RESIDENTIAL CLEANING · NEIGHBORLY
MOLLY MAID
FRANCHISE
INSURANCE
When you opened your Molly Maid franchise, you had four cleaners and a book of residential clients. The policy you bought made sense for that business.
You now run fourteen cleaners, a couple of team leads, and a handful of commercial accounts. The exposure changed with you — more people in more homes every day, more keys on the board, more payroll in the audit. The policy you are renewing was written for the first version of your business. The crime limit your franchise agreement set is $5,000, and it has not moved since the day you signed.
Molly Maid SPV LLC sets the minimum insurance in the franchise agreement. Meeting it satisfies the franchisor. It does not keep pace with a business that has grown — which is where most of the real exposure now lives.
JUMP TO SECTION
COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
EMPLOYEE THEFT AS YOU SCALE
LOST KEYS AND ACCESS CARDS
CHEMICAL DAMAGE TO A CLIENT'S HOME
A CLEANER INJURED AT A CLIENT'S HOUSE
WHAT IT COSTS
BEYOND THE MINIMUM
FAQs
$1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
GL MINIMUM
$1,000,000–$2,000,000 combined single limit
AUTO REQUIRED
$500,000 per claim and aggregate
CYBER REQUIRED
$5,000 (Client's Property Endorsement)
CRIME / EMPLOYEE THEFT REQUIRED
9014 (Janitorial / cleaning)
PRIMARY NCCI CODE
ON THIS PAGE
COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
EMPLOYEE THEFT AS YOU SCALE
LOST KEYS AND ACCESS CARDS
CHEMICAL DAMAGE TO A CLIENT'S HOME
A CLEANER INJURED AT A CLIENT'S HOUSE
WHAT IT COSTS
BEYOND THE MINIMUM
FAQs
WHAT A COMPLETE MOLLY MAID FRANCHISE INSURANCE PROGRAM LOOKS LIKE
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 RESIDENTIAL CLEANING FRANCHISE LIKE MOLLY MAID REQUIRE?
+
The 2025 Molly Maid franchise agreement (Section 9.C) requires Commercial General Liability at $1,000,000 each occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate on an occurrence form, primary and non-contributory; Business Auto at $1,000,000–$2,000,000 covering owned, hired, and non-owned vehicles; Workers' Compensation (required regardless of state) with Employers Liability at $1,000,000 and a waiver of subrogation; Cyber Liability at $500,000; and a crime/employee-theft policy with a Client's Property Endorsement at $5,000. Molly Maid SPV LLC and its related parties must be named as additional insured with waivers of subrogation, through an admitted A-VIII carrier.
IS THE $5,000 CRIME LIMIT ENOUGH TO PROTECT AGAINST EMPLOYEE THEFT?
+
No. The FDD requires the right coverage — a crime policy with a Client's Property Endorsement — but $5,000 is far below a real theft-from-a-home claim. Rikor recommends raising it to $250,000 on a Loss Discovered form.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JANITORIAL BOND AND A CRIME POLICY?
+
A janitorial/business-service bond is a fidelity bond that often pays only after the employee is convicted and then seeks reimbursement from your business. A third-party crime policy pays without a conviction and does not claw the money back. Molly Maid's FDD correctly requires the crime policy — just at too low a limit.
WHAT IS A LOSS DISCOVERED FORM AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
+
A Loss Discovered crime form covers theft found during the policy period no matter when it began; a Loss Sustained form covers theft only if it both occurred and was found during the term. Because cleaning theft is usually discovered long after it starts — often after an employee leaves — Loss Discovered is the form to insist on.
DO I NEED EPLI FOR A MOLLY MAID FRANCHISE?
+
The FDD does not require it, but you should carry it. A high-turnover in-home workforce produces wrongful-termination, discrimination, and harassment claims, and you are not automatically covered by anything the franchisor carries. Rikor recommends standalone EPLI at $250,000, scaling with headcount.
WHAT IF A CLEANER LOSES THE KEY OR ACCESS CARD TO A CLIENT'S BUILDING?
+
Standard general liability often excludes key and lock replacement, which can mean re-keying an entire building at your expense. A lost-key / key-and-lock endorsement is the coverage written for it — add it before taking on commercial or multi-unit accounts.
DOES MY POLICY COVER DAMAGE TO A CLIENT'S FURNITURE FROM A CLEANING CHEMICAL?
+
Not under standard general liability, which excludes property in your care, custody, or control. Care, custody, and control (bailee) coverage is the policy for accidental damage to a client's property — and it is separate from the crime endorsement, which only covers theft.
DO I NEED WORKERS' COMPENSATION FOR A CLEANING FRANCHISE WITH EMPLOYEES?
+
Yes — and the Molly Maid agreement requires it regardless of state law, with Employers Liability at $1,000,000. A cleaner who slips at a client's home is a workers' compensation claim, and undocumented 1099 helpers are added to your payroll at the year-end audit.
HOW MUCH DOES MOLLY MAID FRANCHISE INSURANCE COST?
+
A complete program for a cleaning franchise with ten to twenty employees commonly runs $8,000 to $14,000 per year, driven by the labor-heavy workers' compensation line. Both general liability and workers' compensation are trued up at a year-end payroll audit.
What a complete Molly Maid franchise insurance program looks like
A properly built Molly Maid program starts with a franchise agreement that gets several things right — and then fixes the two it gets wrong.
The compliance requirement gives you a strong starting point: $1,000,000 per occurrence general liability on an occurrence form, business auto covering the cars your cleaners drive, statutory workers' compensation with $1,000,000 employers liability, a real $500,000 cyber policy, and a crime policy with a Client's Property Endorsement — with Molly Maid SPV LLC named as additional insured. Meeting that satisfies the franchisor.
The two fixes are what protect the business you have actually grown. Raise the crime limit from $5,000 to $250,000 on a Loss Discovered form, because employee theft scales with your crew and surfaces long after it happens. Add the EPLI the FDD leaves out, because a high-turnover in-home workforce produces employment claims. Then add care-custody-control for accidental damage and a lost-key endorsement as you move into commercial work.
Molly Maid grew with you. The insurance program should be built for the business you run now — not the one you opened with.
SUBCONTRACTOR RISK
SUBCONTRACTOR CERTIFICATE COMPLIANCE ACROSS YOUR FRANCHISE
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.