Insurance & Bonds
General liability, workers comp, commercial auto, and the license, bid, payment and performance bonds you get asked for.
12 guides in this section
Guides in this section
Builder's risk insurance: what it is and who buys it
Builder's risk covers the building itself while it's under construction, against things like fire, wind, theft, vandalism, and water damage, plus the...
Certificate of insurance and additional insured: what a COI really proves
A certificate of insurance (COI) is a one-page summary that proves you had a policy on the day it was issued, and that's all it proves; it does not create...
Do I need commercial auto insurance for my work truck?
If your truck is titled to your business you must carry commercial auto, and if it's your personal truck but you use it for work, you almost certainly need...
General liability insurance for contractors, explained
General liability (GL) is the base policy that pays when your work injures someone else or damages their property, up to your policy limit. The two things...
How much insurance do I need, and how do I cut the premium?
How much you need is set from two directions: your contracts set the floor (1M/2M general liability is the common minimum, with bigger jobs demanding more)...
The insurance mistakes that void your coverage
The fastest way to turn a covered loss into an uncovered one is a paperwork or timing mistake: letting the policy lapse, reporting a claim late...
Do I need professional liability (E&O) insurance?
You need professional liability, also called E&O, if you do more than build to someone else's plans, so if you design, spec, engineer, or design-build...
Surety bonds vs insurance: what's the difference, and how do I get bonded?
The core difference is who eats the loss: insurance pays a claim and moves on, but a surety bond pays the claim and then collects every dollar back from you....
Tools and equipment insurance (inland marine): what it covers and the locked-truck trap
Your tools move around, so a normal property policy (which insures a fixed address) does not cover them, and neither does your auto policy; you need a...
Umbrella and excess liability: when a contractor needs more coverage
An umbrella or excess policy sits on top of your existing liability coverage and kicks in only after those underlying limits are used up, and contractors buy...
What insurance do I actually need as a contractor?
Most contractors need four kinds of insurance, and each one covers a gap the others do not: general liability, workers' comp, commercial auto, and a tools...
Workers' comp for contractors: what it covers and the traps
Workers' comp pays your employees' medical bills and lost wages when they get hurt on the job, and every state except Texas requires it the moment you have...