Self-employed electricians and large electrical contracting companies literally power the world. Without them, we would have no lights at night, no refrigeration for our food, no air-conditioning in the hot summer, no heat in the cold winter, and none of the other creature comforts that we’ve come to love.
If you own your own electrical business (meaning you don’t work as an hourly employee for another company), then you need to have electrical business insurance. In today’s post, we’re going to take an in-depth look at electrician insurance and electrical company insurance, why you need it, what type of coverage you need, and how much will business insurance for electricians cost you! Let's deep-dive!
Also read: Electrical Engineer Insurance: Cost & Quotes From $11
Electricity is not something to take lightly. One small error can result in a fire, devastating financial loss, and even death. That being said, general liability insurance policy for electricians and electrical companies is a vital aspect of your business that should not be overlooked.
Electrician liability insurance covers everything from simple accidents (like accidentally breaking the light in a client’s home) to worst-case scenarios (like electrical fires or someone getting electrocuted as a result of your business negligence). Without proper coverage, you could be held both personally and commercially liable for any or all damage caused by your business.
There are different kinds of liability insurance for electricians. However, the most common ones offered in electrician insurance are:
General liability
Professional liability
While working, you might injure someone or damage property. If this happens, the concerned person can file a claim. In connection, general liability insurance will shoulder costs you’ll have to pay.
In practice, general liability insurance provides money so that you can pay legal fees and settlement to personal injury claims and property damage claims. Some situations where this policy becomes useful are:
You were working on a damaged circuit breaker. All of a sudden, the circuit breaker burst in flames. After the fire subsided, you discovered that the client’s interior paint got damaged. The client found out about this and requested you pay the cost needed to reverse the damage done
You were working in a commercial building with a corded drill. A stranger walked by and tripped on the cord sustaining some minor injuries. The stranger then asked you to pay for his pain and suffering
General liability insurance can be added with products and completed operations coverage. Having products and completed operations might be advantageous. With it, you can cover legal fees and settlements if a client files a claim sometime after you finished a project.
So how much can you get from general liability insurance? The amount of money you can get is $1 million - $2 million
Mistakes can happen at work sometimes, and if clients experience losses because of this, then trust that they’ll file a claim against you.
Get professional liability insurance. This one covers costs if you committed mistakes due to negligence or committed a violation of good faith or inaccurate advice. Just like general liability, professional liability insurance gives you $1 million - $2 million.
Professional liability insurance doesn’t cover personal injuries or property damage. What it does is help you reimburse clients if your error resulted in the client paying costs to reverse the damages incurred.
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The most common and basic insurance type to have for electrical contractors is electrical contractor liability insurance policy. It is essentially general liability insurance for electrical contractors. This policy is designed to protect you and your company from being “liable” for damages that are incurred while on the job. For example, if a light fixture falls on a client’s head and shatters, then your insurance company will pay for the client’s medical bills and repair the property damage by replacing their light fixture.
Typically, contractors purchase liability coverage in increments of $1 million. This means that you’re covered for up to $1 million worth of property and personal damage. As a result, smaller contractors may only need a minimum $1-2 million policy, while larger contractors may want to consider purchasing up to $10 million worth of coverage.
So, just how much does electrical contractor liability insurance cost? The average general liability insurance policy for electrical contractors and contracting businesses cost $50 a month or $600 a year.
If you own a larger commercial contracting business and employ several other electricians, then you’ll need to get your hands "dirty " and find an electrical contractors insurance company, since as a larger company, there’s a higher degree of risk that your business is taking on.
On any given day, you could have multiple employees completing a number of different electrical jobs around town. All it takes is for one of them to make a mistake, hurt someone, or damage someone’s property. These are just a few examples of what could go wrong. Running a business comes with many risks and it’s your responsibility as a business owner to make sure that you’re prepared for the worst.
Electrical contractors insurance covers your business by providing a safety net between your company and your clients. If a third-party individual gets hurt or a client’s property is damaged, your electrical contractor liability insurance coverage can cover the costs of medical bills and repairs. Conversely, if one of your employees is hurt on the job, your worker’s comp coverage can pay for their medical bills and compensate them for their time lost at work.
