Insurance for electrical contractors in California

General liability (GL) pays when your work injures another person or damages property you do not own. For electricians, the large losses tend to come back to fire. A loose termination, an undersized conductor or a wire nicked behind drywall can heat up for weeks before it lights. By then the walls are closed, the family has moved in, and the loss can be the entire home.

• Fire after you leave. Bad terminations, wrong wire gauge, a panel overloaded with new circuits. This is why completed operations coverage carries so much weight in this trade.
• Shock to others. A homeowner, tenant or another trade on site touches a circuit you left energized.
• Damage on site. Cutting into finished walls and ceilings, or drilling into a water or gas line.
• Surges and equipment. Appliances, computers or business equipment damaged after a service upgrade or panel change.
• Work up high. Ladders and lifts on lighting jobs, service drops and commercial ceilings.

What you install changes how the policy is written.

• Low voltage. Data, alarms, cameras, audio and lighting controls. Usually viewed as lower risk than line voltage, but describe exactly what you install.
• Residential line voltage. Rewires, panel upgrades, service changes, EV chargers and remodels. The focus is fire in occupied homes.
• Commercial and industrial. Higher voltage, larger services, lifts and bigger crews. On these jobs GCs ask for additional insured status and completed operations coverage.
• Service calls. Troubleshooting and repair across many homes and businesses. Many small jobs add up to a lot of exposure, and service and repair contracts carry their own insurance notice under California law.

Answer the quote the way you actually work. A low-voltage-only policy will not respond to a panel upgrade.

If you install or service solar panels, inverters or battery storage, say so at the start. Solar can change which programs will write you and how the policy is priced. Mounting panels means roof penetrations, which brings leak and water claims into an electrical policy, and battery systems raise fire questions of their own.

Some programs exclude solar entirely, some limit it to a share of your work, and some write it after extra questions. A licensed CalRisk agent can help match solar work with a program that fits. Call or text (877) 940-4313, or start the online quote and include it in your answers.

• Solar and battery storage. Check whether solar, storage and roof work are covered, limited or excluded.
• Voltage limits. Some policies cover work only up to a set voltage, or leave out utility-side and high-voltage work.
• Residential-only or commercial-only. Confirm the wording matches the work you take.
• Completed operations. Confirm it is included. Electrical fires often start well after the job is finished.
• Subcontractor rules. Using subs? Many policies require them to have their own insurance.

GL does not cover injuries to your own employees (workers' comp), your own tools and meters, your vans (commercial auto), or the cost of redoing your own faulty work. It covers damage your work causes to others. Every quote on your board lists what is included and excluded.

• A certificate of insurance (COI) showing your GL policy and limits.
• Limits of $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. The limits GCs usually write into an electrical subcontract.
• Additional insured status. Being listed as certificate holder is different from being an additional insured. Most will ask you to add them as additional insured, frequently with primary and non-contributory language plus a waiver of subrogation.
• Workers' comp proof if you have employees, or the exemption you filed with CSLB if you do not.

When your policy is in force, CalRisk sends the certificate to your GC. Our certificate of insurance guide walks through each request.

General information from the CSLB, not legal advice.

• Workers' comp. Each licensee must file either a workers' comp certificate or an exemption with CSLB. Right now a C-10 with no employees can file the exemption; workers' comp for every licensee is scheduled to start January 1, 2028. See the workers' comp 2028 guide.
• The $25,000 license bond. Every licensee carries it. It is not insurance; see bond vs insurance.
• LLC licenses. An LLC must carry liability insurance with an aggregate of at least $1,000,000 when 5 or fewer people are on the license, plus a $100,000 worker-wage bond. See the LLC insurance requirement.
• Contract notice. Home improvement and service and repair contracts must include a commercial general liability insurance notice saying whether you carry CGL, with the insurer and phone number if you do.
• Other licenses. CSLB does not require GL by law but strongly recommends it.

Getting quoted: type your C-10 license number and we look up your business in CSLB's public record. Confirm you are the owner and answer roughly a minute of tap-to-answer questions. Your quote board searches A-rated programs in real time, and each price shows its deductible, limits, and what is included and excluded. Tap "Submit for approval" and a licensed agent picks it up. Approval usually takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the insurance company, and the final quote is emailed for you to sign. Coverage is not bound until you sign. Workers' comp is quoted online the same way; commercial auto, umbrella and CSLB bonds go to an agent by phone, in English or Spanish. See the GL cost guide or compare other trades. CalRisk Insurance Center, CA Lic. 0K97400, 713 W Duarte Rd, Suite G747, Arcadia, CA 91007.