Public liability insurance is the one piece of contractor paperwork that genuinely matters, because it is the only document that does something when things go wrong rather than describing what should have happened. Everything else in a vendor pack is a claim about competence. Insurance is what stands behind an incident. If a contractor working in your building damages a client's laptop, marks a wall, or someone is hurt, the question is not whether they had a method statement, it is whether anyone can actually pay.
This describes general commercial practice. It is not legal or insurance advice, and your own broker and your building's requirements govern.
What public liability cover actually is
In plain terms, it covers a contractor's liability for injury to third parties or damage to third-party property arising out of their work. Third party here means you, your staff, your tenants, your customers and your belongings.
What it is not: it does not cover the contractor's own equipment, it does not cover their staff (that is a workers' compensation question), and it does not cover work that was simply done badly. A contractor who over-wets your carpet has not caused an insurable event, they have done a poor job, see why over-wetting is the warning sign. Insurance is not a substitute for competence and it does not make a bad contractor safe to appoint.
We carry public liability cover, and you are welcome to ask for confirmation before we set foot on your site.
Why this matters more in commercial than residential
In a home, the worst realistic outcome is damage to the homeowner's own property, and the homeowner is the person who hired you.
A commercial building multiplies the exposure. The contractor is working around equipment worth far more than the job, in a building full of other people's property. In a multi-tenant building they are in shared space belonging to a landlord while working for a tenant, see who owns what in a multi-tenant building. In a complex they are in common property belonging to the body corporate, see common property responsibility. And there are members of the public moving through, none of whom were briefed, see managing risk in an occupied building.
If you are a trustee or a managing agent, the exposure is not abstract: appointing an uninsured contractor to work in common property is a decision you took on behalf of every owner in the scheme, see what trustees should ask for.
Confirm it, do not assume it
"We're fully insured" on a website is a sentence, not a policy. It costs nothing to say and a startling number of contractors saying it are not.
Ask for the certificate of insurance, and check three things on it. That the policy is current, since certificates are annual and the one on file may be two renewals old. That the cover limit is sensible relative to what is in your building, because a limit that would not replace one server rack is decorative. And that the insured name matches the entity actually quoting you, which catches the case where a trading name and a registered company are not the same thing.
If a contractor is reluctant to produce it, that is your answer, see warning signs worth taking seriously.
What actually gets damaged, honestly
Catastrophic incidents are rare. The realistic list is mundane and it is worth knowing so you can prevent most of it:
- Hose and equipment knocks on skirtings, door frames and desk legs, which is the most common thing by a distance.
- Colour transfer from a rug or a piece of furniture standing on damp carpet, which is why furniture goes back only once the floor is dry.
- Moisture near electronics, which is why comms rooms have hard rules, see working around live equipment.
- Items left on the floor by staff and moved, or not moved and cleaned around.
- Fibre damage from wrong chemistry on wool or a delicate piece, which is not an accident, it is a competence failure, and no policy makes your boardroom carpet un-bleached, see why boardrooms are the risk.
What to do if something is damaged
Report it immediately, that night or the next morning. Every policy has notification requirements, and a claim raised three weeks later against a contractor who was on site for one evening is difficult for everybody.
Photograph it, dated, before anything is moved or tidied.
Do not have it repaired first and invoice afterwards. That removes the evidence and usually the claim with it.
Expect an honest contractor to tell you first. This is the real test. Most damage is discovered by the person who caused it, and the difference between a contractor who tells you at 22:00 and one who hopes you do not notice until Thursday is the whole of their character. It is also why letting a contractor into your building is a trust decision as much as a price one, see the trust question.
We report our own mistakes. It is cheaper than the alternative and it is the only version we would want on the receiving end.
Prevention, which beats every claim
Clear the floor. Ask staff to lift personal items and anything valuable off the floor and off surfaces near the work. Five minutes of this prevents most incidents.
Flag the sensitive things. Tell us where the delicate rug, the wool boardroom carpet and the live equipment are before we start rather than after.
Walk the site together beforehand, which is what an on-site assessment is partly for, see what an assessment establishes. Existing damage noted before we arrive is existing damage nobody argues about afterwards.
Get the working arrangement in writing, including access and what happens if something goes wrong, see what a commercial arrangement should cover.
The honest bit
Insurance is a backstop, not a plan. A contractor whose real answer to risk is "we're covered" is telling you they expect to break things.
What actually protects your building is method: controlled moisture, fibre-appropriate chemistry, equipment routed against walls, furniture back only when dry, and technicians who flag a problem rather than hope. The insurance sits behind all of that for the rare occasion when careful people still have an accident, see what to ask before appointing a contractor.
Common questions
Should a carpet cleaning contractor have public liability insurance?
Yes, and you should confirm it rather than assume it. It covers their liability for injury to third parties or damage to third-party property arising from their work, meaning you, your staff, your tenants and your belongings. It does not cover their own equipment or work that was simply done badly. We carry it and you are welcome to ask for confirmation before we arrive.
How do I verify a contractor is actually insured?
Ask for the certificate of insurance and check three things: that the policy is current, since certificates are annual and the one on file may be two renewals old; that the cover limit is sensible relative to what is in your building; and that the insured name matches the entity actually quoting you, which catches trading names that are not the registered company. Reluctance to produce it is your answer.
What happens if a cleaning contractor damages something on site?
Report it immediately, that night or the next morning, since every policy has notification requirements and a claim raised weeks later is difficult for everyone. Photograph it dated before anything is moved, and do not have it repaired first and invoice afterwards, since that removes the evidence and usually the claim. The real test is whether the contractor tells you before you find it.
Does insurance mean a contractor is safe to appoint?
No. Insurance is a backstop, not a plan, and it does not make a bad contractor safe. It does not cover work that was simply done poorly: a contractor who over-wets your carpet or uses the wrong chemistry on wool has not caused an insurable event, they have failed at the job, and no policy makes a bleached boardroom carpet un-bleached. Ask about method, not just cover.
To confirm our cover and walk your site before we quote, contact our commercial team or see commercial carpet cleaning.