Washington Subcontractor Insurance Requirements: What GCs Must Require from Subs
Coverage requirements for subcontractors on Washington job sites — and how Washington's state-run workers' comp system changes what a COI shows, how you verify coverage, and when a sub's unpaid premiums become yours.
The most common mistake: reading a Washington COI the way you'd read one from any other state. Workers' comp is a state fund here, so the certificate won't show it — and a GC who never checks the sub's L&I account can be billed for the sub's unpaid premiums.
Washington GCs typically require subs to carry $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate general liability, $1M commercial auto and an umbrella on larger jobs. Workers' compensation works differently: it is a state fund run by Labor & Industries, so it won't appear on a COI, and the state fund doesn't include employer's liability — subs cover that with a stop-gap endorsement on their GL. Verify workers' comp on L&I's own lookup; under RCW 51.12.070 a GC can be liable for a sub's unpaid premiums if it doesn't.
In this guide
Standard insurance requirements for Washington subcontractors
| Coverage | Typical minimum | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial General Liability | $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate | Bodily injury and property damage from the sub's operations and completed work |
| Stop-gap (employer's liability) | $1M each accident / disease | Employee injury suits outside the state fund; usually an endorsement on the GL policy |
| Workers' Compensation | L&I state fund account in good standing | Medical costs and lost wages for the sub's injured employees |
| Commercial Auto | $1M combined single limit | Vehicles used in the sub's operations |
| Umbrella / Excess | $1M–$5M, by project | Limits above GL, stop-gap and auto |
What Washington registration already requires
Every Washington contractor must register with L&I, and registration comes with two statutory requirements (RCW 18.27.040 and 18.27.050):
- A surety bond of $30,000 for a general contractor or $15,000 for a specialty contractor.
- Liability insurance of at least $50,000 for property damage and $100,000 per person / $200,000 per occurrence for bodily injury.
Those minimums keep a registration active; they are far below what a commercial GC should require. L&I suspends a registration whose bond or insurance lapses, so an active registration at least tells you those floors are met. For registration itself, see the Washington subcontractor license requirements.
Workers' compensation — the state fund
Washington is one of a handful of states where workers' comp is provided by a state fund, run by L&I, rather than by private insurers; only qualified self-insured employers opt out of it. That changes three things for a GC:
- The COI won't show it. A Washington sub's certificate normally lists no workers' comp carrier, because there isn't one. Don't reject it for that — verify the L&I account instead.
- Employer's liability needs its own cover. The state fund doesn't include employer's liability, so subs buy stop-gap coverage, usually as an endorsement on their GL. Ask for it by name.
- You can inherit unpaid premiums. Under RCW 51.12.070, a prime contractor can be assessed for a subcontractor's unpaid premiums unless the sub meets the statute's conditions — among them being registered and having a workers' comp account in good standing.
Sole proprietors
A sole proprietor isn't covered by the state fund for their own injuries unless they elect to be, and needs an account only if they have employees. If a one-person sub turns up with a crew, those workers need coverage — get a written statement about who will be on site.
Two-track verification. The COI answers GL, stop-gap, auto and umbrella. L&I's Verify a Contractor tool answers registration and the workers' comp account. Neither check alone is enough in Washington.
Additional insured and waiver of subrogation
- Additional insured status for your company (and the owner, where required) on the sub's GL and auto, on a primary and non-contributory basis, for ongoing and completed operations — see CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37.
- Waiver of subrogation in your favor on GL and auto. Workers' comp is the state fund, so a comp-side waiver works differently than in private-market states; focus the contract language on the policies the sub actually buys.
The endorsements on the policy are what grant these — a line in the Description of Operations box does not. Washington also restricts how far a sub can be made to indemnify a GC for the GC's own negligence in construction contracts, so have your broker or counsel review the indemnity and insurance exhibit together.
Adjusting minimums by project type
| Project type | Suggested GL | Suggested umbrella |
|---|---|---|
| Residential remodel / small commercial | $1M / $2M | Often not required |
| Mid-size commercial ($1M–$10M) | $1M / $2M | $1M–$2M |
| Large commercial / industrial ($10M+) | $2M / $4M | $5M+ |
| High-hazard trades (demolition, roofing, structural) | $2M / $4M | $5M+ |
Your prime contract sets the floor — whatever the owner requires of you flows down to your subs.
Collecting and tracking certificates of insurance
- Collect the COI before work begins and check GL, stop-gap, auto, umbrella and the endorsements.
- Check registration and the workers' comp account on L&I's lookup the same day, and keep a record of it.
- Track each policy's own expiration date.
- Re-check L&I at the start of each new project, and before paying a sub whose account you haven't looked at in a while.
How TrackMyVendor automates this
- Every certificate is read on upload — carrier, policy numbers, each coverage row’s limits and its own dates — and measured against the minimums you set.
- L&I contractor registrations are re-checked every day and shown beside the certificate, so a suspended registration is visible before the sub mobilizes.
- Per-deadline reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days go to your team and to the sub, with the upload link in the sub’s copy. Starter and above
- The endorsement pages are read too — additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory. Pro
The workers' comp premium account is confirmed on L&I's own lookup; we track the registration and the certificate.
See what AI parsing reads from a certificateCollecting COIs from Washington subs?
Everything above is a check you can run by hand. This is what it looks like when it runs itself.
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- A Monday summary of everything expired or expiring
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