For your best business protection and savings, we recommend bundling GL with some other important coverages on one Business Owners Policy!
Maids must be covered by business insurance. This is very important to safeguard their welfare; Because similar to janitors, maids can also experience slip and fall accidents or sustain cuts and burns.
There are a lot of problems associated with maid service and insurance can help. For one, the maid might cause some damage to their employer’s swimming pool while cleaning its tiles. They might also lose or damage the clothes of their employer’s while doing laundry at a startup laundromat business nearby.
Similar to how laundromats have laundry insurance, there’s maid insurance for maids. This consists of general liability, commercial property, and other business insurance solutions. By the way, some maids might not be eligible for coverage and an alternative option is cleaning business insurance.
If you employ a maid directly, then this means that your maid doesn’t own their own business or work for a larger company. Instead, they report directly to you, and as such, you are legally recognized as their employer.
In other countries, employers of domestic workers comply with house cleaning insurance and bonding requirements. This is due to the wide variety of insurance claims that can arise from your maid or domestic employee.
In this guide, we’ll discuss how self-employed maids or small house cleaning companies will find liability insurance helpful. As a self-employed maid, you’re essentially a subcontractor working for the homeowner and need to insure your business the same as if you were a handyman service working for a homeowner.
If it’s your first time hiring a maid (as a homeowner) or you own your own small maid business, and you’re trying to figure out what type of house cleaning insurance you need to cover your liabilities, then you’ve come to the right place!
When it comes to any industry, insurance providers base their pricing around risk exposure. Essentially, this outlines the risks involved with the business and the likelihood of certain claims being made. As far as insurance for cleaners in your home, maids, and domestic help go, the most common risk exposures include:
Premises Liability: There are a number of hazards around the house from cleaning chemicals, sharp tools/cutlery, the potential to slip and fall, and more. There is also the potential that the maid could cause property damage within the house.
Crime/Theft: Unfortunately, some domestic helpers may steal from you, bring illegal items into your home, or commit a crime on your property.
Workers Compensation: If the maid is injured while working on your property (e.g., slip-and-fall accident) or doing a service (e.g., they get into a car accident while picking up your kids from school), you may be required to compensate them for medical bills and/or time missed from work. Note that workers' compensation insurance is also found in window cleaner's insurance and gutter cleaner's insurance
As the maid’s employer, any number of claims could arise. For example, let’s just say that you leave an extension cord out in your yard, and the unsuspecting maid trips and breaks their ankle. Without proper maid insurance coverage, then you could be required to pay thousands in out-of-pocket expenses.
On the other hand, if you are the maid providing the service and own your own small business, you’ll need to cover your back from claims coming from the homeowner. For example, if you were to break an expensive vase or damage an expensive piece of art, your maid’s liability insurance policy would ensure that you won’t have to pay for the expense out of your own pocket.
As the maid’s employer, it’s also a good idea to have a fidelity bond between you and your domestic employee. Basically, a fidelity bond is a contract between two people designed to keep both parties honest and make sure each upholds their end of the deal.
Conversely, if you are a self-employed maid or own a cleaning company, then a fidelity bond can ensure that you’re always paid fairly and that you don’t get taken advantage of.
Unlike a regular legal contract, though, a fidelity bond ensures that if one party breaks their end of the deal, the victimized party will be financially compensated. The compensation is typically provided by the insurance company or a third-party banking institution.
For example, a common fidelity bond between a homeowner and a domestic maid may outline some of the following assurances:
Which rooms the maid is supposed to clean, and what cleaning materials/tools should be used each time.
Which rooms the maid is not supposed to enter or clean.
How many days per week and hours per day the maid will work.
How far in advance the maid needs to request a day off.
Assurance of the amount the employer will pay for the maid’s service and what day of the week payment will be sent.
So, for example, if your maid fails to clean the rooms properly, then they’re breaking their end of the contract and may be held liable for their failure. Conversely, if you fail to pay your maid on time or short them on their paycheck, then you can be held responsible for breaking your end of the fidelity bond.
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It’s good to provide some sort of insurance policy for your maid. After all, it’s your responsibility if something happens to her while working. Notwithstanding this, giving insurance to your maid is the right thing to do.
Personal accident insurance will cover the medical expenses of your maid if she sustains injuries due to work.
Health insurance for cleaning lady will cover the medical expenses of your maid regardless if she becomes injured because of work or not. This insurance sees to it that your maid receives medical attention without you getting financially involved.
The maid can become fatally injured and suffer an impairment for life. Total permanent disability insurance can help with this. In a nutshell, this type of maid insurance-employers need to give-provides a lump sum payment as compensation for a maid’s permanent disability.
