Ontario general contractor insurance

General contractor insurance packages start at around $650 a year. The actual price for your business coverage depends on a number of factors:

• Whether you need insurance for company vehicles
• Whether you have a shop or office that needs coverage
• How many employees you have
• The annual revenues of your business
• How many years of experience you and your employees have
• Whether you use subcontractors
• Whether you’ve had claims in the past

Yes. If you’re a general contractor, you need to insist that all your subcontractors carry their own liability insurance.

Most claims for general contractors arise as a result of work being done by subcontractors. If a fire, water damage or other loss occurs on a job site, your general contractor insurance will cover your legal costs, but most policies require that you take steps to ensure that all subcontractors have their own liability coverage too.

Here’s a list of trades that you may work with, along with whether they are low, medium or high risk to make a claim that might affect your insurance:

• Plumbers – high risk for water and fire damage
• Roofers – high risk for water and fire damage
• Carpenters – medium risk for water and fire damage
• HVAC technicians – medium risk for water damage and gas leaks
• Welders – medium risk for fire damage
• Bricklayers/masonry – low risk
• Drywallers/plasterers – low risk
• Electricians – low risk
• Floorers – low risk
• Painters – low risk

If you’re running a home-based business, you won’t need separate commercial property coverage, which will help you save on your premiums. One thing to remember is that your home insurance policy doesn’t cover business-related tools, equipment and materials that you may store there. So it’s a good idea to talk to your insurance broker to make sure you have the right coverage to protect you and your company.

We recommend a minimum of $2 million in commercial general liability coverage. One of our commercial insurance experts would be happy to advise you based on the specifics of your business.

Many contractors in Canada are legally required to carry contractor’s insurance. Exact insurance requirements may vary depending on the trade that general contractor operates in and who they work with, but generally they will be required to carry general liability insurance of some level.

General liability insurance will cover independent contractors to an extent, so if you’re a business owner your independent contractors may have some level of coverage. However, that coverage is generally limited to the duration of that individual contract and typically won’t cover them after the work is done. It’s usually advised that contractors carry their own insurance as well.

No, typically subcontractors won’t be covered under a general contractor’s policy, unless that policy specifically named them as an additional insured. It’s not uncommon for contractors to expect or even require subcontractors to have their own insurance.