Home Services Insurance in Southwest Florida

Cleaning companies, pool service, pest control, handyman and repair, appliance service, pressure washing, window cleaning, mobile detailing and home watch. Businesses that work inside other people’s houses — often while nobody is home, often with a key, and in a region where a large share of those houses sit empty half the year.

What actually goes wrong inside somebody's house

01 You damage the thing you were working on.

A pressure washer strips paint. A cleaning product ruins a stone countertop. A repair goes wrong and floods a bathroom. General liability covers damage you cause to the client's property - but damage to the specific item you were working on is often excluded as care, custody and control. It is the single most misunderstood coverage line in this industry, and the endorsement that fixes it is inexpensive.

02 Something goes missing and your employee is blamed.

Whether or not anything was taken, the accusation alone costs you the client and possibly the referral network behind them. A janitorial or dishonesty bond covers theft of a client's property by your employees, and having one is frequently what wins the account in the first place. Background checks and a written key policy do the rest.

03 The house was empty and the problem ran for two weeks.

Seasonal homes and rentals mean a leak, a failed water heater or a mistake can go undiscovered for a long time. What would have been a small claim in an occupied home becomes a large one. This is also why home watch services in this market carry more exposure than the fee suggests.

04 The chemical does something you did not expect.

Pool chemicals, pest control products, cleaning solvents. Application and treatment exposures are frequently excluded from general liability unless specifically scheduled, and pest control in Florida requires state licensing. If you apply anything, it needs to be confirmed on the policy in writing.

05 The truck gets emptied overnight.

Vacuums, pressure washers, pumps, testing equipment, ladders, hand tools. Commercial property covers what is at your shop. Equipment that lives in a van or trailer needs an inland marine tools and equipment floater.

06 The handyman work crossed a licensing line.

This is the exposure specific to handyman and repair businesses, and it is worth being blunt about. Florida regulates who can perform electrical, plumbing, HVAC and structural work, and work that requires a license and was done without one is very difficult to insure or defend after the fact. It may also change your workers' compensation classification entirely — see below. Tell us exactly what you do and do not touch.

What the program looks like

The foundation

General liability

Injury and property damage at a client's home. Ask specifically about care, custody and control, because the base form usually excludes the item you were working on.

Commercial auto

Vans, trucks, trailers, and hired and non-owned for anyone using a personal vehicle on route.

Workers' compensation

See the classification note below, because home services businesses do not all sit in the same place.

Commercial property

Shop, office, supplies and secured storage.

Commercial umbrella

Extra limits. Property management companies, HOAs and vacation rental platforms increasingly require it before adding you as a vendor.

Many businesses in this class fit well on a business owner’s policy, which packages liability and property together for less than buying them separately.

What gets added on top

Care, custody and control endorsement — damage to the property you were actually working on
Janitorial / employee dishonesty bond — theft of client property by your staff. Often a selling point as much as a protection
Tools and equipment floater (inland marine) — everything that lives in the van
Chemical application coverage — pool chemicals, pest products, treatment operations
Lost key and lock replacement — for anyone holding client keys or codes at scale
Pollution liability — chemical storage, mixing, disposal and runoff
Cyber liability — customer databases, scheduling software, stored payment methods and, for home watch, access credentials to occupied and unoccupied homes
Professional liability — for home watch, inspection and advisory services where the exposure is a missed condition rather than a physical accident

What makes this harder in Florida

01

Your workers' compensation threshold depends on what your crews actually do.

Florida’s requirement for most non-construction businesses generally begins at four employees. In construction it begins at one. A handyman business doing genuine repair and construction work may fall under the stricter construction standard rather than the general one, and the classification question is not always obvious from the outside. Do not assume you are under the four-employee line because you are small. Call us and describe the work.

02

Pest control requires a license.

Commercial pest control in Florida is regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and requires licensing. Carriers will ask. Unlicensed application is both a regulatory problem and a coverage problem.

03

Half your clients are not here half the year.

Seasonal ownership shapes this entire industry — home watch exists because of it, and every other trade in this class works in empty houses regularly. It changes your exposure in two ways: problems run longer before discovery, and you hold keys and codes to a lot of unoccupied property. Both are worth building into the coverage rather than hoping about.

04

Storm season is your busy season too.

Pressure washing, cleanup, tarping, debris removal and emergency service after a hurricane are real revenue and often sit outside what your policy was rated on — particularly anything structural. Call before the season and we will make sure the coverage matches what you plan to take on.

What we need to quote it

No cost, no obligation. If your current program is already doing its job we will tell you that.

Current declarations pages for every policy

Loss runs, five years or as many as you have

Annual receipts, split by service type

A plain description of exactly what work you do and what you refuse

Annual payroll and employee count, including part-time and seasonal

Whether you hold client keys, codes or lockbox access, and for how many properties

Whether you apply chemicals, and any applicator or pest control licensing

Whether you do any electrical, plumbing, HVAC or structural work

Vehicle schedule with VINs and a driver list

Equipment list with values

Whether you background check employees, and your hiring process

Any HOA, property management or platform vendor requirements

Home services insurance questions

If I damage a client's countertop while cleaning it, is that covered?

Not always, and this catches people out. General liability covers damage you cause to a client’s property, but damage to the specific item you were working on is frequently excluded as care, custody and control. There is an endorsement that addresses it and it costs very little. Check your policy for this specifically.

What is a janitorial bond and do I need one?

It is coverage for theft of a client’s property by your employees. Cleaning companies, home watch services and anyone working in unoccupied homes are regularly asked for one, and many property managers and HOAs require it before adding a vendor. It is inexpensive and often functions as a sales asset as much as a protection.

Are my tools covered if they are stolen from my van overnight?

Not by standard commercial property, which covers items at your described premises. Tools and equipment that travel need an inland marine tools and equipment floater, which follows them to the job site and into the van overnight. Higher-value items are usually scheduled individually.

Do I need workers' compensation for a two-person cleaning business?

Probably not under Florida’s general four-employee threshold for non-construction businesses, but the answer depends on what your business actually does. If your work includes repair or construction tasks, the stricter construction standard may apply, and that one begins at a single employee. Describe the work to us before you conclude you are exempt.

Does my policy cover pool chemicals or pest control products?

Only if it has been written to. Chemical application and treatment exposures are frequently excluded from general liability unless specifically scheduled and rated. Pest control in Florida also requires state licensing through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and carriers will ask to see it.

I hold keys to fifty seasonal homes. Is that an insurance problem?

It is an exposure worth building coverage around rather than a problem. Lost key and lock replacement coverage, a dishonesty bond, and cyber coverage for the systems holding codes and access credentials all apply. A written key control policy also improves your terms and your defensibility if something goes wrong.

More commercial questions are answered on our business FAQs page.

Send us your declarations pages. We will tell you what is missing.

Three offices, one commercial team, in a market built on service businesses. We have been doing this here since 1982.

Fort Myers

17640 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 311

239-489-1212

Naples

2500 Tamiami Trail North, Suite 113

239-649-4442

Port Charlotte

3718 Tamiami Trail, Suite C

Home Services

Home Services Insurance in Southwest Florida

What actually goes wrong inside somebody's house

01

You damage the thing you were working on.

02

Something goes missing and your employee is blamed.

03

The house was empty and the problem ran for two weeks.

04

The chemical does something you did not expect.

05

The truck gets emptied overnight.

06

The handyman work crossed a licensing line.