Insurance for Colorado Contractors, Written by People Who Know What a GC Will Ask You For
Drywall, paint, roofing, siding, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, concrete. Contractors are the vertical Premier Group Insurance writes most, and we shop more than 25 carriers to build the package instead of selling you whatever one company happens to offer.
The Coverage a Contractor Actually Needs
Most contractors do not need one policy. They need a stack of three or four that work together, sized to the jobs they take and the crew they run.
| General Liability | The foundation. Third-party injury and property damage, plus the completed operations coverage that responds when work you finished months ago causes a problem. This is the policy a general contractor asks to see before you set foot on the site. See General Liability for more details. |
| Workers Compensation | Required in Colorado for any business with one or more employees, with a $500-per-day fine per uncovered employee for going without. Class codes matter more in the trades than almost anywhere, because a roofer and an estimator carry very different rates. See Workers Compensation for details. |
| Commercial Auto | Work trucks, vans, and trailers. A personal auto policy will not respond to a claim in a vehicle being used for the business, which is the single most expensive assumption a contractor can make. See Commercial Auto for details. |
| Tools and Equipment | Written as inland marine, not property. Covers tools and equipment while they are in transit, on the jobsite, or stored in the truck overnight, which is exactly where they go missing. |
| Installation Floater | Covers materials you have bought and are installing but do not yet own, from delivery through completion. Relevant on any job where you are fronting material cost. |
| Commercial Umbrella | Sits on top of your GL, auto, and workers comp and raises the limit on all of them. Increasingly required by contract on larger commercial work. |
Trades We Write
Contractors are the commercial vertical we place the most of, across the Front Range and throughout Colorado. If your trade is not listed, ask anyway. The list below is where we have the deepest carrier relationships, not the limit of what we can write.
Interior and Finish Trades
Drywall and framing, painting, flooring, tile, cabinetry and finish carpentry, insulation, and general remodeling.
Mechanical and Systems Trades
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and low-voltage. These trades carry higher rates because the exposure is real: water, fire, and code compliance all live here. Placing them well takes carriers who actually want the class.
Exterior and Site Trades
Roofing, siding, gutters, windows and doors, concrete and flatwork, excavation, fencing, and landscaping. Roofing is the hardest class in this group to place, and it is one we write.
What a General Contractor Will Require Before You Can Start
Winning bigger work is rarely about the bid. It is about whether your certificate of insurance comes back clean when the GC sends it to their risk department. A COI that is missing an endorsement gets kicked back, and the job goes to the sub whose paperwork was right the first time.
Almost every commercial contract asks for the same handful of items. They are not exotic, but they have to actually be on the policy, not just typed onto the certificate.
| Additional Insured | Names the GC and often the property owner on your general liability policy, so your coverage responds if they get pulled into a claim arising from your work. Usually required for both ongoing and completed operations. |
| Waiver of Subrogation | Gives up your carrier’s right to come after the GC to recover what it paid on a claim. Contracts ask for it on GL, workers comp, and auto. |
| Primary and Non-contributory | Says your policy pays first and the GC’s policy does not have to chip in. This is the wording most often missing when a certificate gets rejected. |
| Required Limits | Commonly $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate on GL, with an umbrella layered on top for larger jobs. The contract will name the number. |
| Certificate Holder Language | The GC has to be listed exactly as the contract spells it out, including the entity name and address. Small mismatches cause real delays. |
We issue certificates the same day or the next day once your policy is bound, and we read the insurance section of the contract before we quote so the policy is built to satisfy it. If you are holding a contract right now and are not sure whether your current coverage meets it, send it over and we will tell you.
Subcontractors, Payroll, and the Annual Audit
If you hire subs and they do not carry their own coverage, your policy is very likely going to pick them up. At audit, a sub without a valid certificate of insurance gets treated as your payroll, and you get billed for them. Collecting certificates before work starts is the cheapest risk management there is.
The same logic applies to the revenue and payroll numbers you report at the start of the policy year. Under-reporting to get a lower quote is not a savings, it is a deferred bill. The audit trues it up, and the difference arrives all at once instead of spread across twelve payments.
We quote off realistic numbers and tell you what the audit is going to look like before you sign, so the renewal conversation is not a surprise. If you have an audit coming up and are not sure what to expect, call before it happens rather than after.
One Broker for the Business and the House
Most of our contractor clients end up moving their personal auto, home, and personal umbrella over as well. Not because we push it, but because it is simpler to have one person who knows the whole picture, and because bundling personal lines usually prices better than keeping them scattered.
It also closes a gap that catches trade owners regularly. The line between the truck you drive to a job and the truck you drive on the weekend is blurrier than most policies assume, and it is worth having the same broker looking at both sides of it.
How It Works
1. Tell us About the Work
Your trade, your crew size, your annual revenue, the vehicles you run, and whether you use subs. If you are holding a contract with insurance requirements, send that too.
2. We Shop 25+ Carriers
Trade classes vary enormously in how carriers price them. We go to the ones that want your class and build the GL, workers comp, and auto together rather than one at a time.
3. You Get Covered and Get Your COI
Once you bind, certificates go out same day or next day, with the endorsements your contract requires already on the policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Fast Can I Get a Certificate of Insurance?
Same day or next day once the policy is bound. If you are up against a start date, tell us when you call and we will work to it.
Do I Need Workers Comp if it is Just me and no Employees?
As a sole proprietor you are generally exempt for yourself in Colorado, but the moment you have even one employee the requirement kicks in. Worth knowing separately: many general contractors will not let you on site without a workers comp policy regardless of what the state requires, so it often becomes a business requirement before it becomes a legal one.
Why is Roofing so Much More Expensive to Insure?
Height, weather exposure, and claim frequency. A lot of carriers simply will not write it, which shrinks the market and pushes pricing up on the ones that do. That is precisely why the number of carriers your broker can reach matters more in roofing than in almost any other trade.
My General Contractor is Asking for Additional Insured and Waiver of Subrogation. What is that?
Both are endorsements added to your policy. Additional insured extends your coverage to protect the GC for claims arising out of your work. Waiver of subrogation stops your carrier from pursuing the GC to recover a payout. Send us the contract and we will make sure the policy carries what it asks for.
Does my General Liability Cover my Tools if They Get Stolen Off The Truck?
No. General liability covers damage you cause to other people and their property, not your own equipment. Tools and equipment coverage is a separate inland marine policy, and it is inexpensive relative to what a full trailer of tools costs to replace.
Can You Insure me if I do Work in More Than one State?
Yes, and it is worth flagging early. Workers comp is regulated state by state, and general liability territory language matters if you cross a border regularly. Tell us where you work and we will build it correctly rather than discovering the gap at claim time.
Get a Contractor Insurance Quote in About 5 Minutes
Tell us your trade, your crew size, and roughly what you do in annual revenue. If you have a contract with insurance requirements attached, send it along and we will build the quote to satisfy it. We will shop across our carrier network and come back with options.