Contractor Business Insurance - Introduction

As a contractor, you are always planning and making sure your projects go off without a problem. Having the the right business insurance for contractors can help complement your preparedness, giving you peace of mind and financial backing in case things go wrong. From fire to workplace accidents to unreasonable clients, you never know what and when an unfortunate event may happen. With a comprehensive contractor business insurance plan in place, you can rest assured that your contracting business and its employees, as well as your customers, will be protected in the face of unexpected financial costs and challenging times.

What is contractor insurance? Why do you need it? Why is it a necessity for you and your business? What are the different options available for contractor liability insurance? How to find cheap contractor insurance companies and the best contractor Insurance companies?  This article will address all your related questions and concerns in regards to these matters and more. If you happen to have a query that we missed, do not hesitate to contact us and we will add it to the page! 

Read more: Cheap Business Insurance

What is Contractor Insurance? 

Being a contractor may allow you to have more control over your schedule and set your own terms as a business owner that set contracts to deliver certain work, service or supply. A contractor's insurance policy protects your contracting business from any liability that may occur due to the nature of this business operation type. There are different types of risks, damages and injuries that may occur while operating a business as contractors. By having a good contractor insurance policy, you protect your business from commercial risks that involve the nature of your contracting business operation, such as: 

• Customer property damage
• Third party lawsuits
• Medical expenses due to bodily injury
• Personal/advertising injuries
• Business related accidents 
• And many other kinds of damage that may occur while operating your contractor business

There are also different types of contractors. Those require different types of contractor insurance policies, for example, independent contractor insurance and general contractor insurance. And so, you have the ability to choose and customize your contractors insurance plan to make sure it covers risks that are associated with your specific business activities and operation. If something unexpected happens, the contractor pays the deductible set in the policy and the business insurance company covers the associated expenses and damages.

Contractor Insurance coverage may cover client's property damage and third-party injury/damage claims, two of the most common types of risks associated with this type of business.

Do I Need Contractor Insurance?  

Yes, if you have or operate a business as a contractor then yes. Operating a contractor business may be very risky and demanding, depending on your specific type of activity. But any contractor business may have specific risks associated with the nature of this business, from client lawsuits to property damage and third party damages, no matter what industry it is. Contractor insurance is important to have in order to cover such unexpected (or expected) risks and potential expenses, which may become very high if your business is not covered and you have to cover it from your own pocket... This is why every contracting business owner will be smart to have a good contractor liability insurance and by that protect the business and its employees against any possible accidents, injuries or damages that may happen and are involved with this type of business operation.

Contractor Liability Insurance: General Liability Insurance for Contractors

Contractor liability insurance is essentially a tailored general liability insurance for contractors and protection from the specific risks that this type of business involves, including any possible lawsuits or damages made during the contracting period. If someone gets injured due to your contracted work or service, or if some property damage occurs during the contracting period, general liability insurance for contractors covers medical bills or the cost of damages and repairs. The average general liability insurance cost for contractors is $40 per month, or $480 per year. 

Some of the benefits of having contractors liability insurance are:

• It protects your business against customer injuries and property damage
• It assists in covering costs and damages if a lawsuit has been filed
• It serves as a financial safety net, giving you financial security, knowing that your business assets, interests and employees are protected
• It can be used to cover the cost of witness fees, attorney fees, court expenses, and more
• It will protect your business as a whole, as well as individual claims against it

General liability insurance for general and independent contractors also provides liability coverage related to:

• Libel and slander

• Products-completed operations

Cheap General Liability Insurance for Contractors

* Costs may vary depending on the size of your business, its sector, location and other factors.

Read more: Commercial General Liability Insurance

Contractor Insurance Cost

While general contractor insurance cost may start from as little $21 per month or $252 per year for general liability insurance only, which is also the cheapest contractor insurance you'll find, the cost of contractor insurance varies and depends on: 

• How much coverage you actually want for your business
• Number of employees
• Industry
• Years in business
• Products
• The value of your commercial property replacement or renovation
• Locations
• Coverage limits and deductibles
• And more

General Liability Insurance Cost for Contractors

While contractor liability insurance cost may start from $21 a month, or $252 per year, depending on the factors listed above, the average general liability insurance cost is $67 per month, or $800 a year.

