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About

Contractors Insurance

Contracting work happens on someone else’s property, and work you finished can still bring a claim months later. Your crew, your trucks, your tools and your contracts each need coverage that fits. We read your contract beside your policy, so you start each job knowing what you carry.

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Your Business, Part by Part

An illustrated job site. No people.

  1. 1 of 5

    Your Job Site

  2. 2 of 5

    Your Crew

    In Connecticut

    With few exceptions, every employer is required to carry workers’ compensation.

    Ask AboutWorkers’ compensation

  3. 3 of 5

    Your Permit Waits on Proof of Coverage

    In Connecticut

    Anyone pulling a building permit must first show proof of workers’ compensation for employees working on the site, and a certificate of liability insurance does not satisfy it.

  4. 4 of 5

    Your Registration Needs Liability Coverage

    In Connecticut

    Home improvement contractors must carry at least $20,000 of liability coverage to register.

    Ask AboutGeneral liability

    Coverage depends on the policy terms.

  5. 5 of 5

    Your Work Vehicles

    A personal auto policy generally excludes coverage for business use.

    Ask AboutCommercial auto

Insurance for General Contractors, Remodelers and Trades

What This Means for YouYour customer asked to be an additional insured, and this box is empty. Adding it to the certificate is not enough: your policy itself has to be endorsed.Source: the standard certificate of liability insurance form

You might run a remodeling crew, pull permits as a general contractor, or work on your own as a carpenter, plumber, electrician or roofer. Most of that work happens in a customer’s home or on someone else’s site, with your tools, your truck and your name on it.

Before the first day, a homeowner or a general contractor may ask for a certificate of insurance that names them. A certificate is issued for information only and gives the holder no rights. If they ask to be an additional insured, the policy itself has to provide for it or be endorsed. That line is the one to check before you sign, and it is the first thing we look at when you send the contract.

A contractor in a hard hat and safety vest on a job site, on the phone, one hand on his helmet.

Contracting Work We Insure

Describe your work the way you would on the side of your truck. These are a starting set.

Remodeling and renovation.
Kitchens, baths, additions and repairs in homes where people still live.
New home building.
From the foundation to the final walk through.
General contracting.
Running the job and hiring the subcontractors who do parts of it.
Specialty trades.
Carpentry, plumbing, electrical, roofing, painting, masonry, siding and flooring.
Commercial work.
Fit outs, repairs and service calls in shops, offices and rental buildings.
One person, one trade.
A sole proprietor with a truck, a trailer and a set of tools.
Don’t see yours here? Tell us what you need covered.

Contractors Insurance Coverage

General Liability Insurance for Contractors

A ladder tips into a client’s window, or a visitor trips over a cord on your site. General liability pays damages your business is found liable for, up to the policy limits, plus the cost of your legal defense. It is also the policy a home improvement registration asks for.

Completed Operations Coverage for Contractors

A heating system you installed starts leaking three months after the job closed. Completed operations coverage is for damage caused by your work after the work is done. It sits inside your general liability policy, so ask what your policy says about it and for which jobs.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Contractors

Someone on your crew slips off a roof or cuts a hand. Workers’ compensation pays for their medical care and replaces part of their lost wages, regardless of who was at fault. A permit office can ask to see proof of it, as the state facts below describe.

Commercial Auto Insurance for Contractors

Your pickup carries ladders, materials and a crew between jobs every day. A personal auto policy will not cover a vehicle the business owns, and is unlikely to cover one used mainly for work. A business auto policy pays others for injury or damage you are liable for.

Tools and Equipment Coverage for Contractors

Your saws, compressors and generators move from job to job and spend nights in the truck. Standard property insurance does not cover equipment that travels like that. A tools and equipment floater covers it wherever it is used, from hand tools and power drills to pumps.

Builders Risk Insurance for Contractors

A storm brings down framing that is half finished, along with the lumber stacked beside it. Builders risk covers structures and materials during new construction or renovation, for the value the building had reached when the loss happened. Your contract may say whether you or the owner buys it.

Commercial Property Insurance for Contractors

Your shop, your yard and the stock you keep there can burn, take storm damage or be broken into. Commercial property insurance protects company property against losses such as fire, smoke, wind, hail and vandalism. It covers what stays put, while a floater follows your tools.

Umbrella Insurance for Contractors

A serious injury on a job site can cost more than your general liability or auto limits. An umbrella policy sits over and above those policies and responds once their limits are used up. Your contract may set the limits you must carry.

