Commercial cleaning companies carry risk most brokers never price — property in your care that isn't yours, crews driving their own cars between sites, a janitorial bond your biggest client demands, and workers' comp rates that punish the whole class. PFTN builds coverage around how a cleaning company actually operates, not a generic package renewed on autopilot.
Most janitorial companies buy insurance the same way they lose contracts: fast, on price, and without anyone reading the fine print. A broker collects your payroll and revenue, sends it to three carriers, and hands you the cheapest quote. Nobody checks whether the policy excludes damage to the property you clean, whether your subcontractors are actually covered, or whether the certificate you send the property manager will survive a claim.
Then a crew member scratches a $40,000 terrazzo floor, a master key goes missing, or a client's contract demands a $2M umbrella and a janitorial bond you don't have — and the cheap policy turns out to be the most expensive thing you own.
Our 4-Step Strategic Process starts months before your renewal by understanding how your company actually runs: how many buildings, what kind, who holds the keys, who drives, who's W-2 and who's 1099, and what every one of your contracts requires you to carry. Then we build a program that carriers compete for — because a cleaning company that can document its safety, screening, and key control is a risk underwriters want.
The result is coverage that actually responds, certificates that match contract requirements the first time, and a workers' comp strategy that drives your experience mod down year over year instead of just quoting it.
We don't sell policies. We build a program around the nine exposures that actually put a janitorial company out of business — and the three or four that most quotes quietly leave out.
Premises, Operations & Completed Work
Slip-and-falls on a floor your crew just mopped, a wet-floor sign that wasn't placed, a chemical reaction that discolors a client's carpet. General liability is the foundation of a janitorial program — but only if the care-custody-control and lost-key exclusions are handled, not ignored.
Care, Custody & Control
Standard GL excludes damage to property you're working on or responsible for — which is everything you clean. We structure the endorsements and inland-marine solutions that respond when a buffer gouges a floor, a crew damages equipment, or a sealed surface gets ruined.
Third-Party Fidelity & Crime
Clients ask for a "janitorial bond" because your people are alone in their building after hours. We place the third-party fidelity bonds and crime coverage that make you contract-ready — and explain why a bond is not the same thing as insurance.
Rates, Mods & Return-to-Work
Janitorial class codes are rated for the worst operators in the industry. We pair competitive placement with the safety, screening, and return-to-work strategy that pulls your experience mod below 1.0 — the single biggest lever on your largest insurance cost.
Crews Driving Between Sites
Your employees drive their own cars from building to building with your supplies in the trunk. That's your liability, not theirs. We build commercial auto, hired and non-owned, and fleet programs that match how your crews actually move — including the vans with your name on the side.
Key Control & Re-Keying Expense
A lost master key or badge can mean re-keying an entire office tower at your expense. We add lost-key coverage with limits that reflect the buildings you actually hold access to, and the key-control documentation underwriters want to see.
Certificates, Additional Insureds & Waivers
Property managers, hospitals, and national accounts write insurance requirements into every contract — $2M umbrellas, additional insured on a primary and non-contributory basis, waivers of subrogation. We structure the program so your certificates match the contract the first time, not after the claim.
Wage & Hour, Turnover & Subcontractors
High turnover, late-night shifts, and a mix of W-2 and 1099 labor make cleaning companies a frequent target for wage-and-hour and misclassification claims. EPLI with wage-and-hour defense protects the owners from the claims that come from inside the company.
Cleaning Agents, Disinfectants & Fumes
Mixed chemicals, improper ventilation, and disinfectant misuse are excluded under standard GL as "pollutants." Contractors pollution liability closes the gap for the claims a cleaning company is uniquely positioned to cause — and uniquely likely to be blamed for.
The industry standard gives you 90 days to renew. That's not a strategy. We take a longer view, building a process that puts you ahead of the market and delivers coverage and cost outcomes most companies don't know are possible.
We start by understanding your business goals, growth trajectory, and risk tolerance. Not just your current policy deck.
We identify current and future risks that could impact your success. We use a systematic, quantifiable approach to surface the risk issues most brokers never look for.
We build an integrated insurance and risk management strategy, not a one-size-fits-all policy package. Every solution is tailored to your risk profile, your industry, and your goals.
We monitor, adjust, and evolve your protection strategy. Your business changes, and your insurance should too. We continuously track your risk profile, claims trends, and market conditions.
From the first engagement with PFTN, we will educate, consult, and help you find strategic opportunities to impact your business. The shift starts with one conversation.
Most risk hides in plain sight. The PFTN platform puts a full suite of tools at your fingertips designed to illuminate what is otherwise overlooked. Training events, predictive modeling, compliance resources, risk assessment tools, and 24/7 access to everything you need to stay ahead of risk.
Shine a light on hidden risk through comprehensive assessments that uncover gaps in your coverage before they become costly surprises.
Project, track, and manage your experience modification rate with data-driven strategies that directly impact your workers’ compensation costs.
Personal claims management by our dedicated claims manager, from first report through resolution, we advocate on your behalf.
Thought leadership workshops, lunch & learns, and executive briefings designed to keep your team ahead of emerging risks and industry trends.
Secure, 24/7 access to your full insurance program — desktop or mobile. Every document, every policy, always at your fingertips.
A private resource library built for your team — HR tools, compliance guides, and learning systems in one place.
Most companies renew on autopilot, repeating the same process year after year and wondering why nothing improves. The truth is, the traditional approach to insurance wasn't designed to acknowledge growth or improving outcomes. It is designed to repeat the cycle with as little change or friction as possible at all points of the distribution channel.
