General Liability Insurance for Contractors: Coverage, Cost, Providers
General liability insurance protects your business from potential lawsuits and other claims and may be required as part of a contract.
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Senior Writer & Content Strategist General liability insurance can protect your business if someone accuses you of causing an injury or property damage. General contractors, carpenters, roofers and other construction workers should have general liability insurance. Employers, cities and states might require it.
Here’s how to get the business insurance you need quickly and at a fair price.
Save up to 30% on business insurance
NerdWallet Small Business helps you get real-time quotes from 30+ insurers, and instant access to your Certificate of Insurance (COI) through our partner, Coverdash.
Best general liability insurance for contractors
NerdWallet’s editorial team chooses the best business insurance based on a number of factors. To make our general liability picks for contractors, we looked for insurers that:
- Are financially sound.
- Receive relatively few customer complaints about their commercial liability policies, given their size.
- Sell additional insurance contractors need, like inland marine and commercial auto insurance.
- Offer fast access to your certificate of insurance.
- Make it easy to add additional insured endorsements.
Get several quotes before you commit to one insurance company. Every insurance company determines prices differently — so the cheapest option for one company might not be the cheapest option for you. You can do this yourself online, or an independent insurance agent can do it for you.
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American Family Insurance
American Family is one of only a few century-old insurance companies that let you get a quote and buy a policy online. You’ll get your certificate of insurance immediately. Need more coverage? Look into the company’s package for contractors. It can include inland marine, commercial auto and workers’ comp insurance.
American Family Insurance
American Family is one of only a few century-old insurance companies that let you get a quote and buy a policy online. You’ll get your certificate of insurance immediately. Need more coverage? Look into the company’s package for contractors. It can include inland marine, commercial auto and workers’ comp insurance.
The Hartford
The Hartford is another longstanding insurance company that lets you get a quote online. (You need to complete your purchase over the phone or via an agent, though.) If you need an additional type of coverage, like property or data breach coverage, you can talk to the agent about adding it on. When you need your certificate of insurance, you can request it online and get an emailed copy within four hours. Read review.
Ergo Next
Ergo Next is an online business insurance company and subsidiary of Munich Re. You can buy a policy online from Ergo Next in a few minutes.
Once you pay your premium, you can access your certificate of insurance from an online dashboard or the app. You can also add an additional insured yourself with no fee. This is where Ergo Next differs from other options. Most insurance companies still require you to submit a request for your COI. And few publish information about how much it costs to add an additional insured and how to do it.
Your mileage may vary if you have to file a claim, though: State regulators got far more complaints about Ergo Next between 2022 and 2024 than we’d expect given its market share. Read review.
Thimble
Not rated.
Thimble is an online insurance agent, which means they sell policies from other companies. Since Thimble does not underwrite its own policies, we don’t rate it.
Thimble is a good choice if you need coverage fast, though. You can get a policy online, including one that lasts only a month or for the duration of a job. You can use Thimble to file claims, access your certificate of insurance and add additional insureds. And if you hire contractors of your own, you can use Thimble’s Certificate Manager to gather documentation from your subcontractors. Read review.
What is general liability insurance for contractors?
General liability insurance protects contractors, and maybe the businesses that hire them, from certain events and lawsuits. It’s a common type of business insurance. We recommend it for all companies.
Specifically, general liability insurance can pay for costs if:
- A customer or third party gets injured on your job site.
- Property that belongs to a customer or third party gets damaged while you’re working.
- Someone accuses your business of libel, slander or harming their reputation.
What does general liability insurance for contractors cover?
Here are some scenarios where your a contractor’s general liability insurance policy could pay out:
- Bodily injury. If a customer trips and falls at a job site where you’re doing construction work, you could be held liable for their injuries. Your general liability policy can cover their medical expenses and any legal costs that arise from the claim.
- Property damage. Say you’re painting a client’s house and accidentally damage a piece of antique furniture. Your general liability insurance can cover the cost to replace or repair the furniture. It can also cover legal costs if the client sues you.
- Personal and advertising injury. If you make a rude social media post about a rival business and that company sues you for libel, a general liability policy can help cover legal and settlement costs. Your policy also can cover claims associated with copyright infringement and slander.
- Completed operations liability. If you repair plumbing at a client’s home and a pipe you installed bursts a few months later, you could still be held liable for the damage. General liability insurance for contractors can help cover your legal costs and any court-ordered damages.
