Insurance for painting contractors in California

Painting can feel like a low-risk trade right up until the first claim. Many painting losses are damage to someone else's belongings, and the bills add up quickly.

• Overspray. Spray mist rides the wind onto cars in the driveway, windows, a boat, the neighbor's siding or a whole parking lot. One gusty afternoon on an exterior can mean a row of cars to clean or refinish.
• Spills and stains. A pail tips over on oak floors, new carpet, a stone countertop or upholstered furniture.
• Ladders and scaffolding. A ladder slides into a window, staging tips into a fence or onto a passerby, someone trips over a drop cloth.
• Lead in older homes. Scraping or sanding old paint can spread lead dust through a house. Lead claims are serious, and many policies handle them very differently from other claims.
• Fire. Rags soaked in oil-based stains and finishes can heat up and ignite on their own if they are not stored safely.
• After the job. A coating that peels, bleeds or fails and damages something else is a completed operations claim.

The quote asks what kind of painting you do, and each answer brings different risks.

• Interior. Claims are mostly spills and damage to floors, furniture and fixtures. In an occupied home you are working around the owner's belongings all day.
• Exterior. Spraying, ladders, scaffolds and height raise the stakes. Spraying on a windy day or next to parked cars is the textbook exterior claim.
• Commercial and multi-unit. Apartments, offices and new buildings usually mean larger crews, lifts, and GCs who want additional insured status and completed operations coverage.

If you also do drywall patching, pressure washing, waterproofing or epoxy floors, say so. A policy written for interior painting alone may not cover work outside that description.

• Lead. Lead-related claims are excluded on many GL policies. If you work on older homes, ask about it before you choose, and follow the lead-safe work practices that apply to your jobs.
• Spray application. Some policies limit or exclude overspray damage, especially on exterior work.
• Height and scaffolds. Some forms cap how high you can work.
• Interior-only or residential-only. Check that the policy fits the jobs you take.
• Pollution wording. Paint, thinners and strippers can fall under a pollution exclusion. See how each quote treats them.
• Subcontractor rules. Subbing out work? Many policies require those subs to carry their own insurance.

GL does not cover injuries to your own employees (workers' comp), your own sprayers, ladders and tools, your vans (commercial auto), or the cost of repainting your own poor work. What it does pay for is damage you cause to other people. Each quote on your board lists what is included and excluded.

• A certificate of insurance (COI) showing your GL policy. Property managers often want it on file before they hand over keys.
• Limits of $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. The limits GCs and property managers usually ask for.
• Additional insured status. Putting someone on the certificate as holder does not make them 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 a copy of 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 explains 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-33 painter with no employees can file the exemption. Under current law that ends: workers' comp for every licensee is scheduled to start January 1, 2028. Read the workers' comp 2028 guide. CalRisk quotes workers' comp online from your license number.
• The $25,000 license bond. Every licensee carries it, and 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. A home improvement contract must say whether you carry commercial general liability insurance, and name the insurer and its phone number if you do.
• Small jobs without a license. Starting January 1, 2025, work without a license is allowed only when the job is under $1,000 in labor and materials, needs no permit, and uses no hired help. See the $1,000 limit guide.

For licenses that are not LLCs, CSLB does not require GL by law but strongly recommends it. GCs and many homeowners require it in the contract.

1. Type your C-33 license number. We look up your business in CSLB's public record and show how many A-rated insurance companies write your classes.
2. Confirm you are the owner and check your license details.
3. Answer roughly a minute of tap-to-answer questions: homes or businesses, new construction, sales, payroll, subs, crew size, years in business, past claims and your current insurance.
4. Your quote board searches A-rated programs in real time. Prices land one at a time, each showing the deductible, limits, and what is in and out. We also text and email you the link.
5. Pick one and tap "Submit for approval." A licensed agent handles it. Approval usually takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the insurance company, and the final quote is emailed to you to sign.

Coverage is not bound until you sign. Commercial auto, umbrella and CSLB bonds are quoted by a licensed agent by phone. Call or text (877) 940-4313 in English or Spanish. Read the GL cost guide or compare other trades. CalRisk Insurance Center, CA Lic. 0K97400, 713 W Duarte Rd, Suite G747, Arcadia, CA 91007.