Contractor Insurance: What It Is, How to Get It

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NerdWallet Small Business helps you get the right coverage based on partnerships with more than 20 national carriers. Get quality customer service and guidance through our partner, Turbo.
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What is contractor insurance?
- You accidentally cause damage to a customer’s home or belongings while repairing one of their appliances.
- Your materials are stolen out of your truck.
- A customer accuses you of faulty work and files a lawsuit.
What does contractor insurance cover?
Type of insurance | What it covers |
---|---|
Business liability for third-party bodily injury, property damage and more. Your general contractor may require you to carry general liability insurance to protect your business and others on the project in case of lawsuits. For example, if you spill paint on a customer’s one-of-a-kind rug, the customer could sue you for the cost of replacing the rug. General liability insurance can help cover your legal and settlement costs. | |
Business property while it's being transported, or while it's being stored by a third party. If you’re driving from one landscaping project to another and supplies are stolen from your truck while you’re stopped at a gas station, inland marine insurance will cover replacement costs. | |
Damage or loss to buildings during construction or renovation as a result of fire, weather events, vandalism or other hazards. If the windows of a house that your company is building are broken during a windstorm, builder’s risk insurance can cover the cost to replace them. | |
Employees who are injured or get sick while at work. Almost every state requires employers to have workers' comp for their employees. If your employee falls off a ladder while painting a house and breaks an arm, their medical expenses would be covered under workers’ compensation. | |
Vehicles that you use in the course of doing business. Protects you from expenses related to accidents, such as property damage and injuries. If you’re backing up your electrician's van and collide with another driver, your commercial auto insurance will cover damage to the car and any injuries the driver receives. | |
Business property that's damaged by certain accidents, weather events or other hazards. A fire destroying your roofing inventory (shingles, tiles, other materials) would be covered under your commercial property insurance. | |
Claims against your business for mistakes or oversights in performing a service, breach of contract, professional negligence or failure to deliver a service on time. If a client sues your general contracting company for missing the deadline on a construction project, your professional liability policy would cover legal and settlement costs. |

NerdWallet Small Business helps you get the right coverage based on partnerships with more than 20 national carriers. Get quality customer service and guidance through our partner, Turbo.
via Turbo

NerdWallet Small Business helps you get realtime quotes from 30+ insurers, and instant access to your Certificate of Insurance (COI) through our partner, Coverdash.
via Coverdash
How much does contractor insurance cost?
- Less than $70 per month for general liability insurance.
- $275 per month for workers’ compensation insurance.
- $150 per month for commercial auto insurance.
- Less than $15 per month for contractors’ tools and equipment insurance, which is a kind of inland marine insurance.
- $85 per month for professional liability insurance.
Where can you get contractor insurance?
- Thimble. If you’re the person hiring other contractors, you can use Thimble to make sure they have insurance that complies with your requirements. And if you’re the contractor who needs coverage, you can purchase a temporary or ongoing policy through Thimble.
- Next Insurance. If you want coverage tailored to your specialty, Next sells insurance packages for everyone from drywall contractors to welders. Once you buy a policy, you can share certificates of insurance digitally with clients and contractors who request them.
- Nationwide. If you want to customize your policy — like setting a per-project policy limit or adding pollution coverage, which is usually excluded from commercial general liability policies — Nationwide’s contractor insurance may be a good fit. Nationwide also sells construction bonds.
- The Hartford. If you want a business owner’s policy, The Hartford offers one with lots of add-ons tailored to contractors — like coverage for your tools and equipment and protection against damage to property you’re installing.