Workers comp and general liability insurance aren’t the only types of protection for your electrical service business. You’ll also need employer’s liability insurance, commercial fleet insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance.
Employees have needs and want. For example, most want timely wages and a safe work environment. If you fail to provide any of the two, then employees might file a claim and require compensation.
Employer’s liability insurance will help sort things out if employees file a claim against you. With this insurance policy, you can pay for attorney fees, other legal costs, and settlements. Typically, employer’s liability insurance is bundled together with workers compensation insurance. However, you can also find carriers offering it as stand-alone coverage.
As an electrical contractor, does your business own vehicles that employees can use to go to different project sites and carry work equipment? If so, consider getting commercial fleet insurance.
So what is commercial fleet insurance? Commercial fleet insurance is a modified type of commercial auto insurance. Its function is still the same, that is to shoulder costs if business vehicles caused an accident, got damaged, or needed towing services. However, unlike commercial auto insurance which can only insure one vehicle, commercial fleet insurance insures 2 - 10 vehicles. And so, it’s very practical because there’s no need to purchase multiple commercial auto insurance policies. Not to mention, it’s cheaper too.
The primary function of commercial property insurance is to cover your building. In practice, this policy helps you reconstruct or repair a building that was damaged or totaled by fire, vandalism, theft, and other named perils.
You protect electrical service equipment inside the building by adding equipment coverage to commercial property insurance. In case your business equipment got damaged or lost because of fire, theft, vandalism, and other named perils, equipment coverage shoulders repair or replacement costs.
Business might get interrupted for some reason. But even so, this doesn’t excuse you from paying bills, loans, and employee wages.
Business interruption insurance is a helpful insurance policy. If you have this, the insurance company will provide money equal to a portion of or the full amount of your business’s annual revenue. You can then use the insurance money to pay employees, loans, taxes, and other operational costs.
Depending on which state your business is in, you might need to get a specific amount of coverage before bidding for a project. For example, if you’re an electrical contractor in New York, you’ll need to purchase a general liability coverage having $1 million per occurrence limit.
Another thing, aside from insurance, you might need to get a surety bond too. A surety bond protects your clients. This ensures that the client can receive some money if ever you failed to finish the project or completed the project poorly.
As for other insurance policies we discussed above, they’re not really a requirement. However, it’s best if you get them too before accepting a project. By having comprehensive protection, you can provide services with more confidence which in turn brings the desired results.
Below, you’ll find a table outlining some of the average rates offered by the leading insurance companies on the market for larger electrical contracting businesses. The rates below are reflective of each carrier's $1 million general liability coverage. Keep in mind that these are just average rates obtained by surveying business owners across the country. Your own rates may differ considerably, depending on the factors discussed above and on our business insurance main page .
Insurance Company | Average Monthly Rate | Average Annual Rate |
---|---|---|
Nationwide | $169 | $2,025 |
Travelers | $189 | $2,260 |
State Farm | $176 | $2,108 |
Geico | $195 | $2,344 |
USAA | $166 | $1,985 |
Liberty Mutual | $187 | $2,236 |
How much you’ll pay for your electrical contractor insurance depends heavily on the amount of coverage you need, how many employees you have, the type of jobs you do (and the risk associated with them), and if you have any business assets that need to be insured. The more employees and assets that need to be covered, the higher your insurance premiums will be.
Another key factor in your overall electrical contractor insurance cost is if you’ve made previous insurance claims. If your contracting company has a good record and no major claims have been made over the past few years, then your rates will almost certainly be cheaper than if you recently made claims for an accident. This is why it always pays to follow safety regulations!
So how do you make premiums cheaper? Our first tip is for you to have a high deductible. By having a high deductible, your rates won’t become very expensive even if you decide to get hefty policy limits.
The second tip, ask for business experience discounts. Note that most carriers reduce the business insurance premiums of customers running a business that’s more than three or five years old.
Perhaps you just work for yourself and do small freelance jobs around your neighborhood. If so, you’re probably thinking, “ Do I really need self-employed electrician insurance? ”
Even the safest, most skilled self-employed electricians should at least have a general liability insurance policy for electricians. Electricity, by nature, can be unpredictable. No matter how safe you think you’re being, you can never fully account for what could go wrong.