Domestic helper insurance is a tailored coverage for domestic helpers. This isn’t one stand-alone policy but is actually comprised of numerous insurance applicable to domestic helpers such as:
Personal accident insurance
Health insurance
Personal liability insurance
Personal belongings cover
Note that domestic helper insurance isn’t a common insurance product in the USA. The insurance policy is only popular in countries where employers are required by law to cover their domestic helpers with specific insurance policies. One good example is Hong Kong.
Foreign maid insurance is what many would call repatriation insurance coverage for maids. Foreign domestic worker insurance can be a stand alone policy or a primary/optional inclusion to tailored domestic helper insurance plans. So what does repatriation insurance coverage do? Repatriation insurance provides takes care of the following:
Medical evaluation-If the maid becomes sick and needs to travel to get treated, then repatriation insurance will cover travel expenses
Travel costs of a family-Repatriation insurance will cover the travel expenses of a family member who will take care of the maid while she’s suffering from a sickness
Repatriation of remains-If the maid dies under your watch, you can use repatriation insurance to get her remains back to her home country
The average domestic helper insurance cost is $70 per month or $838 per year for a $1 million general liability coverage. The domestic helper insurance comparison table below displays the average monthly and annual rates you can expect to pay. Keep in mind that these are just averages. Your policy may be slightly cheaper or more expensive, depending on your state and other risk factors.
| Insurance Provider | Average Monthly Premium | Average Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $64 | $768 |
| AXA | $76 | $905 |
| Chubb | $66 | $786 |
| Liberty Mutual | $71 | $848 |
The best way to get affordable insurance is to shop around and compare maid insurance quotes from different providers. To compare insurance rates for domestic helpers and workers’ compensation for maids, click ‘ Get Quotes ’ below and get started!
Maid service insurance is a collective term for numerous kinds of business insurance policies for maids. If you’re a maid and your employer doesn’t provide insurance, then you can turn to the following maid insurance coverage for protection:
Maid liability insurance will protect you from claims filed by your employer or any other third party. This can be classified as a professional liability insurance or general liability insurance policy.
General liability insurance is your first line of defense against third party claims. The language of general liability insurance includes the following perils:
Personal injuries-Consider a situation where you're playing with your employer’s child then an accident happens and the kid becomes hurt. If your employer demands compensation, general liability will provide the money you can use to cover or reimburse the kid’s medical expenses
Property damage-You can damage or destroy an expensive furniture, installation, painting, or any other object while doing tasks in your employer’s house. Of course, your employers will surely ask for money. General liability insurance helps you in this situation by providing the money you can use to reimburse the value of the damaged or destroyed object
Legal expenses-Should things get ugly and things are taken to court, general liability insurance will cover attorney fees, administrative costs, settlements, and other legal expenses you need for wrapping up a personal injury or property damage claim
Note that this type of maids insurance can be made more comprehensive. For example, if you add advertising injury coverage to it, then general liability insurance will provide protection if the employer or any other third party sues you for slander, libel, and other related offenses.
You will commit mistakes while working. Think of a situation where you use the wrong cleaning agent on your employer’s special clothing. Because of this, the employer can sue you for negligence and ask for compensation for his or her economic or financial losses.
General liability insurance doesn’t provide protection when you’re sued for negligence. However, professional liability insurance does and it will cover attorney fees, settlements, administrative costs, and other legal expenses. Note that professional liability insurance isn’t for maids only. Also, its coverage doesn’t only apply to negligence. This also provides protection against other perils such as:
Breach of confidentiality
Misrepresentation
Violation of good faith
Violation of fair dealing
Tools and equipment insurance is useful if you’re a maid who uses personal cleaning equipment. If your personal cleaning equipment becomes lost or damaged due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils, tools and equipment insurance will recoup losses so that you can get new ones.
Housekeepers and maids are different. The job of housekeepers mainly revolves around cleaning, whereas the tasks of maids aren’t limited to cleaning their employer’s property. And so, most insurance companies don’t cover housekeepers through a maid insurance policy. Coverage is provided through tailored housekeeping insurance.
A tailored housekeeper insurance consists of different types of business insurance policies. What’s available depends on who's buying. Independent housekeepers providing services to homeowners and small businesses can get a housekeepers insurance offering professional liability insurance or general liability insurance with products and completed operations coverage.
On the other hand, housekeepers insurance for housekeeping agencies that work with hotels and high profile homeowners doesn’t only have general liability insurance and professional liability but other housekeeping business insurance policies as well. Let’s discuss this in more detail in the following section.
