Coverage by type
Six coverages do the work for a construction business, and they do different jobs. This is what each one covers, where each one stops, and which ones your contracts will require. Tell us what you do and a licensed specialist will confirm which ones apply to you.
General liability comes first, because it is what almost every contract requires and what almost every trade needs. Workers compensation comes next, and it stops being optional as soon as you have employees. Commercial auto follows the moment a vehicle is used for business.
Tools coverage is the one contractors most often skip and most often regret. General liability never covers your own tools, and theft is the loss contractors actually file. If you have a shop or a yard, a business owner's policy bundles liability and property at a better price than buying them separately. Professional liability only enters the picture if you design, specify, or advise rather than only build.
Send us your trade, your state and what your contract asks for. A licensed specialist will tell you which policies apply and which ones you can skip.
Ask a specialistEach page covers what the policy pays for, what it excludes, who needs it, what limits to carry, and what drives the price.
The policy every general contractor asks you to prove before you set foot on site.
Required in nearly every state the moment you have employees. Not optional, and not the same as general liability.
A personal auto policy excludes business use. That exclusion is the whole reason this coverage exists.
General liability never covers your own tools. Theft is the most common loss contractors actually file.
General liability and commercial property in one package, usually cheaper than buying them separately.
For claims that your work was done wrong, whether or not it actually was.
Two contractors with the same revenue can pay premiums that differ by a factor of four, and the difference is almost never the carrier.
The trade drives the rate. A roofer and a painter are different risks, and a carrier that writes one may refuse the other outright. Getting the classification right is the single biggest lever on price.
Payroll is the exposure base for liability and workers compensation. How much of the work is subcontracted, and whether those subs carry their own coverage, changes the number substantially.
Rates, benefit levels and requirements differ by state, and a policy covering several states prices on the highest-exposure one. Tell us every state you work in, not just your home state.
Prior claims, and how long you have been in business, move the price more than most contractors expect. A clean first year is worth real money in year two.
Workers compensation is legally required in nearly every state once you have employees, and commercial auto is required to drive a vehicle on public roads. General liability is usually required by contract rather than by statute, but a contract requirement is not less binding, it is simply enforced by the party hiring you.
Yes, and most contractors do. General liability alone is a common starting point. The risk is buying too little and discovering the gap at claim time, so tell us what your contracts require before deciding.
No. One policy can list every state you operate in. Pricing is driven by the highest-exposure state on the schedule.
Start with what your contracts require, then consider what a serious injury would actually cost. One million per occurrence is the common floor. If you work on commercial or public projects, expect to need more.
Tell us your trade, payroll and state and a licensed specialist will come back with real numbers.
