Janitorial Bonds / Surety Bonds
for Building Services Businesses

As a janitor, maid, carpet cleaner, or other cleaning services professional, you may find that your clients stipulate that you have a surety bond, which insures your contracts. Let's find out what a surety bond does and how it can be a valuable marketing tool for your small cleaning business.

You work hard to keep your clients' homes and offices tidy. Scrubbing floors, cleaning carpets, and performing other janitorial work all adds up to clean, comfortable, and welcoming property. Your work matters, especially when your clients need their space to make a good impression on visitors.

That's why your clients have a lot of incentive to hire a cleaning company they can trust with their property and their reputation. They want assurance that your business can do the job they hired you to do, which may mean they insist on hiring a "bonded" cleaning company.

What Is a Surety Bond?

A Surety Bond is a three-party insurance agreement between…

A cleaning company.
The client.
The insurance company.

In the surety bond agreement, the insurance company agrees to pay your client a certain amount if you can't deliver on your contract. Sometimes these bonds are called "contract bonds" for this reason. Here's how they work.

Say a carpet cleaning company can't finish a job and can't repay the client what was paid for the service. The client makes a claim on the bond, and the insurer compensates the client for their losses. But the carpet cleaning company isn't off scot-free. It has to pay the insurer back the amount the insurer paid to the client for the claim.

Unlike other insurance agreements, where the insurance provider covers your damages in exchange for a premium, this agreement requires you to pay the provider back.

What Is the Benefit of Being Bonded?

Janitors and other cleaning professionals enjoy a few benefits to having a surety cond. For starters…

A surety bond can help you meet contractual requirements. If you want to land long-term client contracts, you may be required to have a bond in place before you sign the dotted line.
A surety bond makes you more marketable. Most clients want a little extra assurance that they can trust your cleaning company to fulfill its obligations. A bond boosts your credibility by vouching for your business. If you don't complete the work you agreed to do, your insurance provider can compensate the client for what they paid for your services.
Not every cleaning business can get a bond. Insurance providers don't write bonds for just any company. They prefer to write these for established companies with a clean claims history. Again, this can boost your credibility in the eyes of potential clients.

To learn more about the perks of being bonded, read, "Should I Get a Surety Bond?"

How Much Do Surety Bonds Cost for Cleaning Companies?

Surety bond coverage is pretty affordable. For many small cleaning businesses, surety bond premiums typically start at $100 per year. But keep in mind that this bond isn't like other insurance agreements. You have to pay back your insurance company for any money they pay your clients in a dispute.

How to Get a Surety Bond for Your Small Cleaning Business

Getting bonded is a straightforward process:

Submit an online insurance application.
Review the quotes our janitorial insurance agents send to your inbox.
Pick the policy that fits your needs, and we can get you bonded within 24 hours.

It's really that easy.

To learn more about janitorial insurance, talk with one of our agents at 800-688-1984. Our agents can customize an insurance package to cover your contracts and other liabilities, such as slip-and-fall lawsuits and Workers' Comp injuries.