Contractors Coverage.
The certificate has to be right before you can start. So does everything behind it.
Contracting is the trade where insurance is a commercial requirement before it is a protection. No certificate, no site access, and the additional insured and waiver language a general contractor demands has to actually exist in your policy rather than on the certificate.
Behind that sits the real exposure: completed operations. The work you finished years ago can still produce a claim, and how your policy handles subcontractors decides whether their mistake becomes your loss. Send us your policy and we will read both.
What the general contractor is actually asking for
Certificates are refused more often for missing endorsements than for missing limits, and the fix is usually simple if it is arranged before the job rather than during it.
Additional insured
Extends your liability cover to the general contractor or owner for claims arising from your work. Ongoing and completed operations are separate endorsements, and requirements usually demand both.
Waiver of subrogation
Prevents your carrier from pursuing the general contractor after paying a claim. Routinely required, inexpensive, and frequently absent.
Primary and non-contributory
Your policy responds first, without calling on theirs. Standard language in construction contracts and a common reason a certificate is rejected.
Get it right before the bid
Adding endorsements mid-job is possible and slow. Knowing your policy carries them is what keeps you on site.
What a contractor actually needs to carry
General liability
Third-party injury and property damage, including completed operations. The foundation, and the policy every certificate refers to.
Tools and equipment
Inland marine for what you carry and what sits on site. Theft from vehicles is the most frequent claim in the trade and it is not a liability matter.
Commercial auto
Vehicles owned by the business, plus hired and non-owned for crew using their own trucks. The second is routinely missing.
Workers’ compensation
Mandatory once you have employees, and demanded by general contractors regardless. Class codes and subcontractor certificates decide the cost.
Umbrella
Construction contracts frequently specify limits above a primary policy. Cheaper as an umbrella than as increased primary limits.
Installation floater and builders risk
Materials in transit and on site, and the structure itself while under construction. Per project, and usually a contract requirement.
The gaps that produce real losses
Uninsured subcontractors
The most expensive administrative failure in the trade. No certificate means their payroll lands on your audit and their error lands on your policy.
Residential work on a commercial policy
Many carriers restrict residential construction. Doing it under a policy written for commercial work risks a denial rather than merely a surcharge.
Work outside your class codes
Expanding into a new trade without telling the carrier. The premium was set for what you told them you do.
Tools left in vehicles
Common, and specifically limited or excluded on many policies. Worth reading the sublimit before it matters.
Faulty workmanship confusion
Liability covers resulting damage rather than redoing the defective work itself. Understanding that line prevents unrealistic expectations at claim time.
Coverage lapsing after a job
Completed operations claims arrive years later. A policy cancelled between jobs leaves finished work uninsured.
Verify the class codes, then shop it
Contracting premiums are built from class codes and payroll, and both are frequently wrong. Correcting them changes every quote at once.
Check the classifications
The single largest lever. A crew coded into a higher-hazard class than the work justifies is overpaying every year.
Confirm the endorsements
Additional insured, waiver and primary wording present as standard, so certificates issue immediately rather than after a phone call.
Tighten subcontractor process
Certificate collection and minimum insurance requirements in your subcontract. It reduces both audit exposure and claims.
Then shop appetite
Trade appetite swings hard between carriers, and roofing, excavation and residential in particular are welcomed by some and declined by others.
Send us your policy and the certificate they are asking for.
Between them we can tell you immediately whether your policy carries what the contract demands, and whether your class codes describe the work you actually do. No cost, no obligation.
Contractors insurance, answered plainly
What do general contractors usually require?+
General liability at a stated limit, workers' compensation, commercial auto, and frequently an umbrella. They will also require additional insured status, a waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory wording. Those three endorsements have to be on the policy, not merely typed onto a certificate.
What is completed operations?+
Coverage for claims arising from work you have already finished. A roof that leaks two years later, a fitting that fails after handover. It is the longest-tail exposure in contracting and the one most often overlooked when a policy is cancelled or changed.
Are my tools covered by general liability?+
No. Tools and equipment are property, not liability, and belong on an inland marine policy. Theft from vehicles and job sites is among the most common trade claims, and a general liability policy does nothing for it.
What happens if my subcontractor has no insurance?+
Their exposure becomes yours in two ways. Their payroll is usually added to your workers' compensation at audit, producing a bill, and their mistake becomes a claim against your general liability. Collecting certificates before work starts is the single most valuable administrative habit in the trade.
Do I need workers' compensation if I work alone?+
Many states exempt sole proprietors, but general contractors frequently require it regardless, which is why ghost policies exist. If you hire anyone, even briefly, the exemption stops applying and the exposure is immediate.
What is a residential exclusion?+
Many carriers restrict or exclude residential construction, particularly new build and multi-family, because of long statutory liability periods. If your work mix includes residential, the policy must be written for it deliberately.
Why do my rates depend on what I actually do?+
Class codes drive contracting premiums more than any other factor. Roofing, framing and excavation price very differently from finish work. Misclassification produces both overpayment and disputed claims, and it is worth verifying rather than assuming.
What is builders risk and do I need it?+
Builders risk covers the structure under construction, materials on site and in transit. It is separate from general liability, usually required by the owner or lender, and it is written per project rather than annually.