Cleaning Business Insurance Calculator
What cleaner and cleaning contractor insurance costs in 2026
Last updated: July 2026
How much does cleaning business insurance cost in the UK?
Cleaning business insurance in the UK typically costs £80 to £180 a year for a sole-trader domestic cleaner, £250 to £600 for a small firm with a few employees, and £800 to £2,500 for a commercial contractor working at height or handling specialist cleans. The calculator above estimates the premium from turnover, public liability limit, staff numbers, equipment value and the specific work you take on.
What the policy must cover
- Public liability. The whole reason cleaners buy insurance. You work unsupervised inside other people's homes and offices, surrounded by their possessions. A knocked-over television, a bleach mark on a carpet, a client slipping on a wet floor you left – all public liability claims. £2 million is standard; commercial and public-sector contracts almost always demand £5 million or £10 million.
- Loss of keys. Small section, disproportionate value. If you lose a client's keys, the claim is not the keys – it is re-keying every lock in the building and, in a commercial block, potentially a master suite. That can run into thousands. It costs about £50–£60 a year to cover.
- Employers' liability. Compulsory from your first employee, minimum £5 million. Cleaning is a high-manual-handling, high-slip trade, so claims are common.
- Equipment cover. Commercial vacuums, floor buffers, carpet extractors and pressure washers, insured for theft from a van as well as damage. Note that most policies exclude theft from an unattended vehicle overnight unless it is in a locked garage.
- Treatment or care extension if your staff work in occupied homes for vulnerable clients – check the wording carefully.
What actually drives your premium
Two things dominate. The first is working at height: the moment you clean windows above ground-floor level, the insurer is pricing for a fall, and the loading is significant – typically £120–£180 a year. Reach-and-wash pole systems are rated far more kindly than ladders, and most insurers will not cover ladder work above a certain height at all. The second is specialist work: trauma, biohazard and void-property cleaning carries the highest loading in the trade because of the biological and chemical exposure, and it usually requires proof of training and waste-carrier registration. Ordinary domestic and office cleaning, by contrast, is one of the cheapest trades in the UK to insure.
Worked example
A cleaning firm in Nottingham turns over £80,000, employs four cleaners, has £6,000 of equipment, holds client keys, does carpet and upholstery cleaning, and needs £5 million of public liability for its commercial contracts. Liability is £95 × 1.50 × 1.30 = £185. Employers' liability for four staff adds £360. Equipment at 0.7% of £6,000 adds £42. Key cover (£55) and carpet cleaning (£70) add £125. Total: about £712 a year, or £797 with Insurance Premium Tax – and employers' liability, not public liability, is the largest single line.
Winning contracts with the right cover
For a cleaning business, insurance is not just protection – it is a sales document. Nearly every commercial, school, NHS and local-authority tender sets a minimum public liability limit, usually £5 million and often £10 million, and asks for the certificate before it will even score your bid. Buying £1 million to save £30 a year is the cheapest way to be disqualified from the contracts that would have paid for the policy many times over. Check the tender documents before you renew, get the limit you actually need, keep your employers' liability certificate displayed and current, and hold COSHH assessments for every chemical you use – procurement teams ask for all three.
Frequently asked questions
How much is insurance for a cleaning business?
A sole-trader domestic cleaner typically pays £80 to £180 a year. A small firm with a few employees pays around £250 to £600. Commercial contractors working at height or doing specialist cleans commonly pay £800 to £2,500.
Do cleaners need public liability insurance?
It is not a legal requirement, but it is effectively unavoidable. You work unsupervised in other people's property, and almost every commercial, school and local-authority contract requires a minimum of £5 million of public liability before it will accept your bid.
What is loss of keys cover and do I need it?
It pays to replace locks if you lose a client's keys. The cost is rarely the keys themselves — it is re-keying every lock in the building, which in a commercial block with a master suite can run into thousands. It typically costs £50 to £60 a year and is one of the best-value sections a cleaner can buy.
Why does window cleaning above ground floor cost more?
Because the insurer is pricing for a fall from height, which produces severe, high-value claims. Expect a loading of roughly £120 to £180 a year. Reach-and-wash pole systems are rated far more favourably than ladders, and many insurers will not cover ladder work above a set height at all.
How much public liability cover do I need for commercial contracts?
Most commercial, school, NHS and local-authority tenders require a minimum of £5 million, and many now require £10 million. Check the tender documents before you renew — buying £1 million to save a small amount is the most common reason cleaning firms are disqualified from bids.
Source: employers' liability requirement from the HSE – Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. Working at height duties from HSE – Work at Height Regulations 2005. COSHH from HSE – COSHH. Insurance Premium Tax (12%) from GOV.UK.