Ep. 637 Top 5 Risk Exposures for Janitorial Service Providers

Rancho Mesa’s Alyssa Burley sits down with Jeremy Hoolihan, Partner with the Janitorial Group, and talk about the risk exposures janitorial service providers are facing on a regular basis.

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Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alyssa Burley⁠⁠

Guest: ⁠⁠Jeremy Hoolihan⁠⁠

Editor: Megan Lockhart

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “Breaking News Intro” by nem0production

© Copyright 2026. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: You’re listening to Rancho Mesa’s StudioOne™ podcast, where each week we break down complex insurance and safety topics to help your business thrive.

I’m your host, Alyssa Burley, and I’m joined by Jeremy Hoolihan, Partner with Rancho Mesa. Today, we’re going to talk about the risk exposures janitorial service providers are facing on a regular basis.

Jeremy, welcome to the show.

Jeremy Hoolihan: Hi, Alyssa. It's great to be here at StudioOne™.

AB: Well, we're happy you're here.

JH: Thanks.

AB: Now, you recently wrote an article about these common risk exposures. So, what are the most common liability claims janitorial companies face today, and why do these risks continue to be such a challenge for business owners?

JH: Well, Alyssa, I think I'll put it into five categories. I think probably the most frequent type of liability in the janitorial industry are slip and falls. You know, whether that's a recently mopped floor, a misplaced caution sign, or even, you know, excess cleaning solutions left behind. These can all lead to significant medical and legal costs. From there, I'd say the next most common one would be property damage claims. And, you know, janitors are working around valuable assets from, you know, office furniture and flooring to electronics and fixtures. And even when you know, they're exercising caution, you know, accidents happen. And so, you know, for example, you know, you could be using a floor cleaning machine that damages a floor. You could be using a cleaning solution that might discolor a surface or a piece of equipment that accidentally damages furniture. You know, those are all things that can happen. Another common liability are chemical exposures. So, you know, handling chemicals. When used improperly, it can cause not only property damage, but bodily injury as well. So these exposures can lead to respiratory irritation, skin burns, allergic reactions, and other types of injuries, as well as significant property damage situations. The other thing to think about are clients' equipment. is also critical to their operations. So like if, for example, a janitor damages a piece of equipment that's critical to your client's operations, there could be a business interruption situation, expensive repairs, and a real strain on your clients and your relationships.

And I think one that's oftentimes kind of overlooked are theft allegations. So a lot of janitors are working night shifts. with one or two other people present. So with small crews and clients' personal belongings in front of them, if something goes missing, unfortunately, oftentimes it's the janitor that gets blamed for those situations. So that's another liability that I see pretty frequently in the industry.  

AB: Yeah, so can employee training and safety programs help janitorial companies reduce exposures related to slip and falls, property damage, and chemical handling?

JH: Absolutely. With regards to slip and fall exposures, ensuring wet floor signs are always visible, kind of some of the obvious things, right? Proper signage, following documented cleaning procedures is critical, providing regular employee safety training. All of these can really reduce accidents and exposures. Also identifying hazards which could lead to falls. And that could be used when you're utilizing a job hazard analysis. And the great thing about Rancho Mesa is through our SafetyOne™ app, we provide training, policies, procedures, as well as sample job hazard analysis to assist our clients. From a property damage perspective, you know, just really proper cleaning methods for different surfaces and regular inspections of equipment can really help prevent costly mistakes.

And then with regards to chemical handling, it really starts with proper education and then, you know, ongoing training, clear labeling practices. and easy access to safety data sheets all help employees understand how to safely handle and use cleaning products. And again, our SafetyOne™ is an added benefit that provides access to your company's safety data sheets from the mobile app as well as the QR code. And then finally, with regards to clients' equipment, you know, it's critical to establish clear procedures for working around sensitive equipment and really maintain open communication about, you know, restricted or high risk areas to help minimize, you know, those exposures.  

AB: Yeah. Now, many people think of liability as physical injuries or property damage, but your article also discusses theft allegations, and you kind of touched on that earlier. Why are these claims so damaging, and what steps can companies take to protect themselves and their employees?

JH: Well, one of the best ways to address this is on the front end by conducting thorough background checks on your potential employees and implementing a crime policy that includes you know, theft of client's property. So what I see oftentimes is on an insurance policy, we might have coverage for employee theft, but really that only covers theft from an employee stealing from the employer. With a crime policy, it not only covers those types of exposures, but also theft of client's property, which, you know, again, situations where janitors are oftentimes blamed for things that are missing. So this not only protects the employee, but the employer as well in those events.

AB: Okay. Those are all really good tips to share with janitorial companies. If listeners have questions about them managing their own risk, what's the best way to get in touch with you?

JH: Yeah. If anybody would like to reach out to me, the best way is either through my direct line, which is (619)-937-0174, or you can email me at jhoolihan@ranchomesa.com. Be happy to assist.

AB: Great. Jeremy, thanks for joining me in StudioOne™.

JH: It's always good to be here. Thanks for having me.

AB: Thank you for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. If you enjoyed what you heard, please share this episode and subscribe. For more insights like this, visit us at RanchoMesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.