Independent Contractor Insurance Cost

• The average general liability insurance cost for independent contractors is $30 per month or $350 a year 

• The average cost of BOP (business owner's policy) for independent contractors that combines both general liability and commercial property insurance is $40 per month, or $470 per year. Depending on your specific business, such BOP insurance cost may start from as low as $21 per month, or $252 per year

• The average professional liability insurance cost for independent contractors is $55 per month, or $650 per year. It is also familiar as Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance

• Cyber liability insurance cost for independent contractors is $125 per month or $1,500 per year

• The costs always vary from business to business and depend on the many different factors that are listed above as well as the value of your property, equipment, inventory, etc.

General Liability for roofing contractors insurance 

Now let's inspect the things covered for roofing contractors insurance or roofers insurance. 

• Body injury: Protects you if a person gets physically injured at your place of construction, or if you or a worker who's accountable for damage to a civilian at a job site. 

• Personal injury: It covers any damage to the reputation or rights of an employee or business, and it includes matters like slander, copyright violation, defamation, security, unjustified apprehend or expulsion.

• Advertising injury: Covers any declaration of loss by your customers due to a product or service you advertised

• Medical payments: Covers the medical expenses of a person who got injured on your property regardless of fault; this can work as a "goodwill" gesture to avoid a lawsuit.

• Independent contractor liability insurance: Covers any damage caused by an independent contractor that you hired.

Contractors Pollution Liability Insurance

Contractors Pollution Liability insurance is an insurance coverage that directly addresses environmental pollution incidents that occur as an effect of your contracting business operation. It is provided on an incident-basis and covers bodily injury, property damage, cleaning and defense costs that are due to environmental pollution situations that are due to your contracting business operation. While most of the people think of coal and oil as environmental hazards, there are plenty of other substances out there that can be at-risk. Here are some of them: 

• Jobsite pollution liability

• Fungis, Molds, Legionella

• Natural damage on facilities or resources

• Transport methods

• First party emergency remediation or cleanup costs

• Disposal locations that are non-owned

• Secured pollution liability for the first-party

• Unforeseen and fortuitous coverage for person’s owned, rented, leased areas.

Contractors Professional Liability Insurance

Contractors Professional Liability (CPL) insurance protects contractors from mistakes made during the design and engineering period and is especially useful when projects have many professionals involved in different aspects of the project. CPL may be used to protect contractors from errors made by third-party vendors affiliated with a project, as well as other losses/damages related to repairs. Larger contractors who offer numerous in-house services, such as home design, can expose themselves to more risks during the job, and CPL insurance is also designed to protect these large firms. For fresh projects without any current structure insurance might not be accessible; however builders are allowed to take away risk insurance in such circumstances.

Contractors Equipment Insurance

Contractors’ equipment insurance covers specific equipment and tools owned by the contracting business or are in possession of a contractor. It covers tools, inventory and equipment, like mobile equipment that a contractor carries from one location to another. Other covered types of equipment include but are not limited to:

• Heavy equipment & earthmoving equipment insurance, etc. 
• It also protects the business equipment from damages caused by fire, theft, vandalism, and flood, among others.

Workers Compensation for Contractors

Workers compensation for independent contractors and general contractors protects your employees if they become sick or injured in a work-related incident, and can give out lost wages if they cannot continue working. Depending on the situation and the number of employees you have, you may or may not be needed to buy workers comp for contractors.

Although it's usually used for an employer-employee relationships, it can also be applied to independent contractors. Self employed workers comp insurance can protect workers from work related injuries or illnesses.

