Medicine Hat · Cleaning Services
Cleaning Insurance in Medicine Hat.
Coverage built for Medicine Hat cleaning businesses, from the risks of the work to the exposures Medicine Hat businesses face.
Licensed Alberta brokerage · IBAA member · most cleaning businesses bound in a few business days
Get your Medicine Hat cleaning business insurance quote
A few details is all we need. Your broker follows up personally, usually within one business day.
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.
Medicine Hat cleaning companies service offices and retail in Historic Downtown, medical clinics, and industrial accounts out at the Box Springs and Gateway business parks, holding keys and working on client premises. The exposures are damage on a client's site, theft by crews with access, and equipment, so liability and employee-dishonesty coverage are the core, and crews on gas and industrial accounts should expect the same additional-insured contract terms other regional trades carry.
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 Medicine Hat cleaning businesses face.
These exposures come with the work, and in Medicine Hat 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.
Wind and hail
Southeast Alberta sees strong winds and summer hail that damage roofs, signage, and vehicles. Replacement-cost property coverage and comprehensive auto protect against the region’s most common weather losses.
River flooding and water damage
The South Saskatchewan River brought major flooding to Medicine Hat in June 2010, when overflowing river and creek levels damaged roughly a thousand properties. Overland flood and sewer backup are usually endorsements rather than 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 Medicine Hat locationYour neighbourhood, the building you occupy, and the local exposures Medicine Hat 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 Medicine Hat?
There is no flat rate. Your premium depends on the work you do, your revenue, your Medicine Hat 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.
How much does business insurance cost in Medicine Hat?
There is no flat rate. Premium depends on your industry, revenue, payroll, claims history, and the coverage limits your contracts and leases require. An energy-services contractor and a downtown retailer carry very different programs. We price it to your operation and explain the drivers.
What insurance do most Medicine Hat businesses need?
Most start with commercial property and commercial general liability, then add commercial auto for vehicles and, for energy and industrial work, the liability limits and additional-insured wording their contracts require. Retailers add crime and stock protection, and any business that could be closed by a storm should carry business interruption.
Is hail and wind damage covered?
Hail and wind damage to your building, roof, and signage is generally covered under commercial property, and damage to vehicles under comprehensive auto coverage. Given the southeast’s wind and hail, replacement-cost property and comprehensive auto are worth confirming.
Protect your Medicine Hat cleaning business.
Tell us how your cleaning business operates and we'll build coverage around the work you do and the risks Medicine Hat sees. Most cleaning businesses are bound within a few business days.
Not ready to switch? Book a 15-minute coverage review instead