What General Liability Insurance Requirements Apply in Minnesota?
Minnesota Statutes section 604.01 does not bar recovery when the claimant’s fault is not greater than the fault of the person from whom recovery is sought, and it reduces damages in proportion to the claimant’s fault. Section 604.02 then makes four categories jointly and severally liable for the whole award: a person whose fault is greater than 50 percent, persons acting in a common scheme or plan, a person who commits an intentional tort, and specified environmental liabilities. Everyone else contributes only in proportion to fault, subject to a reallocation motion filed within one year after judgment. In a building and construction contract, section 337.05 voids a requirement to insure another party, including a third party, for that other party’s negligence or intentional acts, with stated exceptions.
What Is General Liability Insurance?
General liability can protect your business when a customer or visitor claims you caused injury or damaged their property. It suits businesses serving customers or working on their premises; your own building, tools and stock need property coverage. Read the national General liability guide.
What to Watch for With General Liability in Minnesota
Equal fault still leaves a reduced recovery
Section 604.01 bars recovery only when contributory fault is greater than the fault of the person against whom recovery is sought. A 50/50 comparison is not greater, so damages are diminished rather than denied. Ask the carrier to separate that comparison from any policy exclusion for the insured’s own work. 1
Crossing 50 percent fault changes who can be collected from
Under section 604.02, a person whose fault is greater than 50 percent is jointly and severally liable for the whole award, as are persons in a common scheme or plan, a person who commits an intentional tort, and persons whose liability arises under the environmental statutes the section lists. A defendant at 50 percent or below is not in that first category. The section also lets the court, on a motion made not later than one year after judgment, reallocate an uncollectible share among the other parties, including a claimant at fault. 2
A construction clause cannot make you insure the other party’s negligence
Section 337.05, subdivision 1(b), makes it void to require a party to provide insurance coverage to other parties, including third parties, for the negligence or intentional acts of those other parties. The statute keeps workers’ compensation, performance and payment bonds, builder’s risk, owner- or contractor-controlled programs, and project-specific insurance for the promisor’s own negligence. It also preserves insurance for the promisee’s vicarious liability or warranty liability arising out of the promisor’s acts, and it does not apply to building and construction contracts for work within 50 feet of a railroad. If the promisor agrees to specific insurance and does not keep it in force, subdivision 2 gives the promisee indemnity to the same extent as that insurance. 3
Accepting a certificate does not waive the insurance promise
Section 337.05, subdivision 5, says the promisor’s obligation to provide specified insurance is not waived because the promisee fails to insist on a certificate or accepts a certificate that shows a variance from the specified coverage. A certificate that names the owner is not a substitute for the endorsement the contract described, and a deductible or self-insured retention remains the promisor’s indemnity obligation under subdivision 4. 3
Which General Liability Providers Have Minnesota License Records?
These providers publish a national listing for General liability; the state records document licenses for the entities and roles shown below. Some records rely on company-reported information rather than independent regulator verification. A national listing does not confirm the product is available in Minnesota. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm state availability for your business when requesting a quote.
Corgi
Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.
Corgi’s company producer-license table lists 50 jurisdictions: 49 states and the District of Columbia, including DC license 3003091619. New Mexico does not appear in the table and is not included here; the omission does not establish that Corgi is unlicensed there. The company-reported table has no stated as-of date and does not establish product availability. 14
Corgi lists commercial general liability among its business insurance offerings.
ERGO NEXT Insurance
Next First Insurance Agency, Inc.
ERGO NEXT’s current license table lists Next First Insurance Agency, Inc. in 50 jurisdictions, including Washington, DC; New York is excluded because its table rows name Next Insurance Services and AP Intego, not Next First. The table is company-reported; it does not establish product availability or provide state-regulator verification for each entry. 16
ERGO NEXT offers online general liability quotes and purchasing for eligible businesses.
Hiscox
Hiscox Insurance Company Inc.
Hiscox’s U.S. company information states that Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. is licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This is company-reported insurer authority for this entity and does not establish which company issues every Hiscox-branded product. 15
Hiscox offers general liability insurance for small businesses.
TechInsurance
Specialty Program Group LLC
TechInsurance’s current licensing page names Specialty Program Group LLC / SPG Insurance Solutions and lists state license numbers, but labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses” rather than identifying a license for the named agency. RI is omitted because this disclosure does not establish agency authority there; this is a search limitation, not an assertion that the company is unlicensed. The remaining state entries are company-reported and are not an insurance product availability map. 17
TechInsurance arranges general liability insurance for small businesses.
Vouch
Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC
Vouch’s licenses page, effective January 16, 2025, lists producer licenses in all 50 states and DC. Its separate surplus-lines table includes Idaho number 870820, while a footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses. Because those statements conflict for Idaho, this record keeps Idaho producer-only and does not treat the table number as established agency surplus-lines authority. The page is company-reported and does not establish product availability. 18
Vouch lists general liability among the core coverages in its technology-company programs.
Who Regulates Insurance in Minnesota?
Minnesota Department of Commerce
The Minnesota Department of Commerce regulates insurance companies and producers, reviews rates and forms, and investigates complaints. You can use its state lookup or complaint service to check a license or raise an insurance issue. 4,5,6
Surplus-Lines Tax and Stamping Office in Minnesota
Reported tax rate. 3% of taxable gross premiums less return premiums, plus a 0.04% stamping fee on taxable premium when Minnesota is the insured's home state 7,10,8,9,11
When Minnesota is the insured's home state, 3% tax applies to taxable gross premiums less return premiums; the separate 0.04% stamping fee on taxable premium is paid by you to the broker. Minnesota requires a policy warning that insolvency loss payment by a nonadmitted insurer is not guaranteed. A diligent search generally applies unless a Minnesota-licensed producer unaffiliated with the surplus-lines broker refers the risk, which the statute deems unavailable from a licensed insurer; an exempt commercial purchaser also has a separate written-request route after the required admitted-market disclosure.
Questions to Ask Before You Buy General Liability in Minnesota
- Is any defendant’s fault greater than 50 percent, or is the claim in the common-scheme, intentional-tort, or environmental category in section 604.02?
- Does the construction insurance clause ask us to cover another party’s own negligence, or only our vicarious or warranty exposure?
- If a co-defendant’s share is uncollectible, who can move to reallocate it within one year after judgment?
- Does the certificate match the limits the contract specified, and who owes the deductible?
General Liability Insurance in Minnesota: Frequently Asked Questions
Can a claimant recover in Minnesota if both sides are equally at fault?
Yes, against a person whose fault is not greater than the claimant’s. Section 604.01 reduces the damages in proportion to the claimant’s fault. Recovery is barred only when the claimant’s fault is greater than the fault of the person from whom recovery is sought. 1
Can a Minnesota construction contract require additional-insured coverage for the owner’s own negligence?
Section 337.05 makes a requirement to insure other parties for their own negligence or intentional acts void and unenforceable. Exceptions include workers’ compensation, builder’s risk, controlled-insurance programs, project-specific insurance for the promisor’s negligence, vicarious or warranty liability arising from the promisor’s acts, and work within 50 feet of a railroad. 3
General Liability Insurance Guides for Other States
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Other coverage in MinnesotaEvery coverage guide for Minnesota, plus the regulator and surplus-lines details.18 documents, numbered as cited. Open the sources