Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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General Questions
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Which insurance company provides the cover?
All our policies are underwritten by Hiscox Insurance Company Ltd under an exclusive arrangement we have in place with them.
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Who is GLEAMING INSURANCE?
We are a specialist insurance broker to the cleaning industry and have been providing insurance for cleaning businesses since 2011. We have helped thousands of businesses in the cleaning industry to arrange their insurance.
What types of cleaning businesses do you insure?
We are able to provide cover for a wide range of cleaning activities - all these are included as standard when you get a quote from GLEAMING INSURANCE :
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Commercial Cleaning - Internal and external cleaning of commercial properties including shops, offices, restaurants, pubs, and other properties occupied by businesses
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Domestic Cleaning - Internal and external cleaning of domestic properties
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End of tenancy and holiday home cleaning including caravans (interior and exterior)
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Conservatory and solar panel cleaning
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Carpet, upholstery, hard floors, soft furnishing, and curtain cleaning
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Gutter, soffit, fascia, signage, and frame cleaning
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Kitchen and oven cleaning (domestic and catering only) excluding industrial ovens
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White goods cleaning including fridges and washing machines
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Pressure washing to 248 bar (3,600 psi)
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Contract cleaning
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Fogging, Misting and Sanitisation Cleaning
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Do you offer payment by direct debit?
Yes, you can set up a direct debit plan to pay by 0% interest-free installments, with no deposit needed and spread out over the whole year. This is done directly with our insurer and completed online when you arrange cover.
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What other payment options do you offer?
You can also pay the premium in full by debit or credit card. You will be asked to provide your card details once you proceed to arrange cover.
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When will I get my documents?
Your documents will be immediately available online for you to download. They will remain there for you to access securely at any time in the future.
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Public Liability Insurance
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Do I legally need to have public liability insurance?
No, there is no legal obligation to have this cover, but it is advisable to arrange cover to protect you and your business from claims made against you for damage or injury.
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Is this the only cover I need for my business?
That really depends on how your business is set up. If you are a sole trader or in a partnership with no help from anyone else then this will be adequate for you. However, if you have others helping you then you will have a legal requirement to arrange cover for Employers Liability Insurance. Please see our guide to choosing the right insurance cover for your cleaning business.
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What limits of cover do you offer?
We can offer six different limits of indemnity, £1m, £2m, £3m, £4m, £5m, and £10m. You can increase the limit you choose at any stage during the year by simply contacting us by email.
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What limit should I choose?
That is your personal choice and not something we can advise on. You should consider checking with any businesses you work for to find out if they have a particular requirement.
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What is Damage to Property Being Worked On?
This is a vital cover extension - read more about it here - it provides covers for you if you are accused of damaging the item you are cleaning. Without this extension to your cover, you risk having to deal with any such claim yourself.
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What is Treatment Risks cover?
If you use solutions or chemicals during the cleaning process (including bleach) then you probably know it is common for damage to be caused by such products. We provide cover under our Treatment Risks extension which you can choose to include in your cover. Many insurers exclude treatment risk, but we can include it for you.
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Do you provide cover for key holding/loss of customer's keys?
Yes, we do. If you are responsible for holding keys for your customers then you will need to ensure you have cover for the losses your customer faces should you lose them. Our policy provides the option to include cover key holding/loss of customer's keys.
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What other covers do provide under your public liability policy?
In addition to the covers mentioned above we can also include:
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Failure to secure a customer's premises - When you leave a premises you have cleaned you may be responsible for locking up and setting alarms and if you fail to do this you could be liable should anyone break into the premises. Our policy can cover you for such occurrences.
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Losses from dishonesty - You will have undoubtedly made checks on all your staff or self-employed cleaners but you could still face the risk of one of them acting dishonestly. As long as you have taken suitable references for that employee for the two years before they worked for you then our policy will cover the customer's claim (up to the policy limit and subject to excess) if you have chosen to include this extension to cover.
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What happens if I need to make a claim?
If you are accused of causing damage to a customer's property please report the incident to us as soon as possible. Please be sure to read 'your obligations' as defined in the insurer's policy wording before discussing the claim with your customer.
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Can we see a copy of the policy wording before arranging cover?
Yes, absolutely you can. Please see our page dedicated to policy wordings.
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Employers Liability Insurance
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What is Employers Liability Insurance?
If an employee or self employed cleaner was to be injured whilst working for your business they could sue you or your business (if you have a Ltd company) for compensation. The law in the UK states that all employed and self employed workers need to be covered by a policy for employers liability insurance. If such a claim is made against you then it is dealt with by your insurer and their appointed solicitors. Your first notification of a claim will be a letter from the claimant's solicitor.
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Do I legally need to arrange Employers Liability Insurance?
That really depends on the set up of your business. If you have no one working for you and you are just working on your own at all times then the answer is no. However, if you have others helping you then you will have a legal requirement to arrange cover for Employers Liability Insurance. Please see our guide to choosing the right insurance cover for your cleaning business.
We only use self employed cleaners, do we need this cover?
The need for Employers Liability Insurance is determined by the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act which states that if you have people working under your name or supervision, who have been introduced into their place of work by you then you are taking responsibility for those people and therefore you need to ensure their welfare is protected.
What limit of cover do we need?
There is only one limit for Employers Liability Insurance, which is £10,0000,000. The legally required limit is only £5,000,000 but all insurers offer the higher limit without charging you any extra.
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Do you need to know my earnings as the business owner?
That depends. If you are Ltd company then yes, if not then no we wouldn't as the principal or proprietor of a business is not covered by the employers liability cover.
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Do you need to know how many people we have working for us?
No, that information is not required. All we need is the estimated annual payments you make to the people working for you. If you have, for example £20,000 a year being paid to self employed cleaners, it doesn't matter if that is 5 people at £4,000 each a year, or 2 people at £10,000 each a year, the amount is important, not the number or people.
Does this make the premium cheaper or more expensive?
It certainly makes it cheaper. Many insurers will charge you a premium per person. When you have part time cleaners working for you , you don' want to be paying a price per person. Our method is much fairer as we only charge based on the overall number of hours worked by everyone who works for you.
What information do you need for a quote to include employees?
The benefit of our policy means that we do not need to know how many people work for you. All we need to know, in addition to your estimated annual turnover is an estimated annual figure you pay to either direct employees or self employed cleaners (labour only sub contractors). This works out cheaper for you as part time cleaners will not be charged at the same premium as full time cleaners. Many other insurers charge a price per person which can be expensive.
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Non Ltd Companies
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Please exclude any payments made to the business owner(s), we don't need to know your own takings as the business owners are not covered by the employers liability insurance.
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Ltd Companies
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We will need to know the drawings made by all directors involved in cleaning as a directors is classed as an employee.
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Clerical Staff
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We do not need to know the amount you pay to anyone who only undertakes clerical duties.
Cleaning Agencies (who place cleaners with homeowners)
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Many cleaning agencies have been misinformed about their legal obligations to provide Employers Liability Insurance for their self employed cleaners. If you have people working under your name, who have been introduced by you then you are taking responsibility for those people. We have created a specific page for Cleaning Agencies Insurance to explain what information we need from you to offer a quotation.
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