A general contractor carries the broadest insurance program in construction, because you carry the broadest risk. You answer for your own crews, your subs, the project itself, and the contract you signed. We build the whole program around how you actually operate: the trades you self-perform, the work you sub out, and the insurance schedules your owners demand.
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A general contractor typically needs general liability, workers' compensation, commercial auto, builder's risk on active projects, and umbrella/excess liability to meet commercial contract requirements. Because GCs are responsible for their subcontractors, verifying sub insurance and managing additional-insured and primary/non-contributory endorsements is as important as the policies themselves.
Each line below is a separate policy with its own pillar. We build them into one program, one quote, one renewal, one broker, so the gaps between them close. Every placement is subject to carrier underwriting.
The policy every owner and lender requires before you break ground. GC contracts almost always demand $1M/$2M limits with the owner named as additional insured on a primary/non-contributory basis. We make sure your form and endorsements match the insurance schedule exactly.
Required the moment you have W-2 employees, and you're typically the statutory employer for any uninsured sub. GCs must verify sub workers' comp certificates or absorb that payroll at audit. We help you build the sub-verification discipline that keeps audits clean.
On new construction the GC usually buys builder's risk, covering the structure, materials on site, and materials in transit against fire, theft, wind, and water during the build. We match the limit to the total completed value and coordinate who's named per the contract.
Mixed fleets, pickups, a dump truck, maybe a trailer, are the norm. Hired & non-owned auto is essential because employees running errands in personal vehicles create liability your GL will not cleanly absorb.
Commercial project owners routinely require $5M-$10M in combined limits. Umbrella sits above your GL, auto, and employer liability, and is the practical way to meet those requirements and protect the business from a severe claim.
These are the exposures carriers underwrite for your trade. Understanding them is how you avoid the “I thought that was covered” call, and how we match you to a market that prices the work fairly.
A GC answers for the work of its subs. An uninsured sub's injury or a sub's defective work can land on your policy, and in most states you're the statutory employer for an uninsured sub. Collecting and verifying sub COIs before work starts is the single most important risk control a GC has.
The insurance schedule in your contract dictates additional-insured status, primary/non-contributory wording, waiver of subrogation, and required limits. A policy that does not match the schedule can leave you in breach, or uninsured for the very exposure you agreed to carry.
Fire, storm, theft, or vandalism can destroy a partially-built structure overnight. The GC is usually the buyer of builder's risk and the party on the hook to the owner if the project is not insured to completed value.
Whatever trades you self-perform carry their own completed-operations tail. A wall you framed or a system you installed that fails after the job closes is a liability that travels with the work for years.
Crews and materials on the road are a leading severity driver. A serious auto accident can exhaust a $1M auto limit quickly, which is part of why umbrella matters for GCs running multiple vehicles.
| Factor | Impact | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Self-performed vs. subbed work | Major | How much you self-perform, and in which trades, drives your class codes and payroll. A GC who self-performs roofing or framing rates very differently from one who subs everything out. |
| Annual revenue & payroll | Major | GL is rated on gross receipts and WC on payroll. Larger volume means more exposure and more premium, proportionally. |
| Subcontractor cost | Major | Carriers load for the cost of uninsured or under-insured subs. Clean sub-insurance documentation keeps that load, and your audit, in check. |
| Required limits | Moderate | $1M/$2M GL is baseline; commercial owners often require $5M-$10M total via umbrella. Higher limits add premium but are contract-driven. |
| Project type | Moderate | Residential remodel, commercial tenant build-out, ground-up multi-family, each carries a different risk and pricing profile, especially for builder's risk. |
| Claims history | Moderate | A five-year loss run across GL, WC, and auto shapes carrier appetite. Frequency tends to hurt more than a single severe claim. |
| State | Minor | Litigation climate and statutory-employer rules vary. New York, California, and Florida tend to price higher than milder jurisdictions for the same operation. |
Names changed, trades and outcomes preserved. These are the kinds of general contractor claims we actually field.
A mis-assembled scaffold collapsed on a commercial renovation, injuring two workers from a sub and one delivery driver. Costs aggregated to roughly $2.3M by the time the case closed.
