HomeLife Protects You and Your Home!

HomeLife 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, injuring a back, developing carpal-tunnel syndrome — all can and do occur. Because HomeLife assumes the risk of job-related injuries and unemployment benefits, we eliminate the possibility of your becoming liable for hidden but potentially very expensive costs associated with being a “household employer” (see IRS Publication 926 ).

Recently, the workers’ compensation insurance rate for the housecleaning industry in California has escalated enormously. Principal reasons for this industry-wide increase include:

1. The amount being paid out for injuries suffered by housekeepers on the job has experienced a major increase. As this cost increases, so does the cost of insurance. This explains why companies charging less than HomeLife probably do not carry proper insurance for injury on the job. Unfortunately, many are unaware of the laws about who is responsible for injury inside their homes, nor do they understand the major financial risks involved. For example, even with our good overall record and exemplary safety program, a foot injury in a client’s home cost nearly $6,000. Before that, a falling injury in another home cost over $50,000. Yet these clients were protected by HomeLife’s workers’ compensation insurance.
2. Many insurance carriers are reticent to offer workers’ compensation insurance for the housecleaning industry because of potential losses. For example, the carrier providing our policy withdrew workers’ compensation insurance in California, beginning in 2013. Now, HomeLife’s continued coverage requires much higher rates. And this despite our good overall record and effective “Injury and Illness Prevention Program,” which has been in place for many years in conjunction with OSHA.

HomeLife shares the increased cost of workers’ compensation insurance from its low profit margin. However, in order to protect our housekeepers and still remain in business, we must also include a portion of the increased cost in our customer rates. Although this is not a major adjustment, it allows us to continue to service the many area residents who depend on HomeLife for the security and peace of mind provided by proper insurance protection.

With this adjustment, our rates are still often substantially less than other reputable cleaning companies with a similar level of service. We are able to offer such competitive rates because (1) we have no franchise fees and (2) the volume of our business enables us to operate with a lower profit margin.

We deeply appreciate the business and trust of our many clients and their informed understanding of the crucial protection of workers’ compensation insurance. And we look forward to providing service excellence to area residents for many years to come.