New York Subcontractor Insurance Requirements: What GCs Must Require from Subs

Standard Insurance Requirements for New York Subcontractors

New York stacks more statutory coverage requirements on employers than any other state in TrackMyVendor's coverage area, and its liability environment pushes contractual limits higher. Most GCs require the following before a sub can work on a project:

Workers' Comp, Disability Benefits, and Paid Family Leave

New York requires three statutory coverages from most employers — not just one. A subcontractor with employees in New York should be able to demonstrate all three before they set foot on your site:

• Workers' compensation — mandatory for essentially every employer with employees. There is no private opt-out as in Texas.
• Disability benefits insurance (DBL) — New York requires most employers to provide statutory short-term disability coverage for off-the-job injuries and illnesses.
• Paid Family Leave — New York's Paid Family Leave program is generally funded through the DBL policy and is required for covered employees.

The Scaffold Law and Why Limits Run Higher

New York Labor Law Sections 240 and 241 — known as the "Scaffold Law" — impose absolute liability on property owners and general contractors for gravity-related injuries to construction workers, such as falls from height or being struck by a falling object. Critically, this liability can attach even when the GC did nothing negligent.

Because this exposure is unusually severe and hard to defend, New York construction insurance behaves differently from other states. GCs respond by requiring higher general liability limits, substantial umbrella coverage, and meticulous additional insured endorsements so the sub's coverage — not the GC's — responds first when an elevation-related claim arises.

Additional Insured and Waiver of Subrogation

In New York, these provisions are not housekeeping — they are the mechanism that determines whether the sub's policy absorbs a Scaffold Law claim or yours does. Both belong in every subcontract and should be reflected on the COI:

Additional insured endorsement

Require that your company (and the project owner) be named as an additional insured on the sub's CGL and auto policies, on a primary and non-contributory basis so the sub's policy responds before your own. Given the stakes in New York, request a copy of the endorsement form — a Description of Operations note alone is not the endorsement.

Waiver of subrogation

Require a waiver of subrogation on the sub's workers' compensation and general liability policies in favor of your company, so the sub's insurer cannot pursue you to recover what they paid on a claim.

Collecting and Tracking Certificates of Insurance

With more coverage lines to confirm and higher stakes per claim, New York leaves no room for an expired or incomplete COI. Collecting certificates from every sub — and keeping them current as policies renew — is where most GCs fall behind.

• Collect a complete COI before work begins — GL, auto, umbrella, workers' comp, and the NY statutory disability/PFL lines.
• Verify the COI yourself, and request the additional insured endorsement form for elevated or high-value work.
• Track expiration dates across every policy line. Set a reminder 30+ days before each COI expires.
• Store COIs and endorsement copies somewhere you can produce them quickly during an audit or a claim.

For larger rosters, use magic-link vendor onboarding to let subs upload their own certificates directly into your dashboard. Automated alerts notify you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before any COI expires, and per-project compliance views show exactly which subs are covered for each job.

License verification matters too — New York licensing is municipal, so verify with the relevant local authority. TrackMyVendor's automated license verification covers TX, FL, CA, WA, and OR today; see the New York license requirements guide for how NY licensing works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related guides and tools