COMMERCIAL CLEANING · JANITORIAL · COVERALL NORTH AMERICA
COVERALL
FRANCHISE
INSURANCE
A property manager is ready to award you a building. The certificate request comes back: $1,000,000 general liability, a $5,000,000 umbrella, your company named as additional insured, a waiver of subrogation — and a janitorial bond. If your certificate cannot show all of it, the account goes to someone whose can.
This is the world commercial janitorial franchisees live in. The requirements are real, they come from the customer as often as the franchisor, and one of them — the bond — is the most misunderstood coverage in the trade. Coverall's franchise agreement requires it, and most franchisees do not know what the bond actually does or how poorly it pays compared to the alternative.
Coverall North America, Inc. sets the minimum in the franchise agreement. Meeting it lets you bid. Understanding what each piece actually protects — and where the bond falls short — is how you keep the account when a claim comes.
Commercial Cleaning · Janitorial · Coverall North America
JUMP TO SECTION
COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
THE BOND VS. A CRIME POLICY
DAMAGE IN A CLIENT'S BUILDING
MASTER/UNIT: WHO COVERS WHAT
WHAT IT COSTS
BEYOND THE MINIMUM
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
FAQs
$1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
GL MINIMUM
$5,000,000 (FOLLOW-FORM)
UMBRELLA REQUIRED
$100,000 (Business Protection Plan offers $1M crime)
JANITORIAL BOND REQUIRED
$100,000 each accident (FDD minimum)
WC EMPLOYERS LIABILITY
9014 (JANITORIAL / CLEANING)
PRIMARY NCCI CODE
ON THIS PAGE
COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
THE BOND VS. A CRIME POLICY
DAMAGE IN A CLIENT'S BUILDING
MASTER/UNIT: WHO COVERS WHAT
WHAT IT COSTS
BEYOND THE MINIMUM
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
FAQs
BEYOND MINIMUM COVERAGE
SUBCONTRACTOR CERTIFICATE COMPLIANCE FOR YOUR FRANCHISE
Most home service franchisees use independent contractors or 1099 workers at some point. The coverage gap that creates is invisible until a claim surfaces — and by then the conversation is about who pays, not what was preventable.
A lapsed subcontractor certificate stays invisible until your carrier finds it. When they do, they invoke the subcontractor exclusion in your general liability policy, or add the worker's pay to your audit. The work was done. The exposure is real. The coverage is not there.
Rikor's subcontractor compliance monitoring tool tracks subcontractor certificates in real time. When one lapses, you know before the next job starts — not after the claim comes in.
FRANCHISEE QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT INSURANCE DOES A COVERALL FRANCHISE REQUIRE TO OPEN?
+
The 2025 Coverall franchise agreement (Item 8) requires Commercial General Liability at $1,000,000 each occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate on an occurrence form, primary and non-contributory, with no care-custody-control exclusion; a $5,000,000 follow-form umbrella; Automobile Liability (minimum $50,000 or higher per state/customer); Workers' Compensation with Employers Liability at $100,000 (or an on-the-job accident policy for uncovered owners); and a janitorial bond of at least $100,000. Coverall must be named as additional insured, primary and non-contributory, with a waiver of subrogation, through an admitted A- VII carrier.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JANITORIAL BOND AND A CRIME POLICY?
+
A janitorial bond is a fidelity bond that often pays only after the employee is convicted of theft and then seeks reimbursement from your business. A third-party crime policy pays without a conviction and does not claw the money back. Coverall's Business Protection Plan offers a $1,000,000 crime policy in place of the $100,000 bond — the stronger choice.
DO I HAVE TO CARRY A BOND IF MY CUSTOMER REQUIRES ONE?
+
If a customer's contract requires a bond by name, you may need to satisfy that wording. But carry a third-party crime policy on a Loss Discovered form as the real protection — it pays where the bond's conviction clause leaves you exposed.
WHY DOES COVERALL REQUIRE A $5 MILLION UMBRELLA?
+
Commercial buildings concentrate value and people, so a single after-hours loss — water damage across suites, damage to a tenant's equipment — can exceed your primary limits fast. The $5,000,000 umbrella matches that severity, which is why it is required rather than optional.
IN THE MASTER/UNIT MODEL, DOES THE MASTER'S OR FRANCHISOR'S INSURANCE COVER ME?
+
No. As a unit franchisee you are an independent business. The master's policy covers the master; Coverall's covers Coverall. Your work runs against your own general liability, umbrella, crime, workers' compensation, and auto, named to your entity. Maintain them continuously and never assume someone above you covers your claims.
AM I COVERED FOR DAMAGE TO A CLIENT'S BUILDING WHILE CLEANING?
+
You should be, because Coverall prohibits the care-custody-control exclusion that standard policies use to deny such claims. Confirm your actual policy complies and that the limit fits the buildings you clean.
IS THE $100,000 EMPLOYERS LIABILITY AND $50,000 AUTO ENOUGH?
+
No — both are low floors. Raise employers liability to $1,000,000 and auto to $1,000,000 combined single limit. The FDD minimums satisfy the agreement but not a real claim.
HOW MUCH DOES COVERALL FRANCHISE INSURANCE COST?
+
A complete program for a commercial janitorial unit commonly runs $7,000 to $15,000 per year, with the required $5,000,000 umbrella and commercial requirements pushing it higher as you add accounts. Both general liability and workers' compensation are trued up at a year-end audit.
What a complete Coverall franchise insurance program looks like
A properly built Coverall program starts with an agreement that gets the big things right — and fixes the floors it sets too low.
The compliance requirement gives you a strong frame: $1,000,000 per occurrence general liability with no care-custody-control exclusion, a $5,000,000 umbrella, statutory workers' compensation, and a crime instrument — with Coverall named as additional insured. Meeting that lets you compete for commercial accounts.
The protection lives in the upgrades. Replace the $100,000 janitorial bond with the $1,000,000 crime policy the franchisor's own plan offers, on a Loss Discovered form. Raise auto to $1,000,000 and employers liability to $1,000,000. Add EPLI and cyber. Confirm your policy actually carries no care-custody-control exclusion. And keep that $5,000,000 umbrella — in commercial janitorial, it is the requirement that matches the risk.
Above all, run your unit as the independent business it is. The master's coverage is not yours. A complete program, named to your entity and continuously maintained, is what keeps a single after-hours claim from ending the business you built.
SUBCONTRACTOR RISK
A LAPSED SUB CERTIFICATE IS INVISIBLE
UNTIL YOUR CARRIER FINDS IT
Most home service franchisees use independent contractors or 1099 workers at some point. The coverage gap this creates is not obvious until a claim surfaces — and by then, the conversation is about who pays rather than what was preventable.
A lapsed subcontractor certificate is invisible until your carrier finds it. When they do, they invoke the subcontractor exclusion in your general liability policy. The work was done. The damage is real. The coverage is not there.
Rikor's subcontractor compliance monitoring tool tracks subcontractor certificates in real time. When a certificate lapses, you know before the next job starts — not after the claim comes in.
WADE MILLWARD, CIC
Founder & CEO · Rikor Insurance
Wade Millward has spent 18 years specializing in franchise insurance. He holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation and has reviewed hundreds of franchise disclosure documents across home service, food service, and commercial franchise verticals. He has built coverage programs for Authority Brands franchisees across electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and restoration trades.