Best General Liability Insurance for Contractors (2026)
Contractors may need general liability to hold a license or win work, but the ISO CG 00 01 12 07 specimen form leaves gaps on a jobsite: injuries to your own employees and some damage to your own work. Check completed-operations cover, how subcontracted work is treated and what each contract requires before you bid.1,3,4
10 providers document General Liability Insurance for contractors. ERGO NEXT Insurance, Lockton and Aon rank highest on Spot’s evidence ranking.
Updated
Which Providers Document General Liability Insurance for Contractors?
- Rank 1
Named for Contractors
- Broker Spot Score 5.0 and Carrier & MGA Spot Score 6.7 · Assessed 2026-09-23 · ERGO NEXT Insurance brand and the named carrier and agency entities in its current terms and license disclosures, including Next Insurance…
ERGO NEXT targets general liability at brick-and-mortar shops and offices, businesses visited by customers or vendors, contractors who work at other people's property, and businesses that bid on contract jobs or need a license or permit. 7
Company-reportedProduct page eligibility framing; specific underwriting appetite by profession and state is not published on this page.
Read the Full ERGO NEXT Insurance General Liability Insurance Page
- Rank 2
Named for Contractors
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Lockton's U.S. brokerage presentation, including Lockton Companies, LLC d/b/a Lockton Insurance Brokers, LLC and Lockton, Inc. as named in…
Lockton says it has a general liability solution for global manufacturers, business-to-business service providers, consumer products companies, REITs, contractors and healthcare companies. 10
Company-reportedGeneral & Product Liability page as read 2026-09-23. Lists example industries served, not a complete eligibility matrix.
- Rank 3
Named for Contractors
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-29 · Aon group commercial insurance brokerage, assessed at brand level from Aon's published terms, its 2025 SEC filing, and U.S., U.K. and Irish…
Aon describes its global construction and infrastructure practice as serving contractors, owners, developers, engineers, architects, designers, financiers and investors, and says it works with organizations of varied sizes and complexity. 11
Company-reportedAudience described for Aon’s global construction and infrastructure practice. It does not establish U.S. state availability or underwriting eligibility for a placement.
Aon lists General Liability within construction liability and describes casualty protection for third-party bodily injury or property damage associated with negligent acts during construction or operations. A policy’s actual insureds, triggers, exclusions and conditions are not stated on this practice page. 11
Company-reportedAon’s marketing description of the brokerage/coverage area. The page is not the insurer’s policy form and does not establish an insured's entitlement to coverage.
- Rank 4
Named for Contractors
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Coverdash Insurance Services, LLC as the licensed broker/agent and Coverdash, Inc. as the technology/brand entity. The cited materials do…
Coverdash markets general liability to small businesses, startups and e-commerce merchants across more than 2,500 industries, citing construction, restaurants, real estate agencies and professional services as examples. 12
Company-reportedProduct-page eligibility description; actual acceptance depends on underwriting.
- Rank 5
Named for Contractors
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Embroker, Inc. and Embroker Insurance Services LLC as a U.S. digital insurance platform and producer; product-specific insurers include…
Embroker markets the policy to any business that deals with or employs people, has a physical location with injury risk, or provides a product or service, including consultants, contractors and tradespeople. 13
Company-reportedProduct-page eligibility description; not a guarantee of coverage for a particular business.
- Rank 6
Named for Contractors
Not ratedSpot Score
The page names contractors, eCommerce and personal services among target classes and says it writes CGL for additional trades; a buyer’s eligibility still depends on its quote. 14
Company-reportedFoxquilt’s cited product or program page documents this description. It does not establish the issuing insurer for an individual quote, exact state or provincial availability, the policy form, complete exclusions, or terms offered to a particular buyer; confirm those in the quote and policy documents.
- Rank 7
Related mention
No review scoreReview Score
- Carrier & MGA Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-29 · Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSIC, NAIC 22276) as a U.S. admitted insurer, using Nebraska and New York regulator…
BHSI markets primary general liability, with contractor broad-form coverage, gradual-pollution features and flexible limits in its product overview. 15
Company-reportedBHSI US specialty commercial primary GL. Material limitation: These are overview features, not universal policy grants; forms and endorsements vary.
