What’s better than a freshly-cleaned carpet or sofa? The UK’s homeowners, business owners and public bodies alike are clamouring to have their carpets and upholstery cleaned, especially since a certain virus heightened the public’s awareness of hygiene. This means a sustainable, viable business for you.
But before you so much as pick up a suction nozzle, you need to protect your business with the right insurance. Failing to do so can spell the end of your business, so listen up!
Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Insurance is there to manage the risks you face in the industry and safeguard your business finances. Further, the right insurance will ensure you’re legally compliant and can meet the conditions of any contract a customer throws at you.
Carpet cleaner insurance from Rhino is designed to protect you from the specific risks and liabilities that you face every single day in the carpet cleaning game. Instead of one single policy, it’s a whole menu of coverage that you can select from and create a bespoke bundle to suit your carpet and upholstery cleaning business. This means you will only pay for the policies you need – always at the lowest possible premiums with Rhino.
So, what coverage do carpet and upholstery cleaners need? Here are our top picks:
Public Liability Insurance is the gold standard policy that all carpet and upholstery cleaners need. This policy will be your absolute lifeline should you cause harm or damage to others during the course of your business activities. This policy is something you can’t skip, as opting to pay or customer claims and damages out-of-pocket will cost you a fortune and is not a smart idea for long-term business sustainability.
So, if you use the wrong chemical on a polyester carpet or someone trips over your vacuum wire and breaks a leg, Public Liability Insurance will be there to pick up the pieces and smooth things over with your customer. With Public Liability Insurance, third-party injuries and property damage will be covered financially, leaving you to breathe a sigh of relief and carry on your cleaning activities.
Employer’s Liability Insurance is an absolute must for all carpet and upholstery cleaners who employ staff. This includes temporary workers and apprentices. The purpose of Employer’s Liability Insurance is to protect self-employed individuals and businesses from the cost of claims made by employees for work-related injuries or illnesses. For example, if you hire a worker and they end up with a skin condition from handling chemicals, they’re almost certain to make a claim against your business for financial compensation. Without insurance, you’d have to pay that sum yourself – and it could be a lot.
Having this policy is actually a legal requirement and you can be hit with serious fines by HMRC if you go without it. Currently that fine is £2,500 per day that you’re without cover, so we’d call having Employer’s Liability Insurance a no-brainer.
If you’re already in the carpet cleaning game, you’ve probably got a couple of grand’s worth of equipment under your belt at the very least. If you’re just thinking of getting set up as a carpet and upholstery cleaner, then this is an investment you’ll have to make in the near future.
From the professional electric carpet cleaning machines to your set of hand attachments and your wide array of chemicals – you need a whole variety of equipment to get the job done. Your industrial-standard tools are what set you apart from the DIY have-a-go carpet cleaners, and as such, your tools must be protected. That’s where Tools and Equipment Insurance comes in. It will cover the cost of repair or replacement if your tools are lost, stolen or damaged. Rhino’s fantastic policy covers you even if keep your tools in your van overnight.
As a self-employed carpet and upholstery cleaner, you’re vulnerable to various legal disputes that can arise when running a business. These include contract issues, employment tribunals, and criminal investigations. Legal Expenses Insurance is the answer! It covers you for the legal costs incurred when defending against a range of issues, offering valuable peace of mind and financial protection. With Rhino’s Legal Expenses Insurance, you will get access to a legal helpline and expert legal representation in your corner to help you through the choppy seas of business ownership. Rhino’s Legal Expenses Insurance policy covers you up to £50,000 per year, with no excess, from as little as £85 per year.
You might not see yourself as much of a dare-devil, but you might be forgetting how many risks you face in your daily work as a carpet and upholstery cleaner. Remember, this is why insurance is so important as it protects you financially from the risks you face.
Yours isn't a job for the faint of heart. On a daily basis, you’re lugging heavy equipment, getting exposed to a pick ‘n’ mix of chemicals and engaging in repetitive motions. There are plenty of common physical risks and hazards involved in carpet and upholstery cleaning, which can cause all sorts of cuts, bruises, aches, pains and injuries – to you, your employees and even random passers-by.
Getting carpets and upholstery clean and sanitary cannot be done without utilising some serious chemicals. It’s part of your professional expertise to use these chemicals in the right places, combinations and levels of dilution, but mistakes and blunders can happen to the best of us. There are environmental risks related to carpet and upholstery cleaning activities, including potential damage to the environment from chemical runoff or improper disposal of cleaning agents.
