Your cleaning company owns no vans, trucks, or cars. But employees drive their own vehicles from one customer’s property to the next, a supervisor stops at a job site on the way to another location, and someone occasionally rents a van when a large project requires extra equipment. Those activities can create an auto exposure even though the business doesn’t own a vehicle. When evaluating cleaning business auto insurance, the better question isn’t simply, “Do we own cars?” It’s, “How are vehicles used to get our work done?”
That distinction is important when owners ask what insurance a cleaning business needs. A personal vehicle may belong to an employee, but an accident that happens while the employee is carrying out company business can involve more than the driver.
Does a Cleaning Business Need Auto Insurance if Employees Use Their Own Cars?
Cleaning businesses tend to be mobile. Employees may report to a customer’s home or office rather than a central workplace, travel between multiple jobs during a shift, pick up supplies, make a bank deposit, or visit a property for an inspection or estimate.
A company doesn’t have to own the vehicle involved in an accident to face a claim. If an employee causes an accident while carrying out work for the company, an injured party may seek recovery from the driver and, depending on the circumstances and applicable law, may also make a claim against the employer.
Consider an employee who finishes cleaning one office and drives directly to the next customer site. On the way, the employee rear-ends another vehicle. The employee’s personal auto insurance may respond according to its terms, but the business could also become involved because the employee was driving for work.
Auto liability and general liability also address different exposures. General liability is not a substitute for auto liability simply because the accident occurred during business operations. When a vehicle causes bodily injury or property damage, the applicable auto coverage becomes an important factor in determining how the claim is handled.
The same analysis applies to less obvious trips. A supervisor using a personal vehicle to inspect a job site or an employee driving to pick up additional cleaning products can create a business-related driving exposure.
Where Does Hired and Non-Owned Coverage Fit Into Cleaning Business Auto Insurance?
Cleaning businesses that use vehicles they don’t own may need to consider hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA). HNOA liability generally addresses the business’s liability for covered accidents involving those vehicles, subject to the policy’s terms, conditions, and exclusions.
The two parts address different situations:
- “Hired” generally refers to certain vehicles a business rents, leases, or hires. A cleaning company might rent a van for a large move-out cleaning, post-construction project, or temporary assignment that requires more equipment than employees can carry in their cars.
- “Non-owned” generally refers to vehicles the company doesn’t own that employees or others use for company business. An employee’s personal car used to travel between customer locations is a common example.
HNOA shouldn’t be treated as replacement insurance for an employee’s personal vehicle. Non-owned auto liability generally does not pay to repair the employee’s own car after an accident. Likewise, liability coverage for a rented vehicle should not automatically be assumed to cover physical damage to the rental vehicle. The rental agreement and the company’s other auto coverage need to be reviewed separately.
A cleaning business should also avoid assuming that an employee’s personal auto policy resolves the company’s exposure. Personal policies have their own terms concerning vehicle use, and those terms can vary. The employee and the business may have different insurance interests arising from the same accident.
Start by Identifying When Employees Drive for Work
Before deciding whether coverage fits, identify what driving occurs during a normal week.
A company with no fleet may still have dozens of employee trips between customer locations. Another company may allow personal vehicles only for occasional errands. A third may regularly rent vans for specialty projects.
Owners should look at questions such as:
- Who drives: Identify employees, supervisors, owners, contractors, or others who drive as part of their responsibilities.
- Whose vehicles they use: Distinguish among company-owned, employee-owned, rented, leased, and other vehicles.
- Why they drive: Consider travel between jobs, supply runs, estimates, inspections, bank deposits, equipment transport, and other work-related trips.
- How often they drive: An occasional errand creates a different operating pattern from crews making several stops every day.
- What they transport: Consider employees, cleaning equipment, chemicals, customer property, or other materials that may affect how vehicles are used.
Normal commuting and driving performed for company business aren’t necessarily treated the same way. The facts surrounding a trip matter, so an owner shouldn’t rely on a simple rule that every trip in a personal vehicle is either “personal” or “business.”
How Can Cleaning Businesses Reduce Auto Liability Risk?
Driving may be only a small part of an employee’s job, but it still carries workplace risk. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health notes that workers face motor vehicle crash risk whether driving is their primary job or only an incidental duty. According to data reported by the CDC, more than 21,000 U.S. workers died in work-related motor vehicle crashes from 2011 through 2022, representing 35% of all work-related deaths during that period.
To mitigate risk, cleaning businesses can establish expectations for anyone authorized to drive for work:
- Verify drivers. Confirm that employees who drive for the business have a valid license and meet the company’s driving requirements. Motor vehicle record reviews may also be appropriate, subject to applicable employment and privacy requirements.
- Set a distracted-driving policy. Employees shouldn’t be expected to answer a supervisor’s text, look up the next job, or enter an address while the vehicle is moving. In 2024, crashes involving distracted drivers killed 3,208 people and injured 315,167, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Allow enough travel time. Scheduling jobs too closely together can create pressure to speed, multitask, or make unsafe decisions between customer locations.
- Establish accident-reporting procedures. Drivers should know whom to contact, what information to collect, and how quickly the company expects notification after an accident.
- Review personal vehicle requirements. If employees routinely use their cars for work, establish expectations for licensing, insurance, and vehicle condition.
Moody Clean Insurance also offers additional practices for preventing auto accidents and liability claims for cleaning companies whose employees drive during the workday.
Don’t Let ‘We Don’t Own Vehicles’ End the Conversation
Vehicle ownership is only one part of evaluating a cleaning company’s auto exposure. The review should start with what happens between the beginning and the end of a workday.
Who drives from one customer to another? Who makes supply runs? Do supervisors visit multiple locations? Does the company ever rent a vehicle? Are employees expected to use personal cars when transportation is needed?
The answers can help determine whether hired and non-owned auto liability or other cleaning business insurance considerations deserve attention. Coverage needs will depend on the company’s operations, applicable law, and the terms of the policies involved.
Contact Moody Clean Insurance to discuss how vehicles are used in your cleaning operation and whether your current insurance addresses the exposures created when employees drive for work.
About the Author
Christopher Moody is President of Moody Clean Insurance, a division of Moody Insurance Worldwide, an independent insurance agency located just outside Washington, D.C. With more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, Christopher has helped businesses across the country secure insurance solutions that address the real-world risks they face. Moody Clean Insurance specializes in developing insurance programs for residential and commercial cleaning businesses, recognizing that every operation has unique exposures and insurance needs, because when it comes to insurance, one size does not fit all.
About Moody Clean Insurance
Helping one cleaning business started it all. Three decades later, Moody is one of the largest insurance providers to both independent and franchise cleaning businesses throughout the country. Put decades of experience to work for your cleaning operations. Regardless of size or cleaning specialty, we can help your cleaning business chart a strategic economical path for your risk management and insurance. Relationships all start with a first conversation. Reach out and let’s schedule a time to talk about protecting and growing your cleaning business.
