CA · Contractor insurance
General liability, workers’ compensation, commercial auto and excess for California contractors, placed with carriers that actually write this state. We watch SB 291 so you do not have to — since January 2026 a workers’ comp lapse carries a five-figure minimum penalty and blocks your renewal.
California is the most time-sensitive of the five states. Since 1 January 2026, SB 291 has set minimum penalties for workers’ compensation violations and blocked license renewal or reinstatement until a valid certificate is on file with CSLB. A separate mandate extending workers’ comp to every license classification takes effect on 1 January 2028.
Sources: SB 291 (2025) bill text · SB 216 (2022) bill text · CSLB — Workers’ Compensation Requirements. Requirements change — confirm with the board before relying on a figure.
How each coverage actually works here, rather than in general.
CSLB does not make general liability a condition of the license — it licenses on a $25,000 contractor bond. In practice essentially every general contractor agreement, public works contract and prequalification in the state requires it, so the operative limit is set by whoever you are contracting with, not by the board.
General liability across all five states →The most time-sensitive of the five. Since 1 January 2026, SB 291 has set minimum penalties for workers’ compensation violations at $10,000 for a sole proprietor and $20,000 for other contractors, and bars CSLB from renewing or reinstating a license previously in violation until a current certificate of insurance or self-insurance is filed. C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39 and C-61/D-49 must carry it with or without employees today; from 1 January 2028 that extends to every classification, the only exemption being a joint venture with no employees that files a certificate of exemption. That date was 2026 until SB 1455 moved it.
Workers’ comp across all five states →Minimum $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident bodily injury and $15,000 property damage — raised from the long-standing 15/30/5 by SB 1107, effective 1 January 2025. California’s floor is now the highest of the five, and it is still an order of magnitude below what a commercial contract will require.
Commercial auto across all five states →CSLB has no excess requirement — the license rests on a $25,000 bond. Demand comes from contract, and California’s construction-defect exposure on residential work is what pushes residential contractors into an excess layer earlier than their revenue alone would suggest.
Excess liability across all five states →CSLB does not require professional liability for any classification. Demand is contractual, and it arrives with design-build delivery — which California public agencies use widely — and with any deferred-approval or delegated-design scope.
Professional liability across all five states →Tell us the trade, the license classification and the payroll. We will tell you which markets fit before we submit anywhere.
