Minnesota is on the right track to grow its construction industry by 9% by 2025, according to an employment and economic development report by Minnesota. You must have the right insurance policy as a general contractor in Minnesota. This article will examine which policies, limits, and coverages you need for a suitable Minnesota contractor insurance policy.
You must follow specific requirements to operate as a contractor for Minnesota. The state sets out several requirements for insurance policies. See these requirements below.
Workers' compensation policies must be active to protect employees. You will also have to purchase an employer's practice liability policy that covers $100,000 of bodily injury and $100,000 of bodily injury by accident. Also, the policy must have a minimum aggregate limit of $500,000.
Whether you are working as a contractor for the state or not, you must have a workers' compensation policy. This policy protects your workers. There is no minimum requirement to be considered an employee in Minnesota.
This means you must provide coverage even if you only have one part-time employee. Be sure to plan for construction projects and contracts you need by factoring in Minnesota’s workers' compensation insurance requirements.
Your auto liability coverage must have a minimum coverage of $2 million per occurrence and cover owned, non-owned, and hired automobiles. Your policy must cover bodily injury and property damage.
You must have a $2 million general liability policy per occurrence and a $2 million annual aggregate. This policy must cover bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, products, and completed operations.
Your professional liability policy must have $2 million per claim and $2 million in annual aggregate coverage. Deductibles for these policies must be at most $50,000, although the state can approve higher deductibles on a case-by-case basis. Contractors will need to maintain these policies for at least three years following the completion of work.
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $300,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $300,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
| Products and completed operations aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Advertising injury coverage aggregate limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Tenant’s legal liability coverage limit | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $5,000 | $100,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No | Included | Excluded | No |
| Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage included? | Yes | No | Excluded | Excluded | Can be included |
| Equipment breakdown floater included? | No | Yes | Yes | Excluded | Can be included |
| Can you get a certificate of insurance online? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Your Minnesota contractor insurance policy must have general liability insurance. This policy protects your business against third-party liability claims and court costs. Typically, this coverage will protect against property damage and bodily injury claims.
Here are some situations where general liability insurance can help:
Someone wanders onto a contracting job site and injures their knee
One of your employees causes damage to someone's property during business operations
Common add-ons to general liability insurance are:
Tools and equipment insurance: Tools and equipment insurance can be added to a general liability policy so that it covers repair or replacement in case equipment gets damaged or lost due to fire, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils
Hired and non-owned auto: This lets you cover accidents caused by vehicles your business does not own, like employee-owned vehicles, borrowed vehicles, and leased vehicles
Your contractor insurance Minnesota will typically have a coverage limit between $1 million and $2 million for general liability.
If applying online, most insurers can get you a quote for a policy within just a few minutes of your time. After you get a quote and purchase a policy, you can get a certificate of insurance within a few days. However, some insurers allow you to obtain certificates of insurance nearly instantly, which can help when you need to satisfy insurance requirements in a pinch.
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
| CoverWallet (Best) | NEXT | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $10,000/$25,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $250,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $20,000/$50,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $250,000/$2,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Minnesota contractors will utilize professional indemnity coverage to protect themselves against the costs of professional mistakes and oversights. It will help you pay the costs to defend yourself in court from claims incurred from such mistakes.
You can use professional indemnity insurance in these situations:
You fail to deliver promised services to customers who sue you for financial loss
An error you committed results in financial losses for the client
A client files a lawsuit and cites you provided inaccurate advice
A client accuses you of committing breach of contract
Common add-ons to professional indemnity insurance are:
Excess liability: Helps extend the coverage limits of your existing professional indemnity policy.
Extended reporting: This add-on will give you extra time to file claims for your policy beyond the policy's duration.
Professional indemnity insurance will have coverage limits of $1 million or more for Minnesota contractors.
Yes. Professional indemnity insurance and errors and omissions insurance are two names for the same policy. Different industries will commonly use one name over another name for this policy. For example, the medical industry often uses the term malpractice insurance.
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | The Hartford | Hiscox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $340,000 | $25,000/$500,000 | $35,000 | $25,000 |
| Contents coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $35,000 | $25,000/$500,000 | $35,000 | $15,000 |
| Outdoor signs | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded | Included |
| Accounts receivable | Excluded | Excluded | $5,000/$10,000 | Excluded | Included |
| Money and securities | Excluded | $2,500 | $1,000 | Excluded | Included |
| Lock and keys | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded | Included |
| Business interruption floater | Excluded | Included | Included | Excluded | Included |
| Equipment breakdown floater | Excluded | Included | Excluded | Excluded | Included |
| Inland marine insurance floater | Excluded | Excluded | $10,000 | Excluded | Excluded |
| Employee dishonesty floater | Excluded | $5,000 | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded |
Commercial property insurance protects business property and the business building you utilize in your contracting business. This policy will cover physical events like fires, weather, theft, and vandalism.