You set out to do a sterling job every time, but sometimes despite your best efforts, you can get your wires crossed with customers. Things like misunderstandings or disputes over the quality of service provided can rear their ugly heads and make your life a misery. If someone is accusing you of professional negligence (such as changing the colour of their priceless Persian rug during a routine cleaning), you’ll need to call in some extra help. This is where policies like Legal Expenses Insurance and Professional Indemnity Insurance can be a real lifeline.
Let’s take a look at the key benefits of taking out comprehensive cleaning business coverage with Rhino.
Insurance provides financial security by covering the costs of the claims and damages that may come your way. Whenever you step into a customer’s home, or set up your equipment in a commercial space, you’re setting the stage for accidents, injuries and mishaps. Slips, trips and property damage are unfortunately common despite the very strictest health and safety standards, and the cost to rectify these things can be huge, which is why you should never work a day without insurance.
If you choose to add Legal Expenses Insurance to your personalised Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners Insurance bundle, you’re safeguarding yourself against a whole host of legal pickles that you can find yourself the subject of. Tradespeople who work for themselves are at particular risk of legal entanglements and this low-cost add-on cover is a fantastic way to protect yourself from legal costs at a low, low price.
When you’re fully protected by Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners Insurance, you can rest assured that you’re meeting the necessary legal and contractual requirements. For example, you’ll need at least £5million in Employer’s Liability Insurance if you have any staff. Plus, if you want to secure those lucrative contracts that keep regular money coming in, such as local offices or public buildings, then you’ll usually need to be insured to the hilt to meet those stringent contractual requirements.
Your reputation is everything in a competitive industry like professional carpet and upholstery cleaning. Having the right insurance builds trust with your customers and enhances the credibility of your business. Nobody wants to put their precious carpets and furnishings in the hands of an uninsured company, so use this to your advantage and shout about your fully insured status across all your business’s promotional platforms.
We do things differently here at Rhino. This is why we’ve won multiple awards in our industry, and are the top choice for tradesmen insurance for tradesmen and women up and down the UK. Here’s a few reasons why we’re the best partners to protect your carpet and upholstery cleaning business.
Rhino Trade Insurance’s expertise lies in providing specialised coverage tailored to the needs of carpet and upholstery cleaners. We recognise that all businesses are different shapes and sizes, so instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, our customers benefit from a range of policies to choose from so they can build their own personalised bundle of cover that fits just right.
Unlike most insurers who offer general cover, we consider the unique risks and requirements of each trade. Our comprehensive policies mean all aspects of a professional carpet cleaner’s business are covered. From Public Liability Insurance to Tool and Equipment cover, your business will benefit from 360-degree protection with Rhino.
Nobody wants to pay over the odds. Rhino’s insurance is priced fairly, with no sneaky hidden fees. As brokers, Rhino are able to continuously search the market for the highest quality, lowest cost cover. For example, our market leading Public Liability Insurance starts at just over £6 a month, and you can protect your small business with Legal Expenses Insurance from just £85 per year. Quotes are always bespoke, so talk to the team or use our quick quote generator to get yours.
If you like friendly, straightforward customer service with UK telephone support six days a week, then you’re in the right place. Rhino have over 3,000 five-star reviews from verified customers online, many of them raving about how great they find our customer service.
“Brilliant service all round. Matthew called me within a few minutes of me requesting a quotation online. He was very easy to deal with and explained all the ins and outs of my policy in a really user friendly way. The price and the cover that they offered as well as their brilliant customer service are unbeatable. I used them last year and will be continuing to use them for the foreseeable!” says verified tradesman customer Brian C.
While you’ll have to pay a small monthly premium, you really can’t afford to be uninsured as it will cost you more in the long run. Whether it’s paying out of pocket for compensation claims or paying legal costs for if something goes awry, it is a sounder financial decision to get insured and avoid nasty surprises down the line.
All carpet and upholstery cleaning businesses, regardless of size, need insurance. Whether it’s for legal compliance, contractual adherence or just plain common sense, even the smallest one-man-band carpet cleaner needs to be insured.
Not the case. Not all insurance policies are made equal. At Rhino, we offer a menu of insurance policies which cover specific risks – select only the ones you need to create your personalised bundle, ensuring your carpet and upholstery cleaning business is protected from all angles.
Talk to the team at Rhino today on 0116 243 7904 to learn about how we can give your business priceless protection at a low cost.
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