Trade
You carry your own exposure and, when a subcontractor cannot produce a certificate, theirs as well. We chase those certificates so the gap does not quietly land on your policy at audit.
A general contractor’s program is shaped less by their own crews than by everyone else on the site. Uninsured subcontractors land on your payroll at audit, at your rate. Additional-insured obligations flow upward from every trade agreement you sign and downward from the owner. And on residential work the completed-operations tail outlives the job by years.
Which license class this trade falls under, and what that class obliges you to carry.
B — General Building, or A — General Engineering. CSLB licenses on a $25,000 bond and requires no general liability, so your limit is set entirely by whoever you are contracting with. Workers’ compensation is required once you have employees today, and for every classification regardless of employees from 1 January 2028.
All California requirements →The endorsement is the whole conversation. Residential general contractor is $500,000 per occurrence on a $25,000 bond; commercial general level 1 is $2,000,000 aggregate on an $80,000 bond, with level 2 at $1,000,000 and $25,000. Oregon is the only one of the five where the board dictates your liability limit.
All Oregon requirements →Registers as a general contractor: $30,000 bond, double the specialty figure, plus the $200,000/$50,000 or $250,000 combined single limit certificate naming L&I. Workers’ compensation comes from the L&I state fund — you cannot buy it privately, and your L&I risk classifications drive what you pay the state.
All Washington requirements →Residential construction falls under the residential license: $100,000 general liability plus proof of workers’ compensation, filed before issue and kept continuous. Commercial general contracting requires no proof of insurance at application — though no owner or lender will treat that as permission to go without.
All Louisiana requirements →Residential General or Commercial General/Engineering. Bond runs $9,000 to $15,000 residential by volume band, and $5,000 to $100,000 commercial. Residential contractors also pay into the Residential Recovery Fund. No general liability requirement from the ROC at all.
All Arizona requirements →Not statute — this is the part no board publishes, and the part that decides whether a submission comes back priced or declined.
Tell us the state, the license class and the payroll. We will tell you which markets fit before we submit anywhere.