Commercial property insurance can help in these situations:
Your business building gets damaged from the smoke of a fire
Someone breaks into your commercial building and some personal business property
A sinkhole collapse happens and causes major damages to your business property
A drone crashes and breaks the window of the commercial building you own
Here are some common add-ons to commercial property insurance:
Equipment breakdown: Protects equipment used in your commercial building when it experiences mechanical failure, electronic failure, or motor burnout
Flood insurance: Flooding is often excluded from commercial property insurance. Getting flood insurance lets you cover business property in cases of water damage resulting from floods
The average small business will have a commercial property insurance limit of around $60,000.
Extra expense coverage will help your business with additional expenses you may incur while it has been damaged and needs to be repaired. This policy can help you with the cost of relocating to a temporary office and moving supplies and equipment off your property.
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | The Hartford | Hiscox | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General liability aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $300,000/$2,000,000 |
| Commercial property coverage limit | $50,000 | $320,000 | $25,000/$500,000 | $35,000 | $75,000 |
| Optional policies can be added? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name additional insureds for free? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BOP discount? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A business owner's policy combines protections that include general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance. You will get many types of valuable insurance protection from this one policy.
A business owner’s policy can help in the following situations:
Your business experiences a damaging lightning storm that you need to recover from.
A vandal sprays graffiti on your contracting business building's walls.
Someone slips and falls in your office.
You have to suspend business operations to make way for building renovation
Common add-ons to a business owner’s policy are:
Employee dishonesty: This add-on projects your business in cases of illicit employee actions causing you financial loss.
Commercial auto: Some insurers allow you to add commercial auto coverage into a BOP that will protect business vehicles.
Your Minnesota business owner’s policy coverage will be around $1 million to $2 million for general liability insurance and $50,000 for commercial property coverage.
A business owner’s policy does not cover everything. Property damage from natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes will not be included in the coverage. You will also need a separate policy for worker injuries called workers compensation.
| NEXT | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggregate limit | $3,000/$10,000 | $2,500/$5,000 | $15,000/$25,000 | $5,000-$10,000 |
| Covers hired and borrowed equipment? | $3,000/$10,000 | $2,500/$5,000 | No | Yes |
| Miscellaneous equipment also covered? | $5,000/$10,000 | No | Yes | Yes |
| Offered as an endorsement to general liability insurance? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deductible | $500 | $500 | $0 | $0 |
A tools and equipment insurance policy will protect the critical equipment you use in your business while traveling to job sites and performing business operations. You can purchase this policy as an add-on to general liability or commercial property insurance.
Here are some situations where tools and equipment insurance can help:
One of your power drills gets damaged while repairing a client’s property.
Someone steals a ladder you brought with you to a job.
Tools and equipment insurance may offer these as endorsements for more comprehensive protection:
Equipment breakdown: Covers other physical damage to your tools, like electric shorts, power outages, and motor breakdowns.
Rental protection: This allows you to cover the tools or equipment you rent for your contracting business.
Your tools and equipment insurance coverage limit is typically between $5,000 and $20,000. Your policy will help you repair or replace damaged tools or equipment within those limits.
You will get coverage under this insurance policy if you lose contractor tools. This policy will also cover tools and equipment that get stolen and vandalized.
| NEXT | The Hartford | CoverWallet | Hiscox | Thimble | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto liability aggregate limit (minimum) | $25,000/$15,000/$25,000 | $100,000/$300,000 CSL | $15,000/$20,000/$25,000 | $25,000/15,000/$25,000 | $20,000/$25,000/$15,000 |
| Rental reimbursement coverage aggregate limit | $1,500 | $900 | Excluded | $500 | $1,000 |
| Trailers can be added to commercial auto insurance? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Roadside assistance coverage included | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Safe driving discounts included? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A commercial auto insurance policy protects business vehicles from perils on and off the road. Typically, coverage will include components like:
Auto liability: This protects your business from liability claims and court fees caused by your business vehicles' activities.
Collision: Covers physical damage to your contractor vehicles from road collisions.
Comprehensive: This protection will cover physical damage from other forms except for road collisions.
Commercial auto insurance can help when these happen:
While driving to a job site, your business vehicle collides with another vehicle on the road.
Another driver scratches your car and drives away.
You can increase the protection of commercial auto insurance through these endorsements:
Gap coverage: This helps you cover financed vehicles when you owe more on your loan than you will get for the value of the damage done to it.
