking financial responsibility if an employee steals from your home.

Are you ready to hire a professional cleaning service for your Coral Gables-area home or condo and want to be sure you are choosing a high-quality, licensed, bonded and insured company? 

Mops and Buckets is your dependable, reliable choice that is fully licensed, bonded and insured and offers a wide range of cleaning services for all of your needs, from move-in or move-out to deep cleaning to regularly scheduled maintenance cleaning services to keep your home sparkling.

Get your free, no-obligation quote for cleaning services from Mops and Buckets today!