Calgary · Cleaning Services
Cleaning Insurance in Calgary.
Coverage built for Calgary cleaning businesses, from the risks of the work to the exposures Calgary businesses face.
Licensed Alberta brokerage · IBAA member · most cleaning businesses bound in a few business days
Get your Calgary cleaning business insurance quote
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Cleaning insurance is built for residential and office cleaners: general liability for the slip-and-fall that is the trade's most common claim, coverage for the client property and finishes you damage, crime coverage for theft by an employee inside a client's home or office, and coverage for your supplies, equipment, and vehicles. Cleaning happens inside other people's spaces, often when no one is there, with your team holding keys and alarm codes around expensive floors and electronics. Velocity builds these programs for cleaning businesses across Alberta, with the paperwork an office client may ask to see.
Calgary cleaning companies service downtown office towers, where crews carry key fobs and alarm codes for after-hours access, and retail and dining strips like Inglewood and Kensington. Downtown professional firms often require a certificate of insurance and bonding before signing a contract, so liability for damage on a client's site, employee-dishonesty coverage for crews holding keys, and equipment protection are the core of the program.
Most cleaning programs are built around general liability for the slip-and-fall claim, care, custody, and control coverage for the client property you damage, crime coverage for employee theft, and coverage for your supplies, equipment, and vehicles.
Risks Calgary cleaning businesses face.
These exposures come with the work, and in Calgary the local risks sit on top. A generic small-business policy rarely answers all of them.
Slip and fall claims from wet floors
Mopping a kitchen or an office corridor, a freshly washed tile floor, a missed wet-floor sign. Slip-and-fall liability is the single most common claim against cleaners, and an office client will expect to see proof of coverage before you start.
Damage to client property and finishes
The wrong product on a stone countertop, a vacuum that scratches a hardwood floor, a cleaner that strips finish off a custom desk. The item you were hired to clean is exactly the kind of property a standard liability policy leaves out, so it needs specific coverage.
Theft by an employee in a client's home or office
Your team has access to jewellery, cash, electronics, and personal records. Even with careful hiring, employee theft happens, and the client expects to be made whole when it does.
Chemical spills and stored cleaning products
The cleaning chemicals you store and carry are pollutants, and a spill, a mixed cleaner that releases a harmful gas, or a residue left behind can mean a cleanup bill and a claim. Both the storage of these products and the cost to clean up a spill are real exposures that your program should address, so it is worth reviewing where your coverage sits.
Lost keys, codes, and security exposures
A misplaced house key or a shared alarm code can leave a client paying to rekey their home or building, and you on the hook for the bill.
Damage or theft on the way to and from jobs
The vehicles, vacuums, and supplies that move between homes and offices are exposed to accidents, break-ins, and weather, and replacing them mid-schedule comes straight off your margin.
Hail, among the costliest in Canada
Calgary lies in Canada’s most active hail zone, known as "hailstorm alley." The August 2024 Calgary hailstorm caused roughly $3.3 billion in insured damage, the costliest hailstorm in Canadian history and the second-costliest natural disaster in the country after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, and the June 2020 storm before it cost about $1.2 billion. Roofs, exteriors, fleet vehicles, and outdoor stock are the exposures, so replacement-cost property and comprehensive auto coverage matter.
Overland flood and water damage
The 2013 southern Alberta flood remains one of Canada’s costliest natural disasters, and Calgary’s river valleys keep overland flood and sewer backup on the map. These are typically endorsements, not automatic, so it is worth confirming your building and business-interruption coverage would respond.
The Protection
Coverages we recommend.
Commercial General Liability
Can cover injury or property damage you or your team cause in a client's home or office, the slip-and-fall being the classic example. Office cleaning contracts often ask for a minimum liability limit, with the client added to your policy, before you start.
Care, Custody & Control
Standard liability leaves out property in your care. This coverage fills that gap, protecting you when the damaged item is the very thing you were hired to clean.
Crime & Employee Theft
Can respond to theft committed by your own employees, including money and property taken while your team is working inside a client's home or office. It is basic employee crime coverage, which is different from being bonded, and it answers the exposure clients worry about most.
Commercial Property
Can cover your supplies, vacuums and floor equipment, and any storage or office space, including your stored cleaning products, against fire, theft, and water damage.
Commercial Auto
Can cover the vehicles that move your team and equipment between jobs, plus the tools and supplies inside them. Contracts sometimes ask for non-owned auto coverage too, which extends to vehicles your business uses but does not own.
Coverages shown are general examples, not a description of any specific policy. Policy coverages widely vary and should be confirmed with your broker.
