[anders]

Has anyone got any experience with  the "exclusion of item being cleaned" part of being insured? I have a customer who has shiny plastic kitchen cupboard doors, he did tell us to be careful with them but that he wanted them left gleaming every week. We have only used an ecloth and glass spray on them but they have still become scratched!!! He wants me to replace the doors at a phenomenal cost, and I just presumed I would be covered for this under my insurance.

[The Great One]

Hi

Most PL insurance covers you not for what you are actually working on but if you damage something else while working on something.

i.e, you are not covered for the doors if you are cleaning them but are if you are cleaning the floor but damage them

Crazy I know, but true, you can get cover (I have it) which will cover what you are working on but it is more expensive, if you want to know my broker who can supply that then let me know

Regards

Martin

[vacman]

As Martain says.....i can agree in part about it being 'crazy' but in real terms it is more likely that property will be damaged as it is being cleaned and not whilst cleaning of other areas is taking place. Now, if i dropped or smashed something expensive whilst cleaning it, i could easily tell my insurance company it got knocked over when i was cleaning something else. I think the root of the problem is that most things will get damaged (eg in your case the kitchen doors) as a result of on-going regular cleaning OR the use of the incorrect product. Therefore the insurance companies won't really want to pay out for something which the cleaners should know not to do.

Can you prove that only an e-cloth was used?

[John Kelly]

If you've only used an e cloth and glass spray with no abrasives then how come they are scratched?
Only 2 answers, someone has used an abrasive, the doors are faulty.

[vacman]

3 options, the client could have done it himself. Again its down to a matter of proof 

[John Kelly]

That was option 1

[vacman]

Sorry, i thought you meant by 'someone' you meant one of the cleaners. I see what you mean now. Sorry.