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General Contractor Insurance Requirements: What You Must Carry — and What to Require from Every Sub
Two separate questions GCs get wrong all the time: what insurance your own business must carry, and what you should require from the subs working under you. This guide covers both, with coverage types, typical minimums, and a practical process for collecting and verifying certificates.
General contractor insurance requirements cover two things: the coverage a GC must carry, and the minimum coverage a GC must require from every subcontractor. Most commercial projects expect a GC to hold commercial general liability (typically $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate), workers' compensation with employer's liability, commercial auto ($1M CSL), and an umbrella policy ($1M+, scaling to $5M on larger jobs). GCs should require the same core coverages from each sub — commonly $1M/$2M general liability, workers' comp, and auto — plus additional-insured and primary-and-noncontributory endorsements, then collect a certificate of insurance (COI) confirming it before the sub starts work.
In this guide
- What insurance a GC must carry
- Getting bonded as a contractor
- What to require from subcontractors
- Subcontractor insurance requirements, term by term
- Additional insured and waiver of subrogation
- Primary and noncontributory endorsement
- How minimums scale by project size and trade
- How to collect, verify, and track COIs
- FAQ
What Insurance Does a General Contractor Need to Carry?
Your prime contract with the project owner will specify what coverage you must carry. Before you bid, read that section carefully — the minimums there define your floor. What follows are the commercial standards that most owners, lenders, and bonding companies expect to see.
Commercial General Liability (CGL) — What General Liability Covers for Contractors
CGL covers bodily injury and property damage claims arising from your operations, completed work, and products. Most commercial owners require GCs to carry at least $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate. Larger projects — anything above $5M in contract value — commonly require $2M per occurrence. The aggregate limit resets each policy year, so confirm the policy period aligns with your project timeline.
Verify that completed operations coverage is included and extends beyond project completion — claims from finished work can surface years later. On some policies this coverage ends at project close-out.
Workers' Compensation
If you have employees, WC is required in every state. There are no exceptions based on company size once you pass the threshold — and in most states that threshold is low (often one employee). WC covers your workers' medical expenses and lost wages. Your policy will also include Employer's Liability, which covers lawsuits from injured employees that go beyond what WC pays — the standard minimum is $100K per accident / $500K policy limit / $100K per disease.
Commercial Auto Liability
Covers bodily injury and property damage from vehicles used in your operations. The standard minimum is $1M combined single limit (CSL). If your crews drive company-owned vehicles to job sites, this is non-negotiable. If workers use personal vehicles for company purposes, confirm whether your policy includes hired and non-owned auto coverage — most standard commercial auto policies do, but verify.
Umbrella / Excess Liability
Umbrella coverage sits above your CGL, auto, and employer's liability limits and responds when an underlying policy is exhausted. Most commercial contracts require a minimum of $1M umbrella. For projects above $5M in contract value, expect $5M or higher. Umbrella coverage is relatively inexpensive per million — carry more than the contract minimum if your business justifies it.
Builders Risk
Builders risk — also called course of construction insurance — covers the structure and materials while the project is under construction. On many projects the owner carries builders risk and names the GC as an additional insured. On others the GC is responsible for placing it. Confirm which party carries it in writing before mobilization — not during a claim. A gap leaves the entire project exposed to fire, weather, and vandalism losses with no coverage to respond.
Professional Liability / E&O
Standard for design-build GCs, general contractors who provide any design input, or those managing complex project programs. If a claim alleges that a design error caused the loss — not a construction accident — your CGL policy will not respond. Professional liability (errors and omissions) fills that gap. If your prime contract includes any design or coordination responsibility — even producing shop drawings or managing schedules — review it with your insurance broker before signing. A standard CGL policy will not respond to a design defect claim.
Surety Bonds — Getting Bonded as a Contractor
Bonds are separate from insurance and serve a different purpose. A license bond (also called a contractor license bond) is required by most state licensing boards as a condition of licensure — it protects the public if you violate your license obligations. A performance bond guarantees project completion; a payment bond guarantees your subs and suppliers get paid. Public projects above federal and many state thresholds require both.
To get bonded as a contractor, apply through a surety company (often through your insurance broker). The surety evaluates your financial strength, credit history, and project experience. Bond premiums are typically 1–3% of the bond amount for well-qualified contractors. Getting bonded and insured together through the same broker often simplifies the process and may improve pricing — but the two products are underwritten separately.
What Insurance Should GCs Require from Subcontractors?
