Builders general liability
General liability, workers compensation, commercial auto and tools coverage for builders and subcontractors. Eight coverage types, the requirements in all fifty states, and what actually drives the price. Tell us your trade and a licensed specialist will come back with real numbers.
Two builders with identical payroll and identical revenue can be quoted premiums that differ by a factor of four, and the reason is almost never the carrier. It is classification. A roofer and a finish carpenter are not the same risk, and a carrier that writes one may decline the other outright.
Misclassification runs both ways. Rate a framing crew as general carpentry and you underpay until the audit, which arrives as a bill. Rate a finish carpenter as general building and you overpay for years without noticing.
So the useful starting point is the work you actually do, not the name of the policy. From there the rest follows: whether you need workers compensation yet, whether the trucks are on a commercial policy, and whether your tools are covered at all, which is the gap most builders discover after a theft rather than before.
Tell us your trade, payroll and state.
The policy does not change. The requirement wrapped around it does.
Some states license general contractors at state level, some license residential and commercial separately, and some have no statewide general contractor license at all, leaving it to cities and counties.
Most states do not mandate it by statute. It is required by contract, by a commercial lease, or by the licensing board's application. That does not make it optional, it means the enforcement comes from whoever is hiring you.
Most states require coverage from the first employee, some set a threshold, and a small number allow employers to opt out with consequences attached. Four states run monopolistic state funds where there is no private market at all.
Where a state requires one, the amount is set by statute. Where it does not, cities and counties frequently impose their own, particularly above a dollar threshold or on public work.
Eight coverages cover almost everything a construction business faces. They do different jobs, and buying one does not cover the others.
Pays for injury or damage your work causes to other people. The policy your contract asks you to prove, and the one almost every builder carries first.
Pays medical costs and lost wages when one of your own employees is hurt. Required in nearly every state once you have staff, and separate from general liability.
Covers the trucks and trailers used for work. A personal auto policy excludes business use entirely, and it will not cover the tools inside.
Covers the tools themselves, in transit and on site, including theft. General liability never does, which is why this is a separate policy.
Property coverage on a structure while it is being built. Usually carried by the owner rather than the builder, and often required by the construction lender.
A guarantee rather than insurance. License bonds are a condition of licensure in most states, and bid, performance and payment bonds attach to specific projects.
Adds limits above your general liability and auto policies, for the larger projects where the contract requires more than your underlying limits provide.
For claims that your work was done wrong, whether or not it actually was. Separate from general liability, and relevant if you design, specify or advise.
Almost always, though rarely because a state requires it. Most states do not mandate general liability by statute. It is required by the contract in front of you, by a commercial lease, or by a licensing board's application. A contract requirement is not less binding than a statute, it is simply enforced by the party hiring you.
One million per occurrence and two million general aggregate is the standard contract requirement and a sensible starting point. Commercial projects, public work and larger subcontracts commonly require two million per occurrence or more, often with an umbrella above it.
In nearly every state, once you have employees. Most states require it from the first employee, a smaller number set a threshold, and a few allow employers to opt out. Where it is required and you do not carry it, an injury becomes your direct liability rather than an insurance claim.
No, never. General liability pays other people for injury or damage you cause. Your tools are your own property and need inland marine coverage. This is the single most common coverage gap we see, and it usually gets discovered after a theft.
Yes. A single policy can list every state you operate in. Pricing is driven by the highest-exposure state on the schedule, so list all of them rather than only your home state.
Usually you can get it. First-year builders are placed regularly, often with a surplus lines carrier until there is a track record. The absence of history affects price more than availability.
Tell us your trade, payroll and the states you work in. A licensed specialist will follow up with real numbers.