The following are the other housekeeping business insurance for a business generating revenues through housekeeping service.
No housekeeping agency can run without employees. Startups begin with four employees. On the other hand, thriving housekeeping agencies have 10-30 employees.
That said, workers' compensation insurance is an absolute requirement if you’re the boss of a housekeeping agency. This is mandated by law for employers who have 1 or more workers.
Housekeeping is a perilous job. Your workers can slip, fall from a height, get cut, sustain burns, or contract a disease. The job of workers' compensation insurance is to cover the following expenses when an employee sustains a work-related injury or disease:
Medical treatment/procedure-Workers compensation insurance pays for the surgery or therapy that will help your employee fully recover from a work-related injury or disease
Hospitalization-If your employee is admitted in the hospital for days, weeks, or months, workers' compensation provides the funds to cover hospital bills. Coverage doesn’t apply if your employee needs to be taken abroad unless workers comp insurance is underwritten to provide worldwide coverage
Medication-Workers compensation provides the money your employee can use to buy the medicines prescribed by the attending physician
Rehabilitation-Your employee can sustain a temporary or permanent impairment. Workers' compensation can be claimed to finance the rehabilitation your employee needs to fully recover from or adapt to his or her impairment
Lost income compensation-Workers compensation insurance will compensate your employee’s lost wages. This is a weekly allowance equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage
Death benefits-If your employee dies; workers' compensation will cover his or her funeral. Money will also be given to dependents up until the amount and duration prescribed by the policy’s terms
The worker's comp insurance for most house cleaning businesses determines premiums by looking at the projected annual business revenue. This is disadvantageous in many ways. And if you want to get workers' comp for the lowest rate possible, find a carrier providing pay-as-you-go, workers' comp for housekeeping agencies.
Pay-as-you-go workers comp determines premiums according to your business’s monthly payroll. This means that the rates you’ll get are more accurate and cheaper. Also, it’s also easier to manage than the standard worker's comp insurance, because there’s no need for annual payroll evaluations to be done by the insurance company on your business.
Not having workers comp insurance is a legal offense-either civil or criminal. Punishment ranges from fines, business suspension, a stop-hold order, or imprisonment in the county jail. Also, an employee can file a claim against your business if it doesn’t provide benefits through workers comp. While workers' compensation insurance is expensive, the repercussions of not having it are more problematic.
House keeping insurance for agencies offers commercial property insurance. If workers' compensation takes care of employees, then commercial property insurance covers your business property. The main function of commercial property insurance is to recoup losses should the rented, leased, or owned building of your housekeeping agency be damaged or destroyed by fire, extreme weather, theft, or vandalism.
Commercial property insurance can do more if you add stocks and contents coverage or business equipment and tools coverage on its terms. Stocks and contents coverage will cover the valuables inside your commercial building, which are not considered as tools and equipment. On the other hand, business equipment and tools coverage will recover losses if business equipment becomes damaged or lost due to the aforementioned perils.
Commercial auto insurance provides protection against the perils associated with owning and using a commercial vehicle. This covers your liability for vehicular accidents. Replacement or repair of vehicle parts is another thing that commercial auto insurance takes care of. Commercial auto insurance can only cover 1 or 2 vehicles. If you want to cover 3 or more, consider getting fleet insurance. This works the same way as commercial auto insurance. The only difference is that it insures multiple vehicles.
Burglary and housekeeping insurance provide protection against theft. This will cover expenses associated with the loss or damage caused by burglars against your business. Note that insurance companies might not provide coverage if there are no signs of forcible entry.
An employee can sue you for negligence upon sustaining a work-related injury or disease. And so, get employer’s liability insurance that will cover attorney fees, settlements, administrative costs, and other legal expenses on your behalf. Employer’s liability insurance is usually packaged with workers' compensation insurance. But note that there’s no need to get it if your business has workers comp and operates in a state that provides an exclusive remedy to employers.
If you’re a self-employed house cleaner (i.e., a sole proprietor with no employees), you will likely need professional and general liability insurance for self employed house cleaners. As you don’t have any employees, your costs will typically be lower than a full-scale house cleaning company.
House cleaning insurance for one day is an on-demand general liability insurance policy that lasts for 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, or 24 hours. This is useful for part-time self-employed house cleaners. Most one day house cleaning insurance has a CCC exclusion. However, companies like Thimble don't implement this and allow their house cleaning insurance for a day to provide full coverage.
On average, house cleaning liability insurance cost for self-employed maids or small maid companies is around $37 per month (or $444 per year) for a $1 million general liability coverage. As you can see, this is relatively affordable!