Your subcontract should define the insurance requirements clearly and in writing. The table below reflects commercial standards for most projects. State-specific minimums — particularly for workers' compensation — differ; see the state guides linked at the bottom of this page.
| Coverage type | Typical minimum | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial General Liability (CGL) | $1M per occurrence $2M aggregate | Bodily injury and property damage from the sub's operations, completed work, and products |
| Workers' Compensation | Statutory limits (state-specific) | Medical expenses and lost wages for injured workers; required by state law in most states for any employer with employees |
| Employer's Liability | $100K / $500K / $100K | Employee lawsuits that exceed WC benefits; typically bundled with the WC policy |
| Commercial Auto Liability | $1M combined single limit | Bodily injury and property damage from vehicles used in the sub's work |
| Umbrella / Excess Liability | $1M–$5M (project dependent) | Coverage above CGL, auto, and employer's liability limits; more critical for high-hazard trades |
Workers' compensation for subs with no employees
A sole proprietor with no employees may not be required by their state to carry WC. Some states allow officers or members of small LLCs to file exemptions. The problem: exemptions expire, get revoked, or stop applying the moment the sub hires a worker. You signed off on a COI with no WC because the sub claimed an exemption. Three weeks later he has a helper on-site — you never knew he hired anyone. That helper is injured on your job. The exemption doesn't cover a worker hired after it was filed, and your insurer gets that call. Require subs to carry WC regardless of exemption status, or at minimum verify any claimed exemption directly with the state at the time of onboarding and before each project.
For a deeper look at building a repeatable process around this, see how to track subcontractor insurance and compliance.
Subcontractor Insurance Requirements, Term by Term
The limits are the easy part of a sub’s certificate. Most rejected certificates fail on a term instead: an endorsement that isn’t there, a box that doesn’t mean what it seems to, or a requirement the certificate can’t show at all. Each row is one decision you make when approving a certificate, with a full guide behind it.
| Term | What it decides | Where to look | Full guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate holder | Who receives the certificate. It gives you the document, not coverage | The bottom-left Certificate Holder box | Who is the certificate holder? |
| Endorsements | What every term below is made of: the form that changes the policy | Behind the certificate; the ADDL INSD and SUBR WVD boxes only claim one exists | What is an insurance endorsement? |
| Additional insured | Whether you can claim on the sub’s policy at all | The ADDL INSD column and Description of Operations; the proof is the endorsement | Certificate holder vs additional insured |
| CG 20 10 and CG 20 37 | Whether you’re covered while the work is under way, after it’s finished, or both | Named in Description of Operations; the endorsement pages show which | CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37 |
| CG 20 26 | Whether you’re covered when you’re named with no project or location attached, as owners, landlords and property managers often are | Named in Description of Operations; the endorsement’s schedule must carry your exact name | CG 20 26 additional insured |
| Blanket additional insured | Whether a form that names no one covers you, and the owner above you | Description of Operations says “where required by written contract”; the proof is the endorsement plus your signed subcontract | Blanket additional insured |
| Primary and noncontributory | Whose policy pays first, and whether yours has to share the loss | No checkbox: Description of Operations wording, backed by the endorsement (often CG 20 01) | Primary and noncontributory |
| Waiver of subrogation | Whether the sub’s insurer can come after you once it has paid a claim | The SUBR WVD column, backed by the endorsement on each policy | Waiver of subrogation |
| Notice of cancellation | Whether you hear about it when the insurer cancels a sub’s policy | The Cancellation box defers to the policy; only an endorsement that names you gives you notice | Notice of cancellation |
| Umbrella or excess | How much limit sits above the sub’s other policies, and whether your terms carry up to it | The UMBRELLA LIAB / EXCESS LIAB row; it can’t show which policies it sits over | Umbrella vs excess liability |
| Employer’s liability | Whether the lawsuit a sub’s injured worker brings against you meets the sub’s insurance | The three E.L. limits on the workers’ comp row; a stop-gap endorsement in ND, OH, WA and WY | Workers' comp vs employer's liability |
| Hold harmless | Who carries a loss under the contract; the sub’s insurance is what pays for that promise | Not on the certificate: it’s in your subcontract | Hold harmless agreements |
| No insurance at all | What lands on you when a sub has none: a claim, your GL audit, workers’ comp for their crew | No certificate, or one that ran out before the work did | Subcontractor without insurance |
| A genuine, current certificate | Whether the certificate is real and the policies are in force today | Producer, insurer, policy numbers and dates, confirmed with the agent | How to spot a fake certificate |
| Coverage you can confirm | Whether the sub is insured when there’s no certificate to trust yet | Not on the certificate: the agent, the state’s workers’ comp lookup, the license record | How to check if a contractor has insurance |
| GL premium audit | Whether an uninsured sub’s work is added to your own GL premium | A certificate covering every month you paid the sub | GL premium audits and subs |
| Workers’ comp premium audit | Whether an uninsured sub’s payroll is added to your workers’ comp premium | The workers’ comp line, for the whole policy period | Workers' comp audits and subs |
| Staying covered | Whether every sub is still covered next month, not only on the day you approved them | The policy expiration date on each row; a renewal means a new certificate | How to track subcontractor insurance |
| Every field at once | Whether to approve the certificate | Limits, dates, insureds, endorsements and the holder box | COI audit checklist |
Additional Insured and Waiver of Subrogation
These two endorsements are not optional. If your subcontracts don't require both, fix your template before you put another sub to work.