Rental reimbursement: This add-on will help you pay for rental vehicles you might use if one of your business vehicles is damaged and in the repair shop.
Minnesota drivers must have a certain level of liability coverage for their vehicles. Below is a chart where these limits are specified:
| Bodily injury liability per person | Bodily injury liability per accident | Property damage liability | Personal injury protection |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $60,000 | $10,000 | $40,000 |
Yes. Collision coverage will help you with damage incidents from collisions on the road. You may qualify for coverage if you get into a single-car accident by hitting a guardrail, a curb, a mailbox, or a fence post.
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000/$5,000,000 | $1,000,000/$5,000,000 | $1,000,000/$5,000,000 | $1,000,000$10,000,000 | $1,000,000/$10,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $300,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
An excess liability policy will enhance an existing insurance policy with additional coverage limits. This allows you to fortify your insurance protection if you have exhausted it. You purchase this policy in increments of $1 million.
Excess liability insurance can help in these situations:
Your general liability policy needs to be increased to meet the needs of a contract you are bidding for
One of your liability policies needs more coverage to meet the needs of an expensive lawsuit
Excess liability insurance can offer coverage limits of $1 million to $25 million or more, depending on the insurer and insurance policy.
Yes. Excess liability allows you to respond to situations where a commercial auto policy has been exhausted. By purchasing an excess liability policy, you can help get coverage for unexpected costs that rise above your coverage level. For example, if you had to undergo an expensive medical procedure after a car accident, you would likely want an excess liability policy to cover it.
Workers' compensation insurance is a protection required for Minnesota businesses because it benefits injured employees. Suppose one of your contracting business workers is sick or injured during business operations. The policy will cover lost income replacement and medical treatments in that case.
Here are some situations where you can use workers' compensation insurance:
One of your workers becomes disabled due to a fall sustained while doing their job.
An employee develops a chronic leg condition from working that limits what activities they can perform at their job.
The government of Minnesota employs the Special Compensation Fund Unit to investigate employers that are not providing workers comp coverage that meets state requirements. Their investigation may result in civil penalty actions for these employers.
Minnesota contractor insurance is $28 per month or $336 per year for a $1 million general liability policy. Variables like your business history, insurance history, policy limits, any deductibles, and payroll size will influence the cost of Minnesota contractor's insurance. Here’s a table showing the cost of a $1 million general liability insurance from the best companies:
| Company | Cost per Month | Cost per Year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEXT | $13 | $156 | Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance |
| CoverWallet | $24 | $288 | Minnesota contractor insurance online quotes comparison |
| The Hartford | $26 | $312 | Longstanding insurance experience for contractors |
| Tivly | $31 | $372 | Comparing Minnesota contractor insurance quotes over the phone |
| Thimble | $33 | $396 | Short-term contractor coverage |
| Hiscox | $39 | $468 | Contractor insurance with worldwide coverage |
Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!
This next section of the article reviews our recommended options for your Minnesota contractors insurance. Read some of the reviews below to know their pros, cons, and average rate for a $1 million general liability policy.
Best overall
Get an online proof of insurance and send it as a text message, email, or social media post
Fastest general liability insurance
Great customer service and reputation
Issues an online proof of insurance instantly
Outstanding value for money
Bundle two or more insurance policies and get a 10% discount
Couldn’t find any
NEXT offers excellent insurance options for Minnesota contractors at a competitive rate. They have the best overall options for contractors and are highly rated as an insurer. NEXT has an A- rating with AM Best. This rate means it has strong financial backing. It also has a B+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Best for: Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance
Average cost: $13 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Has a local agent network
Serves over one million small businesses
A mobile app makes tracking your policies simple
Car insurance calculator
Lacks the same amount of exciting discounts as some other options
The Hartford is an insurance provider with an A- rating from AM Best. They have written excellent insurance for over 200 years, and it shows. They have a 4.8 rating in their customer reviews and wrote $11 billion in premiums in 2022 for their customers.
Best for: Longstanding insurance experience for contractors
Average cost: $26 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Offers general liability insurance that will include HNOA coverage
Online platform for comparing insurance
Shop without commitment.
Not an insurance company but an insurance broker
CoverWallet offers many insurance options for Minnesota contractor insurance buyers. You can access their online resources to learn about the essential types of coverage you will need to succeed while comparing insurance from their 10+ partners.
Best for: Minnesota contractor insurance online quotes comparison
Average cost: $24 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Connects you with the right insurers and policies
Allows you to compare insurance quotes over the phone
A vast network of insurance partners to choose from.