Artisan Contractor Insurance

How to find the best contractor insurance companies for you

When you choose a contractor insurance company, be it independent contractor insurance company or a general contractor insurance company, you want to be sure that the company has good reviews and reputation. You'll be surprised when you can find results when you google "contractors insurance near me" and "general contractor insurance near me." Choose a company that assists and supports you whenever you have any questions or problems. You want it to be accessible when you visit the local contractor insurance company's office in person to get your issues resolved without depending on their online support, which some companies lack in reliability. So, the first thing you should do is make a list of contractor insurance companies near you. This way, you can find the cheapest contractor insurance companies. List out insurance agents and brokers nearby, check their online reputation, and when you see someone legit which is within decent reach, set a meeting and head over to their office in your area/city and avail your preferred contractor insurance plan.

BEST CONTRACTOR INSURANCE COMPANIES

Best General Contractor Insurance Companies

If you are searching for the best insurance for contractors with the ideal general contractor insurance cost, then we would have to compare insurance quotes first. Since there are several variables involved in contractors insurance coverage, it is essential to find an insurance company who knows the kind of the business you operate. 

For example, a company dealing in ships of large machinery might not be the ideal option for a lawyer. Luckily, you can find a range of options to arrive at the right decisions in your company by comparing prices, policy deals and much more.

Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company

The contractors bonding and the insurance company is a company that is capable of handling demands that usual companies don't respond too quickly. It's an A+ rated carrier that operates small to medium-sized businesses. This company has been running this kind of services since 1979. The CBIC is a company that specializes in surety bonds and niche property and casualty insurance products, in which you can assure the assistance that is provided.

Hiscox Contractors Insurance: 4.5/5

As an HVAC contractor, you are needed when a heater or air conditioner gets broken, but no matter how good you are in your line of work, you can never predict what accident might happen during the job operation. The hiscox contractors insurance offers hvac contractors insurance for those in need. It will help if you are a construction business owner or a self-employed/general contractor who is looking for an insurance plan that can aid you in the future. It offers different coverage and premium plan fit for people who are in the Construction field. Furthermore, It molds the insurance provider into the particular hazards you encounter like medical expenses of a consumer as a consequence of body injuries or property claims culminating in data loss.. Hiscox also provides small company insurance for a wide variety of firms, including the most popular coverage provider for the construction, innovation, advisory, and marketing sectors.

Pros. One of the benefits of this company is that insurance could be bought directly or if you prefer, by a broker or agent. They sell a wide variety of insurance products, like construction/contractor insurance, BOP and more insurance benefit deals, without any extra payment for insurance documentation. In contrast with the other major insurers, Hiscox is much more straightforward in price and claims system.

Cons. Not all the insurance policy can be bought online, and Hiscox is one of them. Hiscox partnered together with CoverHound and a few other markets for a variety of goods to include an online offer so that full support is not accessible on the online platform of Hiscox. There is also No online claims management, and professional liability is not available in Alaska.

Ideal Clients. Contractors who seek extensive coverage which is tailored in their field are the perfect applicants for Hiscox insurance.

Costs. Hiscox contractor insurance cost is around $480 to $780 per year.

Rating. 4.5/5

Read more: Hiscox Insurance

The Hartford Contractor Insurance: 4.5/5

The Hartford is based in Connecticut and has over 200 years of experience when it comes to insurance. In the 1980s, they were one of the first insurance companies to offer a small business insurance centre. Today, they insure over one million small business owners. With an AM Best financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) and top customer satisfaction ratings over several of their insurance lines, The Hartford have a  long-live reputation of being a responsible insurer in the United States.2 They offer insurance plans and coverage in most states, excluding New Jersey, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Pros. The Hartford is known to be the world's most flexible contractor insurance, and the claims can be made twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Hartford also provides incentives and benefits for the employees; thus, they earn good ratings.

Cons. The Coverage is not available or offered in New Jersey, Hawaii, or Alaska. You are also not able to purchase a policy online—You must speak directly to an agent. 

Ideal Clients. The Hartford offers excellent contractors insurance and business owners policy coverage choices to many types of independent professionals. Some examples include Plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters, and repair contractors.

Costs. The Hartford contractor insurance cost is around $72 per month.

Rating. 4.5/5

Read more: The Hartford Insurance

GEICO Contractor Insurance: 4.5/5

Searching for insurance companies for contractors or construction business owners is not that challenging anymore since we could find several choices on the internet. The geico contractors insurance is among the most common contractor insurance providers. 