It’s common for contractors to ask subcontractors to add them as an additional insured on your policy. That means, if someone files a claim related to work a sub did, their insurance policy will pay out to protect the general contractor too.
What types of contractors need general liability insurance?
Businesses often require all contractors to have general liability insurance. That’s because construction is an inherently risky industry that can cause property damage or injuries. If a subcontractor lacks insurance, the general contractor (or their insurance) will have to take the hit.
All these tradespeople should have general liability insurance:
- General contractors.
- Masonry contractors.
- Concrete contractors.
- Drywall contractors.
- Excavation contractors.
- Paving contractors.
- Permanent yard contractors.
- Roofers.
- Carpenters.
- Plumbers.
- Welders.
- Electricians
- Painters.
- Landscapers.
- Appliance repair technicians.
- Home inspectors.
- Handypeople.
- Debris removal businesses.
- Snow and ice removal businesses.
- Tree service businesses.
- Interior and exterior construction businesses.
A general contractor might ask you for proof of general liability insurance before agreeing to hire you as a subcontractor. Lots of contracts require you to provide a certificate of liability insurance, or COI, as part of the agreement as well.
Depending on the project or type of construction your business performs, your city or state may also require that you meet general liability insurance requirements when seeking a permit or license.
Save up to 30% on business insurance
NerdWallet Small Business helps you get real-time quotes from 30+ insurers, and instant access to your Certificate of Insurance (COI) through our partner, Coverdash.
Add-ons to general liability insurance policies
Some insurance companies offer add-ons for general liability policies. These endorsements offer extra protection that basic coverage doesn’t provide. Ask your insurance company if they offer coverage like:
- Equipment coverage. An equipment add-on can help cover the cost to replace or repair your tools and equipment if they break, get damaged or get stolen. This coverage bridges the gap between general liability and commercial property insurance.
- Data breach coverage. If a hacker breaks into your computer systems and steals customer information, data breach insurance can help cover the costs associated with notifying clients, offering credit monitoring and improving security.
How much does general liability insurance for contractors cost?
The cost of general liability insurance will vary based on a variety of factors, including:
- Business location.
- Previous claims history.
- Business size.
- Policy limits.
The best way to get a sense of how much a policy will cost is to get a business insurance quote. But here are the median premiums for general liability insurance policies in the trades, according to online insurance agent Coverdash:
- Janitorial services businesses: $750 per year.
- Landscaping services businesses: $1,400 per year.
- Remodeling and home renovation businesses: $1,400 per year.
- Residential plumbing businesses: $2,200 per year.
Bigger companies face more risk, so they pay more for insurance. According to Coverdash, here are the median general liability insurance premiums for construction businesses with more than $10 million in annual revenue:
- Drywall contractors: $7,500 per year.
- Terrazzo and tile refinishing: $8,000 per year.
- Driveway paving and sealing: $8,000 per year.
- Commercial renovation contractors: $10,000 per year.
- Pipe, duct and boiler installation: $12,500 per year.
- Demolition contractors: $14,000 per year.
- Roofing contractors: $18,000 per year.
Other types of business insurance for contractors and construction businesses
Although general liability insurance can protect against common risks associated with running a business, it doesn’t cover everything.
Your construction business might also need these kinds of insurance:
| Type of insurance | What it covers |
| Claims that your business made a mistake or was negligent when you were performing a service. For instance, if a client sues your general contracting company for missing the deadline on a construction project, your professional liability policy could cover legal and settlement costs. | |
| Vehicles that you use in the course of doing business. Protects you from expenses related to accidents, including property damage and injuries. For example, if you’re backing up your van and collide with another driver, your commercial auto insurance could cover damage to the car and medical costs for the driver’s injuries. | |
| Damage or loss to buildings during construction or renovation. For example, if a windstorm occurs while you’re renovating a house and breaks the newly installed windows, builder’s risk insurance could cover the cost of replacing them. | |
| Business property while in transit or storage. 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 could cover replacement costs. |
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On this page
- Best general liability insurance for contractors
- What is general liability insurance for contractors?
- What does general liability insurance for contractors cover?
- What types of contractors need general liability insurance?
- How much does general liability insurance for contractors cost?
- Other types of business insurance for contractors and construction businesses
