Insured and Bonded: What It Actually Means (and How to Verify It)

“Insured and bonded” appears on nearly every cleaning company’s website. The two terms get used interchangeably, but they cover completely different risks. Understanding the difference, and knowing how to verify both, protects your business if something goes wrong.

---

Insurance and bonding cover different things

General liability insurance covers property damage or bodily injury caused by the cleaning company during their work. If a crew member breaks a window, floods a bathroom, or causes someone to slip on a freshly mopped floor, general liability is what pays the claim.

A surety bond covers employee theft or dishonesty. If a crew member steals from your office, the bond compensates you. It’s not the same as insurance, and it’s not triggered by accidents, only by intentional misconduct.

A cleaning company can be fully insured and have no bond. They can be bonded with only minimal insurance. Most commercial cleaning proposals bundle both under “insured and bonded” without specifying either. Ask what they carry for each, separately.

---

What minimum coverage actually looks like

For general liability, the standard for most commercial cleaning accounts is $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. Those figures cover most property damage scenarios in a standard office or retail setting.

For buildings with higher exposure (medical facilities, data centers, multi-tenant residential), $2 million per occurrence is the more appropriate floor. Your commercial lease may already specify a minimum; check it before evaluating vendors.

Surety bonds are typically issued per-employee for a set dollar amount. A $25,000 bond per employee is common for small commercial cleaning operations. Ask what the bond covers and whether it’s a blanket bond (covering all employees collectively) or individual bonds.

---

How to read a certificate of insurance

A certificate of insurance (COI) is a one-page document issued by the insurance carrier that summarizes the policy. Requesting one is standard practice. Any legitimate cleaning company has a COI and can produce it within a day.

What to check on the COI:

• Policy effective and expiration dates. A COI from eight months ago may represent a policy that’s already lapsed. Verify the coverage is current.
• Coverage limits. Confirm the per-occurrence and aggregate figures match what you require.
• Named insured. The company name on the COI should match the legal entity you’re contracting with.
• Additional insured. For ongoing commercial accounts, ask to be listed as an additional insured on the policy. This means you’re notified directly if the policy lapses or changes.

If you want to confirm the policy is active, call the insurance agency listed on the certificate, not the cleaning company. Brokers confirm coverage directly.

---

The subcontractor gap

A cleaning company’s general liability policy covers their employees. If they use subcontractors, the coverage picture changes.

Subcontractors are independent businesses. If a cleaning company sends a subcontractor to your building and that sub causes damage, the cleaning company’s insurance may not cover it. The sub would need their own policy. In practice, many subcontractors in the cleaning industry are underinsured or carry minimal coverage.

Ask directly: do any of the people who will clean my building work as subcontractors? If so, how do you verify their insurance?

If the answer is vague, or if they say subcontractors carry their own coverage without being able to verify it, that’s a gap in your protection.

---

Oregon workers’ compensation

Oregon law requires any employer with Oregon employees to carry workers’ compensation coverage. If a cleaning crew member is injured on your property, Oregon law determines how the claim is handled.

If a cleaning company uses workers who are misclassified as independent contractors but function as employees, Oregon’s workers’ compensation system may treat them as employees, and the liability can flow to the property owner. This is a real exposure, not a theoretical one.

When evaluating a cleaning company, ask how their crew is structured (direct employees, subcontractors, or a mix) and whether their workers’ comp coverage applies to everyone entering your building.

---

What RKA Cleaning carries

We carry $2 million general liability per occurrence and a surety bond. Ask us how our coverage applies to everyone working in your building.

We can provide a COI before the first visit and add your organization as an additional insured on request. No waiting, no “we’ll get that to you.”

We serve commercial accounts across Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Lake Oswego, Tigard, Gresham, Happy Valley, and Vancouver, WA. Request a quote or call (971) 600-0752.