Errand & concierge services insurance checklist: what a concierge service should carry

The concierge service insurance checklist

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Errand & concierge services usually carry general liability, hired & non-owned auto and commercial crime. Errand and concierge services run other people's lives: keys, cars, purchases and payments on their behalf, which is a crime and bailee exposure dressed as a convenience business. The client's vendor desk and the property manager ask for proof of each. The checklist below says what every item does, who requires it and how to check it on the policies you already have.

Reviewed by Michael LaBarbera, Licensed property & casualty agent, Provident Financial Group · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated Oct 14, 2026

Who asks a concierge service for what

Who	What they usually want to see
Enterprise clients & vendor onboarding	General liability, professional or cyber liability, workers' compensation and often an umbrella
Property managers & HOAs	General liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation
Landlords & commercial leases	General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

How to check what you already have

General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
Hired and non-owned auto. Look for the symbols 8 and 9 or an endorsement by that name on the auto or general liability policy; without it, staff in their own cars are uninsured on company business.
Crime declarations. Employee theft, forgery, funds-transfer fraud and social engineering each have their own limit; third-party coverage if you work in clients' premises.
Bailee coverage. The limit for customers' property at your premises and in transit, the valuation basis and any exclusions for specific items.
Professional liability declarations. Claims-made or occurrence, the retroactive date (it should not have moved), the limit per claim and aggregate, the deductible, and whether defence costs sit inside or outside the limit.
Bonds. The obligee (board, municipality or owner), the penal sum and the expiry date; a bond is renewed with the licence or the job, not with the policy year.
Cyber declarations. The headline limit matters less than the sublimits: social engineering, funds-transfer fraud, ransomware and business interruption, plus the regulatory coverage and the panel of breach vendors.

What usually goes wrong for errand and concierge services

Clients' keys, cards and cash in the hands of staff with no crime coverage.
Driving clients' cars and carrying their purchases with no coverage for either.
Assuming the delivery platform's policy covers your own drivers; it covers theirs.
Relying on general liability for a damaged item that was in your hands when it happened.
A client contract that says "bonded and insured" satisfied with a certificate that shows neither bond nor third-party crime.
Funds-transfer fraud sublimits far below the size of a single wire.

What underwriters will ask a concierge service

Services and whether staff drive clients' cars, keys and payment methods held, and screening practice
Who delivers, in whose vehicles, and whether any third-party platform is used
Typical and maximum value of customer property on hand at one time
Background checks, key control and whether staff work unsupervised at night
Funds handled per month, dual controls and trust-account practice
Residential versus commercial split of the work

Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.

Renewal timing

Audits at year end compare payroll, receipts and subcontractor costs with the estimate, so keep the wallet's size figures and the subcontractor certificates current. Start comparing sixty days before expiration, and ask for the limits the next contract will need rather than the ones the last one did.

Questions people actually ask

What covers theft by our staff from a client?

Third-party crime coverage or a fidelity bond, which pays the client when your employee steals. Ordinary crime insurance covers theft from you. Clients who ask whether you are bonded mean this.

Is driving a client's car covered?

Only under hired and non-owned auto or garage coverage for cars in your care; the client's policy may not cover your driver. Decide it with the carrier before the first errand.

Do delivery platforms insure the orders my own staff deliver?

No. A platform's coverage follows its own drivers while they are on its app. Your employees in their own cars need hired and non-owned auto on your policy, and your own vehicles need commercial auto.

A customer's item was damaged while we had it. Does general liability pay?

Usually not; property in your care, custody or control is excluded. A bailee policy or an endorsement built for your trade pays for it, and it is the coverage customers assume you have.

What does "licensed, bonded and insured" actually require from a concierge service?

A licence only where the state requires one, a fidelity or janitorial bond or third-party crime coverage against theft from the client, and general liability with workers' compensation. Put all three on the live certificate and the question stops coming.