Additional insured endorsement
Require that your company — and the project owner, if specified in your prime contract — be listed as additional insured on the sub's CGL and auto policies. This means you can make a claim directly against the sub's policy if their work causes a loss, without filing against your own coverage first. Being the certificate holder is not the same thing; see certificate holder vs additional insured.
Ask for coverage after the work is finished, too. The ongoing-operations endorsement ends when the job does, and many construction claims arrive later; CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37 explains the pair most subcontracts require.
Always require additional insured status on a primary and non-contributory basis. "Primary" means the sub's policy responds first. "Non-contributory" means the sub's insurer cannot demand your own policy share in the claim. Without both, the two insurers can dispute who pays what — while you wait.
Waiver of subrogation
After a sub's insurer pays a claim, the insurer has the legal right to pursue whoever was at fault to recover its payment — a process called subrogation. Without a waiver, the sub's insurer can file a subrogation claim against you even if you're named as additional insured on the GL policy. They're two separate protections. The waiver of subrogation guide covers the CG 24 04, CA 04 44 and WC 00 03 13, and blanket versus scheduled waivers.
Require waivers of subrogation on the sub's CGL and Workers' Compensation policies in your favor. On WC policies specifically, this is sometimes called a waiver of subrogation endorsement or "WOS" — confirm it's present on the certificate for both lines.
Notice of cancellation
The ACORD 25 promises no notice period. Its Cancellation box says notice “will be delivered in accordance with the policy provisions”, and a standard policy owes notice only to the sub. Even a CG 02 24 endorsement only gives the sub more days. To be told yourself, require an endorsement that names you, and make the sub obligated in the subcontract to notify you in writing of any cancellation, non-renewal or reduction in coverage (the notice of cancellation guide covers what that endorsement must say).
Primary and Noncontributory Endorsement
The additional insured endorsement alone is not enough. Without a primary and noncontributory (P&NC) designation, you have weaker protection than the COI suggests (the primary and noncontributory guide covers the CG 20 01 and how to verify it). Here's what each term means and why both matter:
Primary
The sub's policy responds first to a covered claim — before your own insurance is called upon. Without "primary," the two insurers may dispute which policy goes first, delaying coverage and potentially pulling in your own policy on a claim that was the sub's fault.
Noncontributory
The sub's insurer cannot require your policy to share in the payment. Without "noncontributory," both insurers may contribute to the loss proportionally — reducing your recovery and slowing settlement while the two insurers negotiate allocation.
A COI that shows you as additional insured but lacks the P&NC designation is materially weaker than one that includes it. Both terms must appear in the Description of Operations box — not just a checkmark in the Additional Insured column.
Contributory vs. noncontributory — what happens without it
When a sub's policy is contributory (the default without the endorsement), their insurer can argue that your policy must share in any payout. You're named as additional insured — but you're still on the hook for a portion of a loss caused entirely by someone else's work. Non-contributory means the sub's insurer pays in full, without pulling in your policy.
Primary and noncontributory vs. waiver of subrogation
These address different problems and you need both:
- P&NC determines which insurer pays first and whether your policy must contribute. It protects you at the claim-payment stage.
- Waiver of subrogation prevents the sub's insurer from suing you after it pays the claim. Without it, you can be named as additional insured, benefit from the P&NC endorsement — and still get sued by the sub's insurer for recovery after the fact.
What to do if a sub won't provide P&NC
Some subs' policies don't include the P&NC endorsement as a standard feature — it may require a separate endorsement from their insurer. This is not uncommon, especially for smaller subs. The steps:
- Have the sub contact their broker. P&NC is typically a request-driven endorsement, not automatically included — but it is standard on most commercial GL policies and shouldn't be a problem to add.
- Give a hard deadline: before work starts. P&NC is a contract requirement, not a preference — treat it the same way you'd treat a missing WC certificate.
- If the insurer truly won't add it, assess the risk separately and document the decision in writing.