House cleaners or housekeepers can get hourly coverage. This costs $1.52 to $3 per one hour general liability coverage. That said, if you want to get covered for 12 hours, then hourly house cleaning insurance cost will be $18.24 or $36.
Here are the average prices charged by the cheapest maid insurance companies.
| Insurance Provider | Average Monthly Premium | Average Annual Premium | Best For: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | $25 | $300 | Insuring part-time domestic workers |
| Sompo | $26 | $311 | Affordable, basic maid insurance |
| AIA | $27.50 | $329 | Comprehensive maid and domestic helper coverage |
| AXA | $28.50 | $342 | Insuring a maid with citizenship in another country |
| CoverWallet | $29 | $348.00 | Maid and house cleaning insurance quotes comparison online |
| Chubb | $29 | $347 | Insuring domestic help who take on wider responsibilities |
| EQ Insurance | $32 | $382 | High accident claim payout |
| Income | $33 | $397 | Insuring a full-time maid |
| Thimble | $34.84 | $418.08 | Hourly, daily, or monthly house cleaning insurance |
| HLAS | $35 | $413 | Employers who want extra coverage for domestic helpers |
| NEXT | $37.84 | $454.08 | House cleaning and maid service insurance bundles |
Keep in mind that these estimates are just a rough average of what to expect. The amount you’ll pay in premiums may vary, depending on a number of factors, such as:
How many maids you employ.
Whether you’ve made claims previously.
Your personal credit score and history.
The risk involved with your particular property.
Overall, the best way to get affordable and cheap maid insurance is to compare quotes from different insurance providers. The insurance market is highly competitive, which means that providers are always looking to undermine their competitors and offer great rates.
To get customized maid insurance online quotes right now, simply click ‘ Get Quotes ’ and use our house cleaning and maid insurance quote generator. It’ll connect you directly with the top maid insurance companies so that you can see exactly what coverage you get and how much you’ll pay with each insurer, purchase and manage your policy online through our partners!
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As you can see, the overall cost of insurance for cleaners in your home won’t set you back too much. If you employ a maid or domestic help, then purchasing maid insurance is one of the best investments that you can make. A small monthly premium will result in you saving thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in future incident claims. In many states and countries, it’s also the law.
We figured that we would give you a quick review of each of the major insurers we listed in the table above. Hopefully, this will help you have more knowledge about the pros, cons, and cost of a $1 million general liability coverage of the best maid insurance companies.
Four coverage options to choose from.
Get a certificate of insurance for free.
A partner of reputable carriers.
Not an insurance company but a broker.
CoverWallet sells house cleaning and maid insurance that’s made out of the policies of its partners. You can choose between its basic, standard, pro, and custom plans. We recommend getting the pro plan because it gives you general liability, commercial property, and workers compensation insurance policies. But if you’re an independent house cleaner or maid, go for the basic plan because it only offers general liability insurance and nothing else you don’t need.
Best for: Maid and house cleaning insurance quotes comparison online.
Average cost: $29 per month.
Rating: 5/5
Easy-to-use online platform.
Excellent reviews on customer service and handling of claims.
Income only provides insurance to companies and individuals within Singapore.
NTUC Income is one of Singapore’s leading insurance agencies. They have built their business on providing composite levels of insurance for both individuals and small businesses alike. Their domestic helper insurance policy will cover all Ministry of Manpower requirements and then some. Whether you’re just signing up or you need maid insurance renewal, you’ll find that Income’s online platform easy and simple to use. They also have a great reputation for handling claims quickly and efficiently.
Best for: Insuring a full-time maid in Singapore.
Average cost: $33 per month.
Rating: 5/5
ACORD 25 certificate of insurance.
Low deductibles.
Pause or cancel a short-term coverage anytime.
Has a lot of exclusions in its general liability insurance.
Thimble provides short-term and long-term house cleaning insurance. Policies you can avail are general liability, professional liability, commercial property, and workers compensation insurance.
Best for: Hourly, daily, or monthly house cleaning insurance.
Average cost: $34.84 per month.
Rating: 4.5/5
Live certificate of insurance.
Bundle policies and get a discount.
Poor customer reviews on BBB.
NEXT house cleaning and maid service insurance provides you with general liability insurance, professional liability insurance, tools and equipment insurance, workers compensation insurance, and commercial property insurance. Similar to CoverWallet and Thimble, this company provides a quote within minutes. Choose to get two or more insurance policies from NEXT and bundle them so that you’re eligible for a 10% discount.
Best for: House cleaning and maid service insurance bundles.
Average cost: $37.84 per month.
Rating: 4/5
Three policy tiers are available.