How Pricing Works
What drives your premium
- Homes, offices, or bothRoutine house cleaning and light office cleaning price lower than higher-risk work like post-construction cleanup or anything involving harsh chemicals, so the mix of work you take on is the biggest driver of price.
- Revenue & payrollHigher annual revenue and a larger payroll mean more jobs, more hours, and more chances for something to go wrong, which raises the premium.
- Staff & subcontractorsMore team members and any subcontractors you use add exposure, and subcontractors should carry their own coverage or they get counted under yours.
- Client access & keysHolding keys and alarm codes and cleaning empty homes and offices raises the theft, care-of-property, and security exposure a policy has to account for.
- Equipment & chemicalsVacuums, floor machines, vehicles, and stored cleaning chemicals add value to insure and hazards to manage, both of which factor into the premium.
- Claims historyA clean record lowers your price; past slip-and-fall, property-damage, or theft claims raise it.
- Coverage limits & deductiblesThe limits your contracts require and the deductibles you choose move the price: higher limits cost more, and a higher deductible lowers the premium but raises your share of a claim.
- Your Calgary locationYour neighbourhood, the building you occupy, and the local exposures Calgary sees factor into the property side of your premium.
Common Questions
Questions ownersactually ask.
Do I need a business licence to run a cleaning company in Alberta?
In most Alberta cities, yes. Edmonton, for example, requires a municipal business licence and licenses cleaning under its Construction, Contracting, and Labour Service category. The exact category and rules vary by municipality, so check with the city or cities where you work.
What happens if one of my employees steals from a client?
That is what crime coverage is for. It responds to theft committed by your own employees, including money and property taken from a client's home or office while your team is working there. This is basic employee crime coverage, which is not the same as being bonded, and we make sure it is in place before you take on work that puts your team inside a client's space.
Aren't cleaners supposed to be "bonded"? Do you offer that?
You will often hear "bonded and insured," but a bond is a specific surety product that Velocity is not licensed to provide. What most cleaning clients are really worried about is theft by staff, and that is covered by employee crime coverage, which we do arrange. We will explain the difference so you can answer a client's question honestly.
If my cleaner damages something they were cleaning, is that covered?
Only with care, custody, and control coverage. A standard liability policy leaves out damage to property in your care, and the item you were hired to clean is by definition in your care. This coverage fills that gap, and for cleaners working around stone, hardwood, and electronics it is essential.
I store and carry cleaning chemicals. Is a spill or the storage covered?
Chemical spill cleanup and the storage of pollutants are real exposures for a cleaning business, and they are not automatically part of a basic policy. WHMIS also requires you to store and handle these products safely. We review where your coverage sits and address the spill and storage exposure so a chemical incident does not become an uninsured cleanup bill.
My office client's contract lists insurance requirements I don't recognise, additional insured, non-owned auto. What are these?
These are standard in office cleaning contracts. Adding the client as an "additional insured" extends your liability policy to protect them for claims arising from your work, and "non-owned auto" covers vehicles your business uses but does not own. We read the contract and issue coverage that matches it, so you are not guessing.
How much does cleaning insurance cost and how fast can I get covered?
It depends on your revenue, whether you clean homes, offices, or both, and any limits your office contracts require. We tailor the program to how your business runs, and most cleaning businesses go from first conversation to bound coverage within a few business days, with certificates issued as soon as a client asks.
How much does cleaning business insurance cost in Calgary?
There is no flat rate. Your premium depends on the work you do, your revenue, your Calgary location, and your claims history, and higher-risk work costs more to insure. We price it around how you operate rather than a one-size quote, and most cleaning businesses go from first conversation to bound coverage within a few business days.
Is hail damage covered by commercial insurance in Calgary?
Hail damage to your building, signage, and outdoor property is typically covered under a commercial property policy, and hail damage to vehicles under comprehensive auto coverage. Because Calgary is one of Canada’s highest-hail cities, insurers pay close attention to roof age and construction, and replacement-cost coverage is worth confirming.
Do I need flood coverage for my Calgary business?
Overland flood and sewer backup are usually endorsements added to a commercial property policy rather than automatic inclusions. Given Calgary’s flood history, especially near the rivers, it is worth reviewing whether your location warrants them and whether your business-interruption coverage would respond to a flood closure.
How much does business insurance cost in Calgary?
There is no flat rate. Premium depends on your industry, revenue, payroll, claims history, and the coverage limits your contracts and leases require, and Calgary’s hail and flood exposure factors into property pricing. We price it to your operation and explain the drivers so there are no surprises.
Protect your Calgary cleaning business.
Tell us how your cleaning business operates and we'll build coverage around the work you do and the risks Calgary sees. Most cleaning businesses are bound within a few business days.
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