Read the Full Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance General Liability Insurance Page
- Rank 8
Named for Contractors
No review scoreReview Score
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Alliance Risk Insurance Services LLC, the subsidiary agency named in Alliance's terms and the single licensee of record under National…
Alliance Risk targets general liability at businesses that operate a physical location open to the public, interact with clients or customers face-to-face, work on client property, advertise, or sell products or services, naming contractors and construction, retail and e-commerce, hospitality and food service, consulting, and manufacturing and distribution as common buyers. 16
Company-reportedGeneral liability product page; eligibility for a particular company depends on underwriting.
Read the Full Alliance Risk General Liability Insurance Page
- Rank 9
Named for Contractors
No review scoreReview Score
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · Kinro Insurance Services LLC and the Kinro/Kinro AI technology-enabled distribution service for U.S. small-business commercial insurance.…
Kinro says general liability commonly fits contractors, cleaning companies, retail stores and restaurants, and typically comes up when a landlord, general contractor, customer or marketplace asks for a certificate of insurance, or a contract requires it before work starts. 6
Company-reportedGeneral Liability page "Common fit" and "Triggers" sections.
- Rank 10
Related mention
No review scoreReview Score
- Broker Spot Score · Assessed 2026-09-22 · With Coverage's US commercial-insurance brokerage and risk-advisory activity at the named-entity level, including With Coverage Inc. and…
General liability is explicitly listed among the policies WithCoverage says it reads and benchmarks during a program audit, and is named in the page hero for both construction and restaurant clients specifically. 17,18
Company-reportedProgram-audit FAQ, repeated identically across WithCoverage's industry pages; hero copy on construction and restaurant pages.
How Did Spot Rank General Liability Providers for Contractors?
Spot lists a provider only when its published General Liability Insurance information includes a documented claim (verified or company-reported) about eligibility, role, coverage or application that mentions contractors. “Named for Contractors” marks a provider’s own statement of who it serves; “Related mention” marks a role, coverage or application claim.
Providers with both a Spot Score and a Review Score rank first, then providers with one of the two, then providers with neither. Within each group the order is the equal-weight average of the scores the provider has, as in the industry guides; ties break on fit, then the number of documented claims, then name.
The Spot Score comes from Spot’s reliability assessments and the Review Score from the provider’s rated review sources. Neither measures whether a policy fits your business or what it costs. How Spot Scores work.
Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. Editorial policy.
What Do Contractors Need From General Liability Insurance?
Start with what you must show. Some states make general liability a condition of contractor registration: Washington requires registered construction contractors to carry a general liability policy at stated minimums, with its labor department listed as certificate holder, and Oregon's license application asks for proof of general liability in the amount required for the license type. Rules differ by state, so check your licensing board. One provider says construction professionals are often required to have it for licensing or to work on some contracts.4,5,7
Contracts add their own requirements. Oregon's insurance regulator says construction contracts, leases and events can require a certificate of insurance, and that a contract often asks for the certificate holder to be added as an additional insured, which takes a blanket endorsement or the insurer's action. One small-business insurance provider says general liability comes up when a landlord, general contractor, customer or marketplace asks for a certificate, or when a contract asks for it before work starts.3,6
General liability pays covered claims for injury and damage you cause to others. California's insurance department describes its three parts as premises, products and completed operations: premises liability includes your operations in progress, on or away from your premises, and completed operations covers liability arising out of your completed work. The exclusions and definitions below come from the ISO CG 00 01 12 07 specimen form; your policy's edition and endorsements can change them.1,2
Which General Liability Exposures Do Contractors Face?
Claims can arrive after the job is done. The ISO form deems your work completed when all the work your contract calls for is done, or when that part of the work at a job site is put to its intended use by someone other than another contractor on the project; work that only needs service, repair or correction counts as completed. A separate aggregate limit applies to completed operations, apart from the general aggregate.1,2
Check how the form treats damage to your own work. The ISO form excludes damage to your work once it falls within the completed-operations hazard, with an exception when a subcontractor performed the damaged work or the work it arose from. It also excludes damage to the part of any real property you or your subcontractors are working on when the damage arises from those operations, and damage to the part of any property that must be restored, repaired or replaced because your work was incorrectly performed on it; the last of these does not apply to damage within the completed-operations hazard.1
Hold-harmless clauses can create liability the form excludes. The form excludes liability you assume by contract, except liability you would have anyway and liability assumed in an "insured contract", which includes assuming another party's tort liability for injury or damage to a third person. Agreements that indemnify an architect, engineer or surveyor for injury or damage arising from drawings, reports and similar documents, or from directions or instructions that are the primary cause, are carved out of that definition.1
Injuries to your own employees sit outside this form: it excludes workers' compensation obligations and bodily injury to an employee in the course of their work. Oregon's contractor board says workers' compensation insurance is required if your business has employees.1,5
What Should Contractors Check Before Buying General Liability Insurance?