You need to talk to a representative to compare quotes
Tivly has a supreme offering of insurance partners to choose from. You can select from 200 partners offering unique insurance perks. Tivly will help match you with policies and insurers so you can handle the number of choices. The company has 20 years of experience as a tech insurance company. The Better Business Bureau gave Tivly an A rating. Call now and talk with a representative to compare quotes over the phone.
Best for: Comparing Minnesota contractor insurance quotes over the phone
Average cost: $31 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Sells customizable durations for their policies
Online resources for first-time contractor insurance buyers
Finely tune the duration of your insurance policy
None that apply
Thimble is one of the best choices for contractor insurance that you need to get up and running quickly. They let you customize your policy terms to the hour your policy will last. You can get competitive rates for contractor insurance policies like workers comp, business equipment, and general liability insurance.
Best for: Short-term contractor coverage
Average cost: $33 per month
Our rating: 10/10
Agents have a passion for providing insurance services
Customers report claim responses are quick
24/7 options for customer care
Some policy coverage has fewer options
Hiscox is an AM Best A-rated insure specializing in providing comprehensive policies for their customers. They have 100 years of insurance experience and serve over 500,000 customers. Hiscox offers worldwide coverage, and its customers are small business owners.
Best for: Contractor insurance with worldwide coverage
Average cost: $39 per month
Our rating: 10/10
1 / 5
Use anyone except Employers. Period. They are non-transparent and shameful. After I complained long enough to warrant a call from a supervisor, the supervisor called back from a PRIVATE NUMBER (no caller ID), left a message that they are not reversing their decision (without any communication with me), and failed to leave a phone number for me to call back. She was hiding! They also fact find via email and phone calls, which is terrific for speed and communication. However, after setting a precedence of email or phone calls, they send time sensitive information via email, without any heads up... they are hoping you miss it and forfeit via expiration. Evil policies. Go elsewhere.
1 / 5
This place is an absolute joke of a company and should be ashamed of the way they conduct business. I was hurt on the job at the end of July and it took them just shy of 7 weeks to issue out a paycheck to me. Yes the amount was back dated but still. Not many have the luxury of not receiving a paycheck for almost 2 months. To top it all off, the original adjuster marked me down for the wrong state which caused a problem from the get go, I've had 3 different adjusters now since each one can't seem to figure out the simplicity of my claim. All my paperwork which includes, my job, house, and drs visits all are from the same state and city but yet some how I have been filed under a completely different state 1500 miles away. They do not answer your phone calls or emails no matter how many you leave. I've had to escalate my frustrations to the supervisors of each of these individuals in order to even get some kind of response. I've had more communication and information given to me about my claim from the customer service representatives then the actual adjusters.......... please tell me how that works?! A serious overhaul needs to happen here in order to serve your clients the way they deserve to be taken care of. 10/10 do not recommend this company to a single soul on earth
1 / 5
I have never had the displeasure of working with a more incompetent and disrespectful person in my life. I’m an injured worker and the adjuster that was assigned to my case was named Carrie Furgeson. In the past 6 weeks that I’ve been injured and out of work I have only been able to get ahold of her twice, not for lack of trying. I have left countless voicemails, countless emails, and she ignores them all. When I am finally able to get ahold of her I’m greeted with terrible customer service. She is rude, she talks over me and I’m hardly able to get a word in edgewise. She spelled my name wrong on my documents even after I spelled it for her properly countless times, this caused a whole new issue with my bank. I have bill collectors from the hospital calling me demanding payment and Carrie Furgeson won’t do a single thing to help, or to get them paid. All of my documentation is in Colorado, my job is in Colorado, my address is in Colorado, all my Dr offices and appointments have been in Colorado and Carrie still managed to hold my claim because she wasn’t sure what state she needed to file it under. It’s been 6 weeks since my Injury and my company still hasn’t received the wage paperwork to fill out so they can get me my correct wages. When she’s not ignoring me she’s answering my questions with “I don’t know” well I don’t know how she got this job, because apparently she doesn’t know anything about it. She is a disgusting morose individual inside and out and I genuinely wish her the worst in all of her future endeavors. I highly recommend you don’t use this company. Please if you are a business owner and your looking into this company please don’t use them. I’m sure they have the cheapest payment and that’s why companies use them in the first place, but you will be doing your employees a grave disservice by forcing them to venture into this absolute dumpster fire of a company. I would rate 0/5 if possible but 1 was the lowest I was allowed.
5 / 5
Their general liability insurance purchase process is simply the best online experience I've ever had in my life!
5 / 5
As long as they cover your line of business, you're literally covered! best rates, best coverage, best online experience, best professionals, can't be happier that I chose them!
Not all those who wander are lost.
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