Since workers comp only works if there are employees, consider getting loss of income coverage. You’ll find this insurance handy as a self-employed electrician. Loss of income coverage gives you an allowance if you can’t work due to a work-related injury or disease.
But understand that loss of income coverage isn’t as comprehensive as workers compensation insurance. This is because the coverage won’t provide reimbursements for medical costs and after-hospital visits if you incurred injuries and need to stop working to heal.
Of course, don’t forget to insure your work equipment through a stand-alone equipment coverage. With equipment coverage ready and waiting, you can always repair or replace work tools that got damaged onsite or offsite.
Once you’ve gained the experience, skills and training required to work independently without supervision, yet before becoming a licensed master electrician, you’ll officially be a journeyman electrician. Once you’re a journeyman, then you’ll be able to work on any electrical system without direct supervision from a master.
As a journeyman, you’ll also be able to start your own LLC or sole proprietorship and start working for yourself as a self employed journeyman electrician. Before you go off and start completing jobs on your own, though, it’s critical to purchase journeyman electrician insurance to protect your fledgling business!
Journeyman electrician insurance will cover you from any mishaps involving running your own business.
Journeyman electrician insurance cost should be between $30 to $50 per month or $360 to $600 annually.
On electrical contractors liability insurance cost section, we discussed insurance policies for larger electrical contractors. What if you’re just a small electrical business or a self-employed electrician, though? In this case, you likely won’t need the same amount of coverage. For example, if you don’t have employees, then you wouldn’t need to pay extra for a comprehensive worker’s comp coverage plan.
Now that you know a little bit more about how electrician liability insurance works, you’re probably wondering how the pricing differs from the electrical contractors’ insurance discussed earlier. Since there isn’t as much risk involved on your end and you do not need to cover much, you’ll find that rates are more affordable. Here’s a table outlining some of the most popular electrician insurance providers and the average premium prices to expect.
| Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for |
---|---|---|---|
CoverWalle t | $18 | $216 | Electrician insurance online quotes comparison |
Thimble | $20 | $240 | Short-term electrician insurance |
NEXT | $29 | $348 | Electrician insurance with instant COI given to you upon getting insured |
Hiscox | $37.50 | $450 | Electrician insurance with comprehensive tools and equipment coverage |
State Farm | $46 | $552 | Electrician insurance that can be endorsed with umbrella liability coverage |
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Below are the best companies for electrician and electrical contractor insurance. Note that these companies also offer coverage for journeyman electricians and self-employed electricians. Read the reviews below to know the pros, cons, and the pricing for a $1 million general liability coverage of each company featured.
Get insured and pay premiums online
Free certificate of insurance
A partner of reputable insurance carriers
Not an insurance company but a broker selling the quotes of its partners
CoverWallet offers the electrician insurance quotes of its partners to electricians and electrical contractors. Insurance products the company sells are underwritten by reputable carriers such as Hiscox, Chubb, Berkshire Hathaway Guard, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual.
Policies included in CoverWallet’s electrician insurance are general liability and professional liability insurance. However, there’s also a packaged plan that offers general liability insurance with workers compensation and professional liability insurance.
CoverWallet streamlines the whole insurance process for you. Through its website, you can get quotes from different companies and get covered instantly. And then there’s the MyCoverWallet app where you can pay for insurance online, get a certificate of insurance, and remove or add policies as you see fit.
Best for: Electrician insurance online quotes comparison
Average cost: $18 per month
Our rating: 10/10
No hidden fees and cancellation charges
Cheap short-term electrician insurance
Get proof of insurance online
Thimble doesn’t offer equipment coverage in its electrician insurance
Thimble allows you to get electrician insurance having general liability coverage with a limit of $1 million or $2 million. This insurance company helps you get covered instantly online - no questions asked. All you have to do is choose the coverage, provide some details about your business, decide on a payment scheme, and you’re insured.
If you want more than general liability coverage, Thimble also offers commercial auto insurance and business equipment insurance, which you can avail through an endorsement.
Note that Thimble allows you to only get covered for hours, days, weeks, or months. Choose this company if you’re just working as a part-time electrician.