Tell each market how you use subcontractors. Two providers list subcontractors among the inputs that shape your coverage or quote: one among the details carriers usually need, the other among the factors behind how much coverage you need. California's insurance department says the general liability rating basis can be square footage, payroll or gross sales depending on your classification. Ask which basis applies to you and how subcontracted work is counted, because premium is the rate multiplied by that exposure.2,6,7
Test appetite and minimums early. Published appetite varies: one insurer's casualty appetite guide sets a $50,000 minimum premium per policy across its casualty lines, which include general liability, and another provider's property and casualty brochure says it ordinarily declines manual contractors. Before you apply, ask each market whether it writes your trade and size.8,9
Compare limits to your contracts. Ask for the each-occurrence limit, the general aggregate and the products-completed operations aggregate in writing, and check each against what your contracts and license require. The form sets these as separate limits, so one number does not tell you the others.1,2
Get the wording behind the certificate. Ask for the additional insured and waiver endorsements your contract names, not just a certificate that shows them.3,6
What Do Contractors Ask About General Liability Insurance?
Do Contractors Need General Liability Insurance?
Yes, wherever a license or a contract requires it. Washington and Oregon both require proof of general liability to register or license a contractor, and contracts can require a certificate of insurance. Check your state licensing board and the insurance clause in each contract.3,4,5
Does General Liability Cover Contractors for Damage to Their Own Work?
Only partly. The ISO form excludes damage to your work within the completed-operations hazard unless a subcontractor performed the work, and, outside that hazard, it excludes damage to the part of any property that must be restored or replaced because your work was incorrectly performed on it. Check the quote's wording on rework and defects.1
Does General Liability Cover Injuries to Contractors' Employees?
No, not under the ISO form, which excludes workers' compensation obligations and injury to employees arising in the course of their work. Oregon's contractor board says workers' compensation insurance is required if you have employees, so ask about it separately.1,5
Is a Certificate of Insurance Enough for Contractors?
No. Oregon's insurance regulator says a certificate shows information only: it does not amend, extend or change the coverage. If your contract names an additional insured, the policy needs a blanket endorsement or the insurer must add that party.3
Sources for General Liability Insurance for Contractors
Sources for the Segment Guidance
- Commercial General Liability Coverage Form. ISO; specimen hosted by Hiscox; Section I exclusions b, d, e, f, g, j, l, pp.2–5; Section III limits p.10; Section V definitions 9, 16 and 22, pp.13–16 (form CG 00 01 12 07). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Commercial Insurance Guide. California Department of Insurance; Inland marine; Commercial General Liability; How Are Commercial Policies Rated, Deductibles Selected, and Premiums Developed? (Form 700 revised June 14, 2024). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Modifying insurance certificates. Oregon Division of Financial Regulation; Certificates cannot vary from contract: certificates are for information only; additional insured and notice-of-cancellation examples. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Register as a Contractor. Washington State Department of Labor & Industries; Step 2: Purchase your surety bond and insurance. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- CCB License. Oregon Construction Contractors Board; 9 Steps to Licensure (proof of general liability insurance; workers compensation); Workers Compensation Insurance; Liability Insurance. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- General Liability. Kinro; Triggers; Quote file: inputs carriers usually need. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- General Liability Insurance. ERGO NEXT Insurance; How much General Liability insurance coverage do I need?; Construction and contractors. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Casualty Appetite Guide (US). Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance; Page 1: Minimum premiums; Lines of business (guide dated 2026-07-15). Accessed 2026-10-01.
- CFC Property & Casualty product brochure (US). CFC; What we ordinarily decline. Accessed 2026-10-01.
Sources for the Ranked Providers
- US > General & Product Liability. Lockton. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Construction and Infrastructure Insurance and Risk Management. Aon. Accessed 2026-09-30.
- General Liability Insurance. Coverdash. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Commercial General Liability Insurance: Coverage & Quotes. Embroker. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Commercial General Liability. Foxquilt. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Casualty. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. Accessed 2026-09-28.
- General Liability Insurance. Alliance Risk. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Construction Insurance & Risk Management. WithCoverage. Accessed 2026-09-23.
- Restaurant Insurance & Risk Management. WithCoverage. Accessed 2026-09-23.