Walnut Creek janitorial insurance tends to involve higher-value interiors than the average account — downtown offices, medical and dental suites, law firms and retail with finishes that are expensive to repair. That makes care, custody and control the coverage that decides whether a mistake is an inconvenience or a business problem.
We set that limit against the property you actually work around, not a default figure.
What janitorial insurance has to cover
Cleaning companies work inside other people's buildings, which puts two things at risk: the people in them and the property itself. General liability answers for a slip on a freshly mopped floor. Care, custody and control — often excluded by default — is what responds when your crew damages a client's equipment, flooring or furnishings.
Most building owners and property managers will not let a crew start without a certificate naming them as additional insured, often with primary and non-contributory wording. Get those endorsements quoted rather than promised.
Employee dishonesty and bonding
Your crews hold keys and codes. A janitorial bond or employee dishonesty coverage protects the client — and your contract — when theft is alleged. Clients ask for this by name, and the limit they ask for is usually higher than the default on a small business package.
Workers' compensation for cleaning crews
Chemical exposure, repetitive strain, and falls from ladders and wet floors drive most claims. California requires coverage from your first employee, and if you use subcontracted crews without certificates, their payroll can be added to your audit as if they were yours. That surprise is the single most common reason a cleaning company's renewal jumps.
Vehicles, equipment and tools
Vans, buffers, extractors and pressure washers move between sites daily. Inland marine covers the equipment away from any fixed location, and commercial auto covers the vehicles — personal auto policies exclude business use, which surfaces at the worst possible moment.
What we see in Walnut Creek
Floor damage is the recurring claim. Stone, hardwood and specialty finishes in downtown buildings can cost more to restore than a small contractor's annual profit, and the wrong chemical on the wrong surface is a routine way it happens.
Higher-end clients also expect higher limits. A $2 million requirement with an umbrella is common in Walnut Creek contracts and is inexpensive to add relative to losing the account.
Questions Walnut Creek owners ask us
How much care, custody and control coverage should I carry?
Enough to replace the most expensive surface or equipment you regularly work around. For downtown office and medical work we commonly look at $50,000 to $100,000 rather than the small default limits.
Do I need an umbrella policy?
If clients require $2 million or more, an umbrella over a $1 million primary is usually the cheapest way to meet it and gives you room above a serious claim.
Is damage to a client's floor covered by general liability?
Damage to property in your care is typically excluded from general liability, which is exactly why care, custody and control coverage exists.
Get a janitorial quote for your Walnut Creek business
Tell us your annual payroll, the contracts you're bidding, and any certificate requirements, and we'll quote to those specs. We are an independent brokerage based in Antioch, serving Contra Costa County and the wider Bay Area. CA License #0D90958.
Other cities we write this coverage in
See our full Contractors General Liability overview.