Best for: Short-term electrician insurance
Average cost: $20 per month
Our rating : 9/10
Bundle policies and get a discount
Responsive customer support
Some customers report that NEXT’s agents were sometimes rude on the phone
If you’re looking for fast and cheap electrician insurance available in all locations of the US, then you might like NEXT. NEXT offers electrician insurance in all 49 states. Insuring yourself with this company brings perks such as instant proof of insurance upon getting covered, online payments, online claims filing, responsive customer support, and more.
Policies offered in NEXT’s electrician insurance are general liability with tools and equipment coverage, commercial property insurance, and workers compensation insurance. Decide to buy all of these coverages so that you get a 10% discount.
Best for: Electrician insurance with instant COI given to you upon getting insured
Average cost: $29 per month
Our rating: $8/10
Experienced insurer
Tools and equipment coverage can cover cheap and expensive work tools
Generous limits for customers in good standing
Has numerous dispute resolution channels
Some customers reported that Hiscox was slow in processing claims
Hiscox’s electrician insurance offers general liability, professional liability, and tools and equipment coverages. The company takes pride in its 100 years of experience underwriting insurance policies for large and small businesses. In the United States, Hiscox might be the only carrier allowing electricians to get more than $2 million policy limits, provided that they're in good standing.
Best for: Electrician insurance with comprehensive tools and equipment coverage
Average cost: $37.50 per month
Our rating: 7/10
Electrician insurance can be endorsed with umbrella liability
Covers onsite and offsite damage to work equipment
The customer needs to contact a State Farm agent to purchase a policy
State Farm covers electricians specializing in residential projects, commercial projects, or both. Policies included in State Farm’s electrician insurance are general liability with products and completed operations and commercial property.
If you want more protection, then the company also offers mobile equipment insurance, which covers damage to your work tools incurred while working or taking a break. In case you want coverage for rented equipment, then State Farm can take care of that too.
Note that the company offers umbrella liability insurance and surety bonds. Umbrella liability insurance will help you satisfy the terms of a contract. On the other hand, you might need a surety bond if you’re working in a location where electricians are required to get a license before accepting gigs.
Best for: Electrician insurance which can be endorsed with umbrella liability coverage
Average cost: $46 per month
Our rating: 5/10
John Murphy Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Worst insurance comapny I have ever dealt with. A commercial vehicle represented by GUARD t boned my wife and daughters family vehicle in the middle of the day. Driver was cited and insurance claim insued. Fast forward 4 months and refusal of full amount of claim is still happening. Driver was found guilty, repairs started on my vehicle and when it comes to the final bill and diminished value we cannot get any help. I am out a family car, have an injured and traumatized wife and children, and now have to get legal and BBB involved for a company to do the RIGHT thing. Scott Lewis, Kevin Ware, Heather White, and Ryan P, lied about communcation on my claim, demonstrated Bias by overpromising and under delivering . They refused to pay the full amount owed and have associates untrained in vehicle condition assessment and reconditioning. Also, not one GUARD insurance representative has contacted my wife (the injured party) in 4 months to follow up on medical treatment. STAY AWAY IF YOU ARE SHOPPING INSURANCE!
Kasey Arey Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
This company gives you a price that was in place for a year and when you have to use it there is fine print were they can go back and charge you more. Would not recommend them to any one. Crooks
Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Had general liability and workers comp with amguard. Paid high premiums and yet still got audited every year and had to pay more. Was able to prove less risk the first two audits and disputed price down but none the less had to pay more just so I could renew coverage. Third time the audit ( based on what I paid my premium on ) was ridiculous and tried to prove that there was no increase in risk from what I paid for my premium. However they would not believe it and required I paid full audit amount in order to have redline removed. Basically you do what they say and pay whatever outlandish bill they come up with or they will make sure you can’t run your business anymore. ????
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
Avoid these SCAM ARTISTS! They don’t pay claims!!! Save yourself the trouble and money!
Felicia Broadus Insuranker
Policy Type: Business Insurance
Company name: Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies
They are the worst, my truck was hit in January 23 and the claim adjuster has not been out to this very day! They have every excuse in the book as to why. They have not been to the collision shop. PLEASE AVOID THESE SCAM ARTIST!