How Minimums Scale by Project Size and Trade Type
For high-hazard trade packages — roofing, demolition, structural steel, excavation — the COI is not enough. Request the declarations page. Some policies exclude these operations outright or apply sublimits that won't appear on the certificate. The table below gives CGL and umbrella floors by project scenario; your prime contract limits define your floor.
| Scenario | Suggested CGL minimum | Suggested umbrella | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential remodel / small commercial (under $1M) | $1M / $2M | Not always required | Verify WC regardless of project size; residential exposure is still real |
| Mid-size commercial ($1M–$10M contract value) | $1M / $2M | $1M–$2M | Umbrella often required by owner; flow it to your subs |
| Large commercial / mixed-use ($10M+) | $2M / $4M | $5M+ | Confirm per-project vs. blanket aggregate with sub's insurer |
| High-hazard trades — roofing, demolition, structural steel, excavation | $2M / $4M | $5M+ | Request policy declarations page; some policies exclude or sublimit these operations |
| Low-hazard specialty trades — painting, flooring, finish carpentry | $1M / $2M | $1M (project dependent) | Still require WC and additional insured; low hazard does not mean no exposure |
State minimum differences
There is no federal statutory minimum for private construction subcontracts. State law governs WC requirements; everything else is set by your contract. For state-specific rules, see:
- Texas subcontractor insurance requirements — Texas is a non-subscriber WC state; the rules are unlike any other
- Florida subcontractor insurance requirements — Florida requires WC for all construction employers with one or more employees
- California subcontractor insurance requirements — California has strict contractor licensing and insurance enforcement via CSLB
How to Collect, Verify, and Track Subcontractor COIs
Collecting a COI once at onboarding is the minimum. It is not a compliance program. A COI collected in January is stale by December. A sub's policy can be cancelled mid-project with no automatic notification to you.
Before a sub starts work
- Collect a current COI. Verify that all policy expiration dates are in the future and that the policy periods cover the expected duration of the subcontract. The COI audit checklist lists the eight things to check.
- Confirm your company is named as additional insured and that the certificate includes the waiver of subrogation. If either is missing, return the certificate and request a corrected one from the issuing agent — not the sub.
- For subs claiming WC exemptions, verify the exemption is active directly with the state. Do not accept the sub's word. Exemptions expire and can be revoked.
- Verify the sub's contractor license separately. A COI says nothing about license status. A sub can hold a clean COI and a suspended license simultaneously — and you carry the risk for work performed under a bad license.
During the project
- Track every expiration date. A COI collected at project kickoff will expire during a multi-year project. Set renewal reminders at 60 days and 30 days before expiration — not on the day it lapses.
- For subs whose policy renewal falls mid-project, require the new COI before the old one expires. There should be no gap in coverage on an active job site.
- If a sub's insurance is cancelled mid-project, stop work until replacement coverage is confirmed. A sub working without valid insurance after a cancellation is an uncovered exposure on your project.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- AI reads every certificate. Policy types, limits, policy numbers and each expiration date come off the PDF, so the dates you are tracking are not ones somebody retyped.
- Endorsement parsing reads additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary & non-contributory wording off the endorsement pages — not just the ADDL INSD box on the certificate. Pro
- Subs upload their own. A one-time link works from a phone with no account, so a corrected certificate comes back the same day rather than after three emails.
- Per-deadline alerts at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, to your team and to the sub, so a mid-project renewal lands before the old policy lapses. Starter and above
- Licences are re-checked daily against the state board, because a clean COI and a suspended licence can coexist and only one of them expires on a date.
Verification: what the COI does not tell you
A COI is a summary document issued by the sub's insurance agent. It is not a guarantee. The limits shown may have been reduced by prior claims. The policy may have been cancelled after the certificate was issued. Two things to do that the certificate cannot do for you:
- Call the issuing agent listed on the certificate to confirm coverage is active and the limits are accurate. Do this for new subs, any sub on a high-value package, and any certificate showing the signs of a fake certificate of insurance.
- Verify the contractor's license separately. Use our license verification tool to check status in Texas, Florida, California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Connecticut, Arkansas, Virginia, and Ohio. A clean COI and a suspended license can coexist, and the certificate will never tell you.
COI tracking software runs these checks for every sub at once. Use magic-link vendor self-service to have subs upload their own certificates without creating an account. Automated alerts notify you before any COI expires, and per-project compliance views show you which subs are covered for each active job site at a glance.
Put these requirements to work
Track the certificates by hand, or let the requirements enforce themselves.
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The COI tracking spreadsheet
A pre-formatted .xlsx with columns for coverage limits, licence numbers, expiration dates and W-9 status, plus an Instructions tab. Tell us where to send it — no account to create.
COIs expire, licences get suspended
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Frequently Asked Questions
What insurance does a general contractor need to carry?
What insurance should a general contractor require from subcontractors?
What does "additional insured" mean on a subcontractor's COI?
What is a waiver of subrogation and why does it matter?
Do general contractors need to carry workers' compensation insurance?
How much insurance does a general contractor need?
Does general liability insurance cover independent contractors?
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