Insurance for General Contractors

Does a general contractor need insurance? This is a question that many contractors who are running small to medium sized businesses ask themselves every day. Insurance is an extra bill to pay, and we all know how tight margins can be in the construction and contracting industry. The fact is, general contractors insurance is a crucial part of any contractor’s toolkit. 

Contractors run into many different types of risks that people in other lines of work do not have to think about. Accidents happen in this industry at a high rate, which is why general liability insurance for contractors is designed to cover several categories of risk. What does general contractors insurance cover? Liability insurance generally includes coverage for bodily injury, which can be triggered if you or one of your workers sustains an injury at a job site and is hospitalized. It will also include provisions for property damage coverage, which can be triggered if you damage the client’s property or even a neighbor’s property over the course of the project. This can be as simple as dropping a paintbrush on an antique carpet, or as complicated as accidentally chopping a tree down so that its fall impacts the roof of the house next door. 

Independent contractor liability insurance also usually includes coverage for personal injury, which differs from bodily injury in that it only deals with damage to your reputation or your business’s reputation. If a competitor engages in libelous practices, or poor quality of work causes you to lose future business, personal injury coverage has your back. 

Most contractors are very interested in answering the question ‘what does general contractor insurance cost?’ This is a great question, but it does not have an easy answer. How much does general contractors insurance cost? It depends on several factors, including the amount of time your business has been operational, the location that you’re incorporated in and that you work in, the type of contracting jobs you typically take and the size of the deductible that you choose to pay. Generally, if you agree to pay a higher deductible, your monthly payments will go down. 

Still have questions about general contractors insurance? Visit our website or give us a call today to request a quote for your business. We’ll go over all of the general contractor insurance requirements that you need to keep in mind, and develop the perfect plan for you and your business.