"Bonded and insured" appears on almost every cleaning company's website, including ours. It is worth understanding what it means, because the phrase is used loosely and the two halves cover completely different risks.
Insurance: accidents
General liability insurance covers accidental damage to property and injury that occurs while the work is being done. A vacuum that knocks a lamp off a table, a mirror that comes off a wall, someone slipping on a wet floor. These are the things that go wrong occasionally in any trade that works inside homes.
Workers' compensation is related but separate. It covers a cleaner who is injured on your property. Without it, that liability can end up back with the homeowner — which is the risk that most people hiring an uninsured individual have not considered.
Bonding: theft
A janitorial or fidelity bond covers loss caused by an employee's dishonest act — most commonly theft. It is a separate financial instrument from insurance and it exists specifically because cleaning involves unsupervised access to homes.
What neither one covers
- Pre-existing damage that was already there before the visit
- Wear from ordinary use — worn grout, faded finishes, scratched floors
- Items damaged because they were inherently fragile and unsecured
- Dissatisfaction with the standard of the clean, which is a guarantee matter rather than an insurance one
- Damage caused by something outside the cleaner's control, such as a failing fixture
That last distinction matters. If a clean was not good enough, that is a service problem with a service remedy — for us, telling us within 24 hours and having the team return at no additional cleaning charge. Insurance is not the mechanism for that.
How to verify a claim
- 1Ask for confirmation in writing. A company with active coverage can produce a certificate of insurance quickly.
- 2Ask who the certificate can be made out to. Buildings and HOAs frequently require one naming the property management company. If a company has never done this, that tells you something.
- 3Ask about workers' compensation specifically. It is the coverage most likely to be missing and the one with the largest downside for you.
- 4Ask whether cleaners are employees. Subcontracted cleaners may not be covered by the company's policies.
Why it matters more in some situations
| Situation | Why coverage matters more |
|---|---|
| High-rise or condo building | Most Dallas towers require a vendor certificate of insurance before anyone can work in the building |
| You are not home during visits | Unsupervised access is exactly the scenario a bond exists for |
| Valuable or irreplaceable items | Original finishes, art and antiques raise the cost of an accident |
| A business premises | Landlords almost always require certificates, and your own policy may too |
| Move-out or empty property | Nobody is present to notice a problem at the time it happens |
Where we stand
Hygiene Maids of Dallas is bonded and insured, and cleaners are vetted and background checked before a first visit. We provide certificates of insurance to buildings, HOAs and commercial landlords on request — send us the management contact and the wording required.