Constructing the ideal insurance coverage
Injury or damage on the job site — or at your shop.
Contractor general liability covers claims of bodily injury or property damage caused on site or to visitors on your premises. It is often mandatory to bid public work, and project owners in the western suburbs will ask for it on the certificate.
Tap a point on the scene to learn more
The base contractor policy is the printed form. An endorsement is a taped-on change — adding coverage, taking it away, or renaming who is insured. Optional coverages ride along with the policy. Separate policies sit beside it.
Form names and availability vary by carrier. This is a map of add-ons we commonly shop in Illinois — not a promise that every company offers every item.
Base policy
Contractor policy
Hover an add-on to read it, then click to pin it here — a review list for your next conversation with an advisor.
Send this list to an advisor →We’ll open the contact form for this coverage so an advisor can help you decide which add-ons belong on the policy.
Contractor insurance is not one-size-fits-all. A specialized policy allows you to easily customize and simplify your insurance coverage to ensure that your business' unique needs are protected.
Most contractor contracts ask for general liability, workers compensation, a certificate of insurance, and often additional insured or waiver of subrogation wording.
A specialty contractor insurance policy is an easy way to cover multiple risks without having to settle for a one-size-fits-all policy that wastes money on coverage you do not need. There are a variety of options available depending on what type of contracting work your business does. From general contractors to HVAC technicians, plumbers, carpenters, electricians, painters, and the like, specialized contractor insurance can ensure your business has the right level of coverage.
A good policy includes general liability that covers you against claims of damage or injury caused on site or to visitors on your own premises. Such costs can be immense and general liability insurance is often mandatory if you want to bid for government contracts.
You should also make sure that you protect your stock, machinery, and equipment against damage or loss from fire, theft, flooding, and other risks, both on-site and off-site. Just as importantly, you need to have insurance coverage against loss of income if you are unable to carry out work because your equipment is damaged.
Remember also to get workers' compensation insurance, which is usually mandatory and protects employees against lost income and medical bills resulting from workplace injuries. You might be worried that the costs of a workers' compensation policy will be high given the inherent risks of construction work, but many insurers will offer discounts if you follow safety programs.
If you need any help choosing the right contractor insurance policy, Reach out to our team when you are ready to review options.
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The same contractor policy add-ons from the explorer above, listed out. Form names and availability vary by carrier.
Endorsement
Keeps the owner/GC on the policy after you leave the site.
Completed-ops additional insured (often CG 20 37) is the one contractors forget and GCs never forget. A leak two years later still names everyone. Ongoing-ops AI alone does not do this job.
Endorsement
Covers the GC or owner while you are still on the job.
CG 20 10-style ongoing operations additional insured is what most bid packets mean by “AI.” The certificate is not the endorsement. Blanket additional insured helps when every GC uses a different legal name. Wording still has to match the contract.
Endorsement
Tools, trailers, and gear that move from job to job.
A BOP or GL form is not a tool policy. Inland marine (contractors equipment) covers scheduled or blanket tools, including theft from a truck — with warranties about locking and overnight storage. Jobsite theft in Cook County is why we write it.
Learn more →Endorsement
Employees’ own tools stolen or damaged on the job.
Crews bring their own saws and meters. Employee-tools coverage is a small inland-marine style limit. It is goodwill and retention as much as risk transfer. It does not replace the employee’s homeowners policy for tools at home.
Endorsement
Rented vans and employees in personal trucks on company time.
Sending a carpenter to Menards in a personal pickup is non-owned auto. Renting a cube van for a weekend is hired auto. Neither is on the GL form. A real work fleet belongs on commercial auto.
Endorsement
Materials and fixtures you are installing until the job is accepted.
Cabinets, windows, or HVAC units sitting in a house you do not own yet are not “your building.” An installation floater covers that property during transit and installation. Builders risk is a different form when you are the project’s property coverage.
Endorsement
The machine you rented that the rental house requires you to insure.
Rental contracts shift damage to you. A rented-equipment endorsement (or an inland marine schedule) is how you avoid buying the rental house’s expensive waiver blindly. Check the daily rental value against the limit.
Endorsement
A fresh general aggregate for each job instead of one shared pot.
A busy remodeler can burn a single general aggregate across jobs. Per-project (or per-location) aggregate gives each job its own cap. GCs like seeing it on the certificate. It is an endorsement, not a higher occurrence limit.
Endorsement
Your policy pays first; the GC’s policy does not share.
Primary and noncontributory wording is a contract staple in Chicagoland construction. Without the endorsement, “additional insured” may still contribute beside the GC’s policy. Bid documents usually require both AI and P&NC.
Endorsement
Some contractor forms restrict tract homes or condos — or can buy them back.
Carriers love to limit new residential, condo, or apartment work. If that is your book, we either endorse the limitation off or move the account. A surprise residential exclusion after you bid a townhome job is an expensive way to learn the form.
Endorsement
Limited liability if you fly a drone on the job.
Roof inspections and marketing shots are drone exposures. Some packages offer a small unmanned-aircraft endorsement; larger operations need a dedicated aviation conversation. FAA rules are not insurance.
Endorsement
Your workers comp or GL carrier will not chase the other party.
Waivers of subrogation appear on both general liability and workers compensation. A missing WC waiver can hold up a job even when GL looks perfect. We issue both when the exhibit asks for both.
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