Why insurance matters for a clearance
A house clearance means someone you haven't necessarily met before is coming into your home, moving furniture and belongings, and driving through doorways, stairwells, and gardens with heavy items. Accidents happen even with careful crews - a scuffed wall, a damaged door frame, or a dropped item are the kind of everyday risk that public liability insurance exists for. A carrier without insurance has nothing standing behind them if something is damaged during the job, which means the cost and the argument about who pays for it falls on you.
What we expect from carriers on the platform
houseclearance.co requires carriers to hold valid public liability insurance as part of being listed and able to quote on jobs through the platform - this sits alongside the waste carrier licence requirement described on the Waste Carrier Licence page as a baseline condition of taking part, not an optional extra.
We're not publishing a specific minimum coverage £ figure here until it's confirmed as an actual platform requirement, rather than stating a number that isn't yet backed by a real policy or verification process.
Safety practices during a clearance
Reputable clearance carriers follow standard manual handling practice - using proper lifting technique, using two people rather than one for heavy or awkward items, and taking extra care on stairs, in tight hallways, or around fragile items like large mirrors and glass. None of this should look rushed or careless; a carrier taking longer to move something safely is doing the job correctly, not slowly.
Certain items need extra handling rather than being treated like everything else in the load. Gas appliances may need isolating before removal, gas canisters and fire extinguishers need specific disposal routes rather than being thrown in with general waste, and large glass or mirrored items need careful handling to avoid injury during a busy multi-item job.
Flagging hazardous items in advance
Some materials fall well outside what a standard clearance carrier is equipped or licensed to handle. Asbestos is the clearest example - certain textured ceiling coatings, floor tiles, and insulation board installed before the 1999 UK asbestos ban can contain it, and a general house clearance carrier is not a licensed asbestos removal specialist. If you suspect asbestos anywhere in the property, that needs a specialist asbestos removal contractor first, and a properly run carrier should flag this and pause rather than attempt to proceed.
The same logic applies to other hazardous items - chemicals, certain batteries, and similar materials need specific routes rather than standard handling. Describing anything like this clearly when you post the job means the right carrier quotes on it, rather than it being discovered - and causing a problem - on the day.
If something goes wrong
If a carrier damages something during a clearance, or you have a safety concern about how a job was carried out, raise it directly with the carrier first, since they're the party responsible for the work and any insurance claim would run through them. If it can't be resolved directly, the dispute process described in the Terms and Conditions applies.
Frequently asked questions
Are all carriers on houseclearance.co insured?
Holding valid public liability insurance is a requirement of being listed on the platform, in the same way a valid waste carrier licence is. As noted above, specific minimum coverage amounts are still being finalised.
What happens if something is damaged during my clearance?
Raise it with the carrier directly first - that's who's responsible for the work and whose insurance would typically cover the claim. If it isn't resolved, use the dispute process in the Terms and Conditions.
What if I have hazardous items like asbestos or gas canisters?
Flag them clearly when posting the job. Asbestos needs a specialist contractor rather than a standard clearance carrier, and items like gas canisters need a specific disposal route rather than standard handling - describing this upfront avoids problems on the day.