What is a janitorial bond? You may be wondering what this bond refers to and who it benefits? If someone tells you in your cleaning business that you need a janitorial bond, what do you do?
To put it simply, it is a type of bond and it will protect your clients and not your business.
It does this by protecting them from theft from your employees and this is the important difference between the bond and insurance.
It is often that employees have access to clients’ private homes and offices and these are left unsupervised.
With this trust, employees have an opportunity to steal and although we trust our employees, a Janitorial Bond gives clients peace of mind that they are covered for any valuables.
We take a look at how the bond works in closer detail in this article.
A Janitorial Bond is a type of fidelity bond that protects and looks after your customers and clients. As we mentioned at the beginning, a Janitorial Bond is not to be confused with insurance for your company, and whilst it protects your clients, it does not protect you.
It also fails to protect your business from any damages. It looks after customers and clients in case there is a case of theft from any of your employees and this is its limitation.
Janitorial Bonds are also referred to as
All of the names referred to above refer to a normal Janitorial bond, however, and it is a surety bond that protects customers and clients over the business. It protects them from theft.
Unlike insurance, the bond will expect reimbursement when it pays for your claim and clients might want your cleaning service to secure this coverage.
The bond will provide coverage related to any employee theft of money, property, and possessions as well as client contracts.
It is important to remember that Janitorial Bonds will provide substantial financial protection against employee theft but when it comes to insurance, you need to make sure your entire company is protected.
This means you should consider other forms of protection too such as General Liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, commercial auto insurance, business owner’s policy, and commercial umbrella insurance.
Janitorial bonds are not mandatory and are completely voluntary. They are not only limited to the cleaning business either.
Although they are common in cleaning businesses, such as carpet and house cleaning, they are also common in house painter businesses as well as landscapers, plumbers, and pet sitters.
If your employees are entering homes or property of customers, you might think about securing a Janitorial Bond so you know your clients are protected from theft. This will apply
to any business owner and business that therefore deals with this type of work.
The bonds are also a great advertising tool and if you are pitching your work to a customer and mention the bond, they might be more likely to agree to your services.
Clients and customers enjoy having an extra layer of protection and this might persuade them to go with you instead of another business without the coverage.
If you are wondering how the bond works, if you purchase one and you make sure you are buying through a licenses surety bond provider you have researched beforehand, you are now classed as bonded.
This protects your clients from theft after purchase.
If an employee of the business steals an item or anything from a customer, they can claim with the bond.
A Janitorial Bond is not to be confused with insurance, however, and as we mentioned, does not protect you. It does not protect against property damage either.
If you want to protect the company or yourself, when it comes to employee theft, then you need to consider getting an Employee Dishonesty Bond and this is a different type of bond.
If you were also looking to protect yourself from property damage, you need to get different insurance and coverage as a Janitorial Bond covers only clients of the company.
If you were wondering about the price of the bond, you’ll be pleased to know that the bonds are one of the cheapest types available when it comes to covering your clients. They are inexpensive considering how much coverage you get.
If you have a business that wants to have $100, 000 in coverage, you will only need to pay between $300 and $400 every year.
You could even get coverage for as little as $100 and this means they are perfect for smaller businesses and businesses on a budget too.
With this coverage, the bond will cover up to $500, 000 in losses usually and this is without premium increases.
As with any type of insurance, the bond cost will depend on employee numbers and the type of work of your cleaning business.
It will also depend on what sort of customers you are dealing with as if you are dealing with VIP clients, you might want to spend a little more on a higher coverage.
Getting a Janitorial service bond is a simple process and usually just involves you filling out a Bond application. In most cases, providers will aim to get your bond back to you the same day.
Service providers will need to know how much coverage you want, the type of clients you are working with, and how many employees/owners you have and that need to be covered.
We hope this article has helped you and your business decide whether a Janitorial bond is worth it.
Remember, not only will it protect your clients but it is also a great advertising tool and if a client is deciding whether or not to hire you, the added security of this bond might just win them over!
