Contractor Insurance

What Is Contractor Liability Insurance?

Contractor liability insurance can help protect your small business when something unexpected occurs. This includes protection for your business’ assets and employees.

Contractor liability coverage offers you peace of mind, knowing you have coverage when your business faces a lawsuit or covered loss. This means it’s important to understand the best types of insurance coverage for contractors. The right coverage ensures you can protect your business and your employees.

Who Needs Contractor Insurance?

What Kind of Insurance Does a Contractor Need?

Most contracting businesses have a Business Owner's Policy (BOP). They have this because it helps protect them in the same way a homeowner’s policy helps protect your home and personal possessions.

By combining three basic coverages, a BOP can help save you money while safeguarding what you’ve worked hard to build. These coverages include:

General liability insurance helps protect your contracting business from lawsuits resulting from injuries or property damage. For example, say a customer is injured at your workplace. General liability insurance can help cover the costs associated with bodily injury claims. This coverage also helps cover claims of slander and libel. Business liability insurance does not cover liabilities resulting out of the professional services you may provide. For claims of errors or omissions in the services you provide, you’d need professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions coverage.
Commercial property insurance to help protect the place where you do business and the things you use to conduct business. This can include tools and equipment and it doesn’t matter if they’re owned or leased.
Business income insurance, which helps cover the loss of income when you can’t run your business because of covered property damage.

To learn more about our Business Owner's Policy or other contracting business insurance coverages, get a quote today.

Find out more about other real estate and related professions we insure:

We Won’t Make You Wait

Once you have the coverage you need, you can get proof of coverage online with a certificate of insurance. Many clients and customers require this before they work with you.

How Much Is Liability Insurance for Contractors?

General liability insurance is crucial to protect your business, but there’s not one set price. On average, small businesses pay $67 a month for general liability coverage.**

To learn more about the cost of your contractor liability insurance, get a quote today.

Protecting Your Property as a Contractor

Whether you need paint brushes, ladders or a forklift, having the right equipment is important for your job. That’s why we offer insurance coverage that can help repair or replace equipment that’s been damaged by fire, theft or other covered events.

Only 22% of stolen equipment is recovered.¹

Stolen Equipment

“We put all of our tools back in our storage shed after using them. One morning when I went to load my truck, I noticed the lock to the shed was broken. Turns out someone cut it and stole a bunch of our tools during the night.”

Contractors equipment insurance can help cover property damage or missing contracting equipment. It can help pay for losses from theft.

Car Accident

“My employees know it’s important to be on time for jobs. As one of our workers was rushing to his next appointment, he rear-ended another car in our company van.”

Commercial auto insurance can help cover costs of an auto accident if you or your employees are at fault while driving for work.

Taking Care of Your Team

From lifting heavy items to climbing up ladders, your workers face risks every day. To help make sure they’re protected, you want the right business insurance coverages.

2.4 million workers received emergency treatment for a work-related injury in 2019.²

Employee Injury

“We were doing a painting job when one of my employees fell off the ladder. He broke his arm and needed time off to recover.”

Workers’ compensation insurance can help provide benefits to employees with a work-related injury or illness, helping pay for their medical care.

Employee Mistake

“We installed new electrical outlets throughout a client’s home. After about a week, a small fire started in one of them. We had to remove them and replace all the outlets.”

Contractor’s Broadening can help cover unexpected or unintended property damage because of work that you performed.

Covering Your Contractor Operations

Building your business took hard work. Getting the right small business insurance can help make sure it’s protected.

Fire damage claims cost an average of $35,000 and impact 10% of small businesses.³

Fire Damage

“I keep all the tools for my contracting business in a building that I rent. One night, I received a call that the place caught fire. My tools were pretty badly damaged.”

Commercial property insurance can help cover the owned or rented property you use to operate, like your tools or inventory.

Client Lawsuit

“I installed updated plumbing in one of my client’s homes. The threads on the adjoining pieces were slightly off, causing a leak behind the wall. The wall had to be torn down so I could reach the leaky pipe and fix it.”

Get help paying for unexpected or unintended property damage from work that you performed with Contractor's Broadening.

Contractors Insurance That Has Your Back

We’re proud to provide personalized contractor insurance to help protect your small business.

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For Larger Firms

Larger contractors typically require specialized insurance coverage.

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Last Updated: November 15, 2023

** Premium amounts presented are based on monthly premium paid by The Hartford's Small Business customers between 1/1/22 and 9/14/23 for 12-month policies. Premium is derived from a number of factors specific to your business and may vary.

¹ National Insurance Crime Bureau, “2015 Theft Report.”

² Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Fast Facts.”

³ The Hartford, “The Hartford Reports: More Than 40 Percent of Small Businesses Will Experience a Claim in the Next 10 Years.”

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