Pros. Its clients praise the provider for its variety of choices and how easy and fast they could get a quotation. It is also known that written correspondence is often emailed so that your premiums, plan and other details could be quickly and easily tracked. Complaints against this company are lower than expected, considering its company size. It is ideal for contractors/construction business owners that do not understand what policies perform the strongest for their benefit.

Cons. Numerous reports concentrate on a particular subject, namely the limited network of local agents and some coverage types available only through partners.

Ideal Clients.  is an excellent choice for contractors and construction business owners. Micro-business holders who would like to purchase online for contractor insurance, but need tailored advice before they pledge to the plan. You'll have multiple options to evaluate and contrast various insurance plans after viewing their website.

Costs: GEICO contractors insurance cost is approximately $750 per year.

Rating: 4.5/5

Read more: GEICO Insurance

Next Insurance's Contractors Insurance: 4.5/5

You may also get a contractor insurance quote/plan through Next Insurance. In the business insurance industry, Next Insurance's contractors insurance is becoming more and more popular. They are one of the leading property and casualty insurers in the U.S., providing different kinds of business insurance policies that are tailored to the specific profession and type of business. You may acquire a customized plan for you as an employee or for your construction business. Next is an excellent choice for small businesses.

Pros. Next insurance provides a wide variety of business insurance services and plans tailored to your type of business and occupation. It is very affordable, and you can pay monthly with no hidden charges or extra cost. If you are no longer interested subscribing to their package, you can Instantly cancel anytime with no further/hidden charges. Their program is also tailored around your needs, and you can get the exact coverage you need. They offer discounts as well and are quite helpful for start-ups. Online experience is great.

Cons. One of the main complaints of clients is customer service. If you are dealing with an issue or a problem with your contractor insurance plan it sometimes would take days before your concern is addressed and their products are not available in all states and Coverage availability may vary by state.

Ideal Clients. Next Insurance is a perfect alternative for contractors or construction business owners that prefer to purchase and manage their business insurance online. 

Costs. Next Insurance General Contractors Insurance Cost start at $29 per month for professionals like electricians and landscapers and up to $133 per month for roofers contractors liability insurance, as they tend to be of a higher risk by nature.

Rating. 4.5/5

Read more: Next Insurance

Choosing Your Contractors Insurance Company

When choosing a contractors insurance company, we want to make sure that the one we choose is legitimate, reliable and delivers good quality service and sufficient coverage for your needs. There are different factors to consider when selecting a contractors insurance which may be but not limited to:

Company history/reputation: do a background check on the contractors insurance companies you’re interested in to know how their quality of work is. By visiting their websites, you may learn:

• How long they’ve been in business;

• In which states they sell their products;

• Their mission, vision, and values;

• Company leadership;

• Community involvement;

• Types of products they sell; and

• Financial strength.

Coverage: Choose a contractors insurance company that gives a suitable range of coverage options for your personal or business needs.

Its Contractors Insurance Cost: While price should be a consideration when comparing contractors insurance quotes, it shouldn’t be the only consideration. Think about the old saying, “You get what you pay for.” While that's not always true, there are lot of grounds on which the costs vary among contractors insurance companies. Cheap contractor insurance quotes may result in having poor coverage that is insufficient for your business needs. The less broad the contractor insurance coverage is, the less your construction business is protected.

Ease of use: Learn about how you can interact with the contractors insurance company. Interactions may include:

• Online bill payments

• Online claim filing

• 24/7 customer service

• Social media platforms

• Policy management

• Policy changes

• Billing questions
  

You surely want to protect your business assets and interests. Fortunately, we took the time to evaluate and figure out the best contractors insurance companies that offer cheap general liability insurance for contractors while giving out quality and reliable service and excellent coverage. Stated below are some of the companies that stood out. Nevertheless, we do highly recommend you to compare contractors liability insurance quotes online through this page's quotes comparison tool, to make sure you get the cheapest contractors insurance quotes from the most reliable companies that will give your business sufficient coverage to protect you when you actually need it.