Insurance for roofing contractors in California

General liability (GL) pays when your work hurts someone else or damages property that is not yours. On a roof, small slips grow into big losses, and many of them surface long after the final invoice. These are the risks an underwriter wants to hear about:

• Water getting in. A storm rolls in while the old roof is off. A step flashing gets skipped. A valley is lapped the wrong way. The owner then claims for ceilings, drywall, flooring, furniture and sometimes mold.
• Heat on the roof. Torch-applied membranes, hot asphalt and heat-welded seams can ignite the sheathing or the attic. A hot work fire can take the whole structure.
• Material coming down. A bundle of shingles slides off, a tile cracks a skylight, a hammer lands on a parked car or a person walking past.
• Falls. If a neighbor, the homeowner or another trade falls from your ladder or roof edge, that is a GL claim. If your own worker falls, workers' comp handles it.
• Leaks found later. A drip that shows up one or two winters after the job is a completed operations claim. Many roofing losses land here, so check that the policy includes it.

The kind of roofs you work on shapes the questions you get and the programs that will write you.

• Residential reroof and repair. Expect questions about tear-off, how many stories the homes have, and which materials you put down: shingle, tile, metal, foam or membrane. Many programs are comfortable with homeowner work and smaller repairs.
• Commercial and new construction. Flat roofs, torch-down, single-ply membranes and taller buildings draw more questions. GCs on these jobs nearly always want additional insured status and completed operations coverage that keeps going after you are gone.

Answer every question the way you really work. A policy written for residential work only may not respond when the loss happens on a commercial building.

Two roofing quotes can show the same limits and still pay a claim very differently. Open the exclusions and endorsements and look for:

• Hot work. Some forms exclude torch-down and hot tar outright. Others cover it only if you follow written fire-safety steps, such as a fire watch after the torch goes off.
• Height or story caps. Some policies stop at a set number of stories.
• Residential-only or no new construction. Make sure the wording fits the jobs on your calendar.
• Water and mold. A cap or exclusion on water damage or mold hits roofers harder than most trades.
• Subcontractor rules. If you sub out labor, many policies require your subs to carry their own insurance and name you as additional insured.

GL does not cover injuries to your own employees (that is workers' comp), your own tools and equipment, your trucks (commercial auto), or the cost of redoing your own faulty work. It covers damage your work causes to others. Each quote on your board lists what it includes and excludes, so you can compare them side by side.

Before anyone lets you on the roof, plan on handing over:

• A certificate of insurance (COI) showing your GL policy. It is proof the policy exists.
• Limits of $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. The limits GCs usually write into a roofing subcontract.
• Additional insured status. Showing a GC as certificate 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. A C-39 cannot skip this one, as the next section explains.

Once you are covered, CalRisk sends the certificate straight to your GC. Our certificate of insurance guide covers each item.

General information from the CSLB, not legal advice.

• Workers' comp with or without a crew. Each licensee must file either a workers' comp certificate or an exemption with CSLB. C-39 roofing is one of the classes that must carry workers' comp even with no employees, so a one-person roofing company cannot file the exemption. CalRisk quotes workers' comp online from your license number. See the workers' comp guide.
• 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. Details on the LLC insurance requirement page.
• The contract notice. Home improvement contracts must carry a commercial general liability insurance notice that says whether you have CGL, and if you do, the insurer and its phone number.
• Everyone else. For sole owners, partnerships and corporations, CSLB does not require GL by law but strongly recommends it. GCs and many homeowners require it in the contract.

1. Type your C-39 license number. We pull your business from the CSLB public record and show how many A-rated insurance companies write your classes.
2. Confirm you own the business and look over your license details.
3. Tap through about a minute of 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 come in one at a time, each with its deductible, limits and what is in and out. We text and email you the link as well.
5. Choose one and tap "Submit for approval." A licensed agent takes it from there. 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 through a licensed agent by phone. Call or text (877) 940-4313 in English or Spanish. Curious what moves the price? Read the GL cost guide, or compare other trades. CalRisk Insurance Center, CA Lic. 0K97400, 713 W Duarte Rd, Suite G747, Arcadia, CA 91007.