The future of risk placement doesn't belong to companies that shop harder. It belongs to companies that stop renewing on autopilot and start doing the work between renewals that actually moves the needle. When a company commits to that kind of discipline, the market responds. Insurance stops being a cost you manage and starts becoming a position of strength.
These tools exist to help you get there. They're not a value add. They are the strategy.
Here's what most insurance brokers won't tell you: the way commercial insurance is bought and sold is fundamentally broken. Brokers follow the same playbook: collect your data, send it to a few carriers, present the lowest quote, and move on. The process rewards speed and volume, not strategy and outcomes.
We built Peoples First Tennessee to be the opposite of that. Rather than selling insurance policies, PFTN is centered around finding and leveraging risk with a strategic process. With consultation, education, and proactive planning, our team partners with you to create a customized risk management strategy while easing the administrative burden of managing insurance.
"In over 15 years of working with hundreds of organizations, I've never sat down with a company that was already buying insurance strategically. But the few that break that cycle don't just save money — they transform their entire organization. Strategic insurance buying isn't just a cost decision. It's a cultural shift."Ryan MeffordPresident, Risk Advisor
Tim Keller wrote that "to be the light means to illuminate what is true." These briefings exist to do exactly that — to shine a light on what the insurance industry would rather keep in the dark.
Property managers require a janitorial bond because your people are alone in their building at night. But a bond protects the client, not you — and the surety can send you the bill. Here's what it covers, what it doesn't, and what to buy alongside it.
Read More →A buffer gouges a terrazzo lobby. A stripper ruins a sealed floor. A crew knocks over a server rack. These are the claims cleaning companies actually have — and standard general liability excludes every one of them. Here's why, and how to fix it.
Read More →Most cleaning companies don't own a fleet — crews drive their own cars from site to site with your supplies in the trunk. When one of them causes an accident, the client sues you, and the employee's personal policy may walk away. Hired and non-owned auto is the fix almost every janitorial quote leaves off.
Read More →At minimum: general liability, workers' compensation, and commercial auto (including hired and non-owned coverage for employees driving their own vehicles). Most commercial contracts also require a janitorial bond (third-party fidelity), an umbrella policy, and additional-insured status for the client. Companies that clean medical, industrial, or food facilities often need pollution liability as well. PFTN builds these as one coordinated program rather than separate quotes.
No. A janitorial bond (also called a third-party fidelity bond or janitorial services bond) reimburses your client if one of your employees steals from their premises. It protects the client, not you, and the surety can seek repayment from your company. Insurance protects your business directly. Most commercial cleaning contracts require both a bond and liability insurance.
Usually not by default. Standard general liability policies exclude damage to property in your care, custody, or control — which is exactly the property a cleaning crew works on. Covering a damaged floor, countertop, or piece of equipment requires specific endorsements or a separate installation/property-in-care solution. This is the most common uncovered claim we see on janitorial accounts.
It depends on payroll, revenue, the types of buildings you clean, your claims history, and what your contracts require. Workers' compensation is typically the largest line because janitorial class codes carry higher base rates. The biggest cost driver you control is your experience modification factor — a cleaning company with a mod of 0.85 pays roughly 30% less than a competitor at 1.20 on the same payroll.
If a subcontractor does not carry their own workers' compensation, you can be held responsible for their injuries, and your carrier will charge you premium for their payroll at audit. Tennessee requires workers' comp for most employers with five or more employees, and misclassifying employees as 1099 contractors creates both a workers' comp and a wage-and-hour exposure. Collect certificates from every sub, every year.
Not by their personal auto policies — most personal policies exclude business use, and the client will sue your company anyway. Hired and non-owned auto liability covers your business when an employee has an accident driving their own vehicle for work. It is inexpensive and routinely left off janitorial quotes.
At Peoples First Tennessee, we believe your work is more than a job. It's a calling. We're building a team of people who see insurance not as a transaction, but as a way to serve others with excellence and integrity.
Every person we serve, every client, every colleague, carries inherent worth. We don't treat people as policy numbers. We approach every relationship with the conviction that protecting someone's livelihood is a deeply human act, and that the work we do has real meaning in the lives of others.
We believe the best work happens when people bring their full selves to what they do. At PFTN, your role isn't just a function. It's an opportunity to use your unique gifts in service of something bigger. We hire people who are driven not by quotas, but by the belief that their work can genuinely impact the businesses and families we protect.
Culture becomes meaningless the moment it becomes marketing. Real culture isn't a brand statement or a tool for public recognition. It's the quiet measure of whether what you say you'll do in public is actually what gets done in private. It's dignity extended when no one's watching. Grace given when it costs you something. Excellence held to when no client will ever see it. That's the standard here, held together by people humble enough to know they need the same grace they give.
"Work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is the full expression of the worker's gifts, the thing that gives you a sense of purpose and calling."
Timothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor
The values above aren't aspirational. They're how we operate every day. We're a tight-knit team in Knoxville serving clients all over the U.S., where people are trusted with real responsibility, encouraged to grow, and reminded that the work we do has real meaning in the lives of others.
We don't think purpose is something you have to chase outside of work. We think the right environment calls you to purpose in a manner that harnesses your gifts and talents and can be a catalyst for joy. If that sounds like what you've been missing, reach out.
We invest in the whole person — not just the employee. That means caring for your financial future with a max-match 401(k) and annual financial literacy classes. Supporting your well-being through paid counseling services and gym memberships. And honoring your desire to serve others with 40 hours of paid community service every year.
These aren't perks designed to recruit. They're commitments designed to help you flourish — spiritually, financially, physically, and personally.
Bring us your current policies and your three biggest contracts. We'll show you, line by line, where the coverage matches what you've promised your clients — and where it doesn't.