Coverage Contractors Can Be Missing

Gaps often show up on the day someone asks for something: a customer wants their name on your policy, an inspector wants proof before a permit, or an adjuster reads the exclusions after a loss. Each policy names what it covers and leaves the rest out, so a contractor can carry several policies and still have a hole between them. These are the places to look, and each one is a fair question to bring to your quote.

The additional insured you promised.
The certificate shows your customer’s name, but the certificate alone does not make them an additional insured. Your policy has to be endorsed.
The truck in your own name.
A truck the business owns, or one used mainly for work, generally falls outside a personal auto policy.
Your crew’s own cars.
When employees use personal cars for supply runs, hired and non owned auto coverage is the piece to ask about.
You, as the owner.
Depending on how your business is set up, you may be outside your own workers’ compensation policy. The state facts below describe the rule.
Pollution.
A standard general liability policy excludes pollution liability. Remediation, abatement and tank work need their own look.
Tools kept at home.
A homeowners policy is not likely to cover business supplies kept at home.

If an Insurer Has Said No

That is one insurer’s answer, not the last one. Insurers have different underwriting standards, and a decision by one company does not mean another will not offer coverage.

Hard to Place InsuranceNonrenewed or Cancelled Policies

State Facts

In Connecticut

  • With few exceptions, every Connecticut employer must carry workers’ compensation insurance.
  • Anyone pulling a building permit must first show proof of workers’ compensation for employees working on the site.
  • The certificate for a permit must be workers’ compensation insurance, not liability or disability.
  • An owner or sole proprietor who will not act as general contractor files Form 7A instead.
  • Corporate officers, LLC members and partners may elect to be excluded from the Workers’ Compensation Act.
  • Contractors who work on homes of six units or fewer, condos or common interest communities, and charge more than $1,000 in any 12 months must register as home improvement contractors.
  • To register, a home improvement contractor must carry general liability insurance of at least $20,000 and give the insurer name and policy number.
  • New home builders need a separate registration, also with at least $20,000 of liability insurance.
  • A contractor that signs contracts as an LLC must register the LLC. An individual registration does not cover it.
  • Doing home improvement work without registration is a criminal offense, and the state may impose civil penalties up to $1,500 per violation.
  • A subcontractor who works only for a registered home improvement contractor does not need to register.
  • Radon, underground storage tank removal, swimming pool and mold remediation work have their own specialized registrations.

Read more: Connecticut Contractor Insurance Requirements and Workers’ Compensation in Connecticut.

Source: Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection and Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Insurance in Connecticut

Frequently Asked Questions

What insurance does my contracting business need?

A common starting point is general liability, workers’ compensation and commercial auto. Builders risk, a tools and equipment floater and an umbrella are added when the work calls for them. Your contracts, your permits and the rules where you work set what you must carry.

Do I need workers’ compensation if I work alone?

It depends on how your business is set up and where you work. A permit office can still ask for proof, or for the form an owner files instead. The state facts above describe how a sole proprietor, an LLC member and a partner are treated.

Does general liability cover my own employee if they get hurt?

No. A general liability policy excludes workers’ compensation. An injured employee’s medical care and lost wages come under workers’ compensation.

Can I use my personal truck for work?

A personal auto policy generally excludes business use, and it will not cover a vehicle the business owns. Commercial auto is the coverage to ask about if the truck carries tools, materials or a crew.

My customer wants to be added as an additional insured. How do I do that?

Ask for an additional insured endorsement on your general liability policy. A certificate that lists the customer is not enough on its own. Send the contract, and the wording it asks for is checked against your policy.

Will a liability certificate work for my building permit?

Not always. Permit rules can require proof of workers’ compensation specifically, not liability, as the state facts above describe.

What if no company will write my general liability?

Tell us where it stands. Your file can go to the specialty market through licensed surplus lines brokers. No agency can promise a placement.

If a standard insurer says no, your policy may be placed this way, and it works a little differently. Some hard to place risks are insured by surplus lines carriers. These carriers are not licensed by the state as admitted insurers. Their policies can cost more, cover less or differently, and follow different cancellation and nonrenewal notice rules. They are generally not covered by the state insurance guaranty fund if the carrier fails. Surplus lines coverage is placed through a licensed surplus lines broker. We explain the differences to you in writing before you decide.

My trade is not on this page. Can it be insured?

Tell us what you do. Your business can be reviewed, and no agency can promise a placement.

Send Your Contract Before You Sign.

We read it beside your policy, clause by clause, and you see what you carry before the first day on the job.

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