We write janitorial insurance for Antioch cleaning companies from an office in the same city — small crews cleaning offices and medical suites, and larger contractors servicing warehouses along the Highway 4 corridor. Most calls start the same way: a client sent a contract, and it asks for coverage the current policy does not have.
We quote to the contract, not to a generic package, so the certificate goes out right the first time.
What janitorial insurance has to cover
Cleaning companies work inside other people's buildings, which puts two things at risk: the people in them and the property itself. General liability answers for a slip on a freshly mopped floor. Care, custody and control — often excluded by default — is what responds when your crew damages a client's equipment, flooring or furnishings.
Most building owners and property managers will not let a crew start without a certificate naming them as additional insured, often with primary and non-contributory wording. Get those endorsements quoted rather than promised.
Employee dishonesty and bonding
Your crews hold keys and codes. A janitorial bond or employee dishonesty coverage protects the client — and your contract — when theft is alleged. Clients ask for this by name, and the limit they ask for is usually higher than the default on a small business package.
Workers' compensation for cleaning crews
Chemical exposure, repetitive strain, and falls from ladders and wet floors drive most claims. California requires coverage from your first employee, and if you use subcontracted crews without certificates, their payroll can be added to your audit as if they were yours. That surprise is the single most common reason a cleaning company's renewal jumps.
Vehicles, equipment and tools
Vans, buffers, extractors and pressure washers move between sites daily. Inland marine covers the equipment away from any fixed location, and commercial auto covers the vehicles — personal auto policies exclude business use, which surfaces at the worst possible moment.
What we see in Antioch
Subcontracted crews are the most expensive mistake we see in East County. If you use subs without current certificates of insurance, their payroll is added to your workers' compensation audit as if they were your employees. Collecting certificates before work starts is the whole fix.
Warehouse and industrial accounts also bring floor equipment and after-hours access, which raises both care, custody and control and employee dishonesty questions.
Questions Antioch owners ask us
Why did my workers' comp audit come back so high?
Almost always uninsured subcontractors. Without a valid certificate showing their own workers' compensation, their payroll is charged to you. Keep certificates current and file them.
What is care, custody and control coverage?
It responds when you damage property you are working on or handling — a client's flooring, equipment or furnishings. Standard general liability excludes it, so it has to be added.
Do I need a janitorial bond?
Clients frequently require one. It covers theft by your employees at the client's site, which is a different thing from your liability policy and is usually inexpensive.
Get a janitorial quote for your Antioch business
Tell us your annual payroll, the contracts you're bidding, and any certificate requirements, and we'll quote to those specs. We are an independent brokerage based in Antioch, serving Contra Costa County and the wider Bay Area. CA License #0D90958.
Other cities we write this coverage in
See our full Contractors General Liability overview.