The GC's GL responded to its $1M per-occurrence limit and the $5M umbrella picked up the balance. Because the subs had been verified and named correctly, risk transfer worked as the contract intended.
A framing sub the GC assumed was covered had let its workers' comp lapse. A laborer fell and was seriously injured, and the sub had no coverage to respond.
As the statutory employer, the GC's workers' comp policy responded to the claim. The audit also picked up the sub's payroll as additional premium, an expensive reminder that drove the GC to tighten COI collection before work starts.
An overnight electrical fire leveled a single-family build that was fully framed and partially roofed. Total loss on the structure, insured value around $860,000.
The builder's risk policy the GC carried paid out the limit less deductible. The GC rebuilt on schedule and the owner's permanent financing stayed intact.
A new commercial contract required the owner and lender as additional insureds on a primary/non-contributory basis with a waiver of subrogation, language the GC's existing GL did not include.
We endorsed the policy to match the schedule before the job started, at no extra premium for the standard endorsements. The GC avoided being in breach of its own contract on day one.
The questions general contractor contractors ask before they pick up the phone. If yours isn't here, the fastest answer is a call: (484) 444-3503.
Most general contractors need general liability, workers' compensation (once they have employees), commercial auto, builder's risk on active projects, and umbrella/excess liability to meet commercial contract limits. Because GCs are responsible for their subcontractors, sub-insurance verification and the right additional-insured and primary/non-contributory endorsements are just as important as the policies. The exact program depends on your operation and is subject to underwriting.
The common baseline is $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, but commercial owners frequently require $5M or more in combined limits, which GCs usually meet by stacking an umbrella on top of GL and auto. The right number is whatever your contracts demand, so send us the insurance schedule and we'll confirm exactly what's required.
In practice, yes. If a sub is uninsured and someone is hurt or their work fails, the claim often falls on your policy, and in most states you're the statutory employer for an uninsured sub's workers' comp injury. Uninsured sub payroll also typically shows up as additional premium at your annual audit. Collecting and verifying sub COIs before work begins is the most important habit a GC can build.
It's contract language requiring your policy to pay first on a claim and not share with the additional insured's own coverage. Most commercial owners and lenders require it along with additional-insured status and sometimes a waiver of subrogation. These are standard endorsements; we add them when a contract calls for them, at no extra cost for the standard forms.
Builder's risk (course-of-construction) is typically needed on new construction and major renovations to cover the structure and materials during the build. On many projects the GC buys it and names the owner; on some, the owner buys it and names the GC. The contract governs who buys, so we read it before quoting so the buyer and limits match the requirement.
It can, but it shouldn't be your first line of defense. The correct structure is for each sub to carry their own GL and name you as additional insured, transferring their risk to their policy. Your GL is a backstop, not a substitute, for sub coverage. Relying on your own policy for sub work inflates your loss history and your premium.
Beyond owned-vehicle liability and physical damage, GCs should carry hired & non-owned auto (HNOA) because employees frequently drive personal vehicles for work, errands, supply runs, site visits, and their personal auto policies exclude business use. Without HNOA, a personal-vehicle accident on company business can get drawn messily into your GL.
Once your policy is bound and the certificate holder details are available, we typically issue COIs in under 60 seconds. For GCs who need to issue or collect certificates on a tight project timeline, that turnaround usually isn't the constraint.
It varies more than almost any trade because a GC's program spans several lines and depends on how much work you self-perform, your revenue and payroll, the limits your contracts require, and your loss history. A GC who subs out nearly everything pays very differently from one self-performing high-hazard trades. We shop your full operation across multiple carriers and show you real options; getting the quote is free.
Yes. GC and owner contracts routinely require specific limits, additional-insured status, primary/non-contributory wording, and waivers of subrogation. Send us the insurance schedule and we'll tell you what's required, whether your current policies already satisfy it, and what needs to be endorsed, before you're committed.
Tell us about your operation. We typically send quote options in 2 hrs after we have the required information. Free to quote, no obligation.