Inside clients' homes · care, custody and control · recovery
Liability insurance for a self-employed cleaner
As a self-employed cleaner you are alone among belongings that are often worth more than the job. One clumsy movement costs more than a month's turnover.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een zelfstandige schoonmaker.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
What goes wrong in this work is rarely spectacular and often expensive: a vase off the windowsill, a television that tips over while vacuuming, a laptop that slides off a table, a curtain torn by the steam cleaner, a washing machine hose you connected that comes loose overnight. If you damage someone else's property through careless conduct, that is liability under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and in principle the territory of this policy.
The exception you need to know is the care, custody and control. Objects you were holding, moving or treating are property that was in your in your care. The painting you were dusting that falls out of your hands is a different case from the cabinet it falls against. That distinction determines whether you pay the bill yourself. Ask for additional care, custody and control cover, therefore, if you regularly handle valuable objects, and photograph the existing damage on a first visit.
What else stays at your expense: redoing poor work, loss of keys and the replacement of locks (pure financial loss), suspicion of theft (deliberate acts are excluded under Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code), and damage to your own vacuum cleaner, machines and vehicle. If you are off work with back complaints, that is not liability but loss of income; for that, look at disability insurance. How the cover works in general is set out on the page about public and employers' liability insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What to look out for
Four points that determine whether a loss is paid when you work alone.
What you are holding is treated differently
In this profession the care, custody and control exclusion is the most important provision in the whole policy, because you handle other people's belongings all day. Ask expressly when you get a quote how the insurer defines in your care and whether additional cover is available. The answer differs from insurer to insurer and matters more than a few euros of premium.
You are the only witness
Without colleagues, evidence is your biggest problem. Report damage the same day to the client and to your insurer, take photographs of the situation and put in writing what happened. Article 7:941 of the Dutch Civil Code requires you to report the loss as soon as you know of it; waiting until the client sends a letter weakens your position and the insurer's.
Your client's contents insurer comes back to you
A private client usually reports the damage to his own insurer first. That insurer pays and then seeks recovery from whoever caused the damage. Do not admit liability yourself and do not promise compensation; forward such letters to your insurer. Settling acknowledgement on your own initiative can put your cover at risk.
What else you do besides cleaning
Cleaning windows at height, keeping a small garden, doing the shopping or helping to pack for a move: often none of that is in the description of your capacity. Work outside that description is not insured. Have the wording amended as soon as your work changes; Articles 7:928 and 7:930 DCC attach consequences to that.
What does your premium depend on?
- Annual turnover: the usual basis for a sole trader
- Type of customers: private homes, offices or catering premises
- Activities within the stated capacity: cleaning only, or also windows, garden and odd jobs
- Care, custody and control cover: additional and with an excess per event
- Working at height: ladders and stepladders change the risk profile
- Sum insured chosen: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | Care, custody and control cover |
|---|---|---|
| You knock a mirror off the hallway wall with the stepladder | Yes | No |
| You drop the set of keys onto the glass coffee table and it cracks | Yes | No |
| The marble windowsill you descale is discoloured by the product | No | Yes |
| The silver cutlery you polish is scratched | No | Yes |
| The client demands the clean be redone free of charge because the windows are streaky | No | No |
| You misstep on a client's stairs and cannot work for three weeks | No | No |
The difference is in your hands: an object you were holding or treating counts differently from an object you knocked into.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
I knock over a television at a client's home. Is that paid?
If the set was not the object of your work, it is third-party property damage and covered in principle. If you were cleaning the screen, it was in your keeping and the care, custody and control exclusion applies. That distinction sounds fine-spun, but it is precisely what a claims handler looks at. Additional care, custody and control cover removes that difference.
My client's insurer sends me a letter holding me liable.
That is recovery: the insurer has paid the client and is seeking the loss back from you. Do not respond on the merits and do not pay anything out of your own pocket, but forward the letter to your own insurer. It will assess whether you are liable in law, conduct the defence and pay if necessary. The defence costs are covered as well.
Do I need insurance if I only work for private clients?
Your personal liability insurance does not help here: it excludes damage connected with a profession or business. As a sole trader you are liable with your private assets, and a client's contents quickly add up to a substantial amount. Booking platforms and business clients also often ask for proof of insurance before you may start.
Am I insured if I am off work with back complaints?
Not on this policy. Liability insurance pays for damage you cause to others. Your own injury and the loss of your income are not part of that. With no employer there is also no continued pay. If you want to cover that, you end up with disability insurance (AOV) or a collective alternative. That is separate from your liability cover.
Read more
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