What if my housekeeper gets injured in my house? HomeLife Housekeeping provides the crucial protection of workers' compensation insurance in case of injury on the job. Such injuries are not uncommon in housecleaning. Falling on a stairway, slipping on a wet floor, tripping over a vacuum, muscle strain--all can and do occur.

Because HomeLife assumes the risk of job-related injuries and unemployment benefits, we eliminate the possibility of our clients' becoming liable for hidden but potentially very expensive costs associated with being a "household employer" (see IRS Publication 926).

While HomeLife is diligent about safety instruction and risk management, we have experienced an occasional accident claim. One housekeeper tripped over her vacuum, resulting in an insurance claim that amounted to almost $6000 to care for her fractured foot bone. Many years ago, a housekeeper stepped on a toy car that had been left on the stairs, resulting in a more serious back injury and a claim that totaled over $50,000. The clients in both cases were protected by HomeLife's workers' compensation insurance. This protection is not cheap. This year marked a dramatic rise in workers' compensation insurance for California service businesses, especially construction-related and janitorial.

While waiting to see if California's new laws regarding workers' compensation insurance actually bring costs down as promised, most carriers have declined to cover California service businesses, and the carriers that remain have raised their rates dramatically, just in case. Insurance rates are driving up the cost of delivering service of all kinds to Californians. Fraudulent claims may be a part of this, even after the work that Governor Schwarzenegger did to reduce fraud. Diligence is required at all levels to keep costs down. If you wish to express your concern regarding the escalating cost of services due to the rapid increase of insurance cost, contact the California Insurance Commissioner. Consumers' voices need to be heard.