All of the policies meet the minimum requirements outlined by the Ministry of Manpower.
Add ons available, such as: dental care, psychiatric care, and more.
The main office is based in the UK, which may cause the claims process to last longer (if you live in another country).
AXA is a multinational insurance provider based out of the United Kingdom. They specialize in providing high-quality comprehensive commercial and personal insurance policies. They have built a considerable reputation worldwide for their maid insurance policy.
They offer three tiers of maid insurance: Standard, Compre-Plus, and Ultimate Plus. Each one offers benefits and coverage beyond the minimum requirements of the UK Ministry of Manpower.
Best for: Insuring a maid with citizenship in another country.
Average cost: $28.50 per month.
Rating: 4.5/5
Let customers build their own policy.
Immediate proof of insurance.
Available worldwide.
Liberty has a high number of customer service complaints.
If you’re looking for a simple and easy way to purchase maid insurance online, then you can’t go wrong with Liberty’s maid insurance plan. Dubbed “MaidCare” by the company, their singular policy covers all of the Ministry of Manpower requirements but also lets you add extras to your policy should you choose. They’ve received excellent reviews for quick claims handling and also provide immediate verification of insurance so you and your maid don’t have to wait long.
Best for: Insuring part-time domestic or foreign workers.
Average cost: $25 per month.
Rating: 4.5/5
Add ons available should you wish to provide your maid with extra benefits.
You can insure any maids between ages 18 and 60.
They will pay for your security bond.
The main office is based in Singapore, which means you may have longer call waiting times.
AIA is another insurance provider that’s based in Singapore. Like Sompo, they provide a wide range of policies and offer a special insurance policy designed for domestic helpers. Whether your domestic help focuses solely on cleaning work or they help out with other tasks (like cooking or childcare), AIA provides comprehensive coverage personalized to your needs.
Best for: Comprehensive maid and domestic helper coverage.
Average cost: $27.50 per month.
Rating: ⅘
Comprehensive maid insurance coverage that includes all of the basics.
Single, affordable policy.
Provides employer protection from maid negligence.
There’s only one policy available. No options or tiers.
Sompo is based out of Singapore and has been providing a number of personal and commercial insurance policies that include everything from customized maid insurance to commercial auto. Today, Sompo works with policyholders worldwide and has developed an excellent reputation for its MaidEase insurance policy. They offer a single, comprehensive maid insurance policy that includes personal injury and accident liability, domestic helper liability (which protects you if the maid is negligent and you’re injured), and also repatriation expenses (if the worker needs to return to their home country for an emergency).
Best for: Affordable, basic maid insurance.
Average cost: $26 per month.
Rating: 3.8/5
Basic domestic helpers insurance policy with the option to add surgical and hospitalization insurance for foreign workers.
Insurance available worldwide.
Chubb doesn’t specialize in maid service, so they don’t have as many add-ons.
Chubb is one of the newest insurance companies on the market, but they’ve built a superb reputation for providing low-cost business insurance and have some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings on the market. They provide a basic domestic helpers insurance policy as well as a more comprehensive foreign workers hospitalization and surgical insurance. Overall, they have one of the best FDW insurance package on the market.
Best for: Insuring domestic help who take on wider responsibilities.
Average cost: $29 per month.
Rating: 3.8/5
Operates throughout Asia and North America.
Provide special coverage for COVID-19 in domestic helpers.
Good customer service.
They are known for being a little bit pricey.
HLAS is short for the Hong Leung Assurance company. The Hong Leung Group is a large financial broker that operates throughout China, Singapore, Malaysia, and also North America. In addition to brokering financial arrangements, they also provide insurance through HL Assurance. Their maid insurance is one of their most widely-purchased policies throughout Asia and is growing in America. They’ve made news for providing COVID-19 specific coverage for domestic helpers.
Best for: Employers who want extra coverage for domestic helpers.
Average cost: $35 per month.
Rating: 4.5/5
Higher-than-average insurance payouts.
Operates worldwide.
The company is based out of Singapore, which means it may be harder to get in touch with them if you live in North America or the UK.
EQ Insurance is a Singapore-based multinational insurance firm. They provide a number of different home and commercial insurance policies, but they do offer specialty maid insurance to cater to the high number of Southeast Asian households who employ household help. They’re known for their easy claims process and providing higher-than-average claim payout. As a multinational firm, they also provide coverage around the globe.
Best for: High accident claim payout.
Average cost: $32 per month
Rating: 4/5
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
It really can't get any better than this... wow
Very good experience
Terrific experience with their construction business insurance! 10/10! Thank you!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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