Insurance for general contractors in California

A general contractor answers for everything on the project, not only what your own crew builds. If a sub's mistake floods a home or a visitor gets hurt, the owner and the owner's insurer usually call you first. General liability (GL) pays for third-party bodily injury and property damage from your work, plus completed operations when the policy includes it. What shapes a GC's policy:

• Work by subs. On many jobs, subs do most of the hours. Their errors turn into your claim.
• Completed operations. Leaks, settling and fires can trace back to work finished years earlier. On new homes that tail runs long.
• People on site. Owners, inspectors, delivery drivers and neighbors walk through an active job.
• The existing building. On a remodel, everything you did not build is still at risk: the rest of the house, the owner's furniture, the fence next door.

GL does not pay for your own employees' injuries (that is workers' comp), your tools, your vehicles, or the cost to fix faulty work itself.

Insurers judge a GC by how it handles subs. Before a sub sets foot on site, collect:

• A current certificate of insurance showing GL, ideally at limits no lower than yours.
• Your company named as additional insured on the sub's policy, with primary and non-contributory wording and a waiver of subrogation where available.
• Proof of workers' comp or a valid CSLB exemption, and a signed subcontract with an indemnity clause.

Subs with no insurance, or too little, cause real trouble. Many GL policies require subs to carry their own coverage. When they do not, the policy may exclude the claim, or the insurer may charge you for that sub's cost as though it were your own payroll. Fewer programs will quote a GC who cannot produce sub certificates. Keep them on file and watch the expiration dates. The difference between certificate holder and additional insured is laid out in our certificate of insurance guide.

What you build changes who will quote you and on what terms, so answer the questions precisely.

• Residential remodel. The bread and butter of a B license. Claims come from water intrusion, fires started by other trades and damage to the home you are working in.
• New custom homes. Completed operations exposure lasts a long time. Many programs ask what share of your work is new construction and price that part separately.
• Tract homes, condos and multi-family. Several policies exclude tract housing, condos or townhomes, or projects past a certain number of units, because these jobs attract construction-defect suits years later. If you build them, look for those exclusions.
• Commercial. Tenant improvements and commercial builds bring tighter contract terms: additional insured on ongoing and completed operations, primary and non-contributory, and a waiver of subrogation. Also read for an action over exclusion, which can knock out a claim where an injured worker sues the owner and the owner turns to you.

General information from the CSLB, not legal advice.

• Building single-family homes. You must disclose in writing whether you carry commercial general liability insurance (B&P §7164).
• Home improvement contracts. Home improvement and service-and-repair contracts must include a "Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL)" notice with your insurer and its phone number, or another statement the law allows, such as that you carry no CGL (B&P §7159 / §7159.10).
• LLC licenses. An LLC must carry liability insurance with an aggregate of at least $1,000,000 if 5 or fewer people are on the personnel of record, plus $100,000 for each additional person, up to $5,000,000. An LLC also carries a $100,000 worker-wage bond. The LLC insurance requirement page has the details.
• Other entities. GL is not required by law for non-LLC licensees, though CSLB strongly recommends it, and owners, lenders and commercial clients require it by contract.
• Workers' comp. Under B&P §7125, each licensee must file either a workers' comp certificate or an exemption. Under current law, workers' comp is required for all licensees from 1/1/2028. See the workers' comp guide.
• The $25,000 license bond. Every licensee carries it. It pays homeowners, unpaid workers and others harmed by a license-law violation, and you repay the surety. It does not protect you. See bond vs insurance.

1. Enter your CSLB license number. We pull your business from the CSLB public record and match it to A-rated insurance companies that write your classes, including any specialty classes on the same license.
2. Confirm you are the owner with your name, mobile and email.
3. Answer about a minute of tap-to-answer questions: homes or businesses, new construction, sales, payroll, how much you sub out, crew, years, claims, current insurance and start date.
4. Your quote board shops A-rated programs live. Each price lists its deductible, limits and what is included and excluded. We text and email you the link as well.
5. Tap "Submit for approval." A licensed agent takes it from there. Approval usually takes 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the carrier, and the final quote is emailed for you to sign.

Nothing is bound until you sign. Once you are covered, we send the certificate to the owner or the upstream GC. Workers' comp is quoted online from your license number too. Commercial auto, umbrella and bonds are handled by phone with a licensed agent at (877) 940-4313, call or text, English or Spanish. Price depends on sales, subcontracted cost, how much is new construction, and claims; the cost guide explains it. CalRisk Insurance Center, CA Lic. 0K97400, 713 W Duarte Rd, Suite G747, Arcadia, CA 91007. Browse other trades on insurance by trade.