How does General Liability insurance protect construction professionals?
General liability insurance provides protection from the risks your construction business faces on a daily basis. It’s often bought by construction professionals and is the most common type of insurance for small businesses.
Every type of construction work — roofer, welder, handyman, electrician, excavator, etc. — involves some inherent risks. Certain accidents are covered by general liability insurance, like if a carpenter’s ladder falls and breaks a window or if a client trips over a drywall contractor’s toolbox. General liability insurance covers related expenses so you can stay focused on the job at hand and protect your professional reputation.
What does General Liability cover for construction businesses?
General liability insurance provides coverage for workplace accidents involving someone other than you or your employees. This includes personal injuries as well as damage to someone else’s property.
Included with construction general liability insurance is contractors’ E&O (errors and omissions), which helps to cover costs associated with business disagreements.
With general liability insurance, you’ll get financial protection for accidents which can happen at almost any construction business, such as:
- Injuries to people who are not employees
- Damage to someone else’s property
- Accusations of libel and slander
Learn more about what general liability insurance covers.
Why do construction businesses need General Liability insurance?
The construction industry involves potentially dangerous physical tasks. In addition, working with a number of different clients, vendors and properties creates some inherent risks.
General liability insurance helps to cover the costs associated with on-the-job accidents, whether they occur in an office or on a construction site. Without general liability insurance coverage for construction, you’ll have to pay for those expenses out of pocket. It’s important to have the right insurance coverage in order to maintain financial stability for your business.
In many cases, construction businesses are required to have general liability coverage in order to secure a professional license. Many potential clients require it as well, so you may need construction insurance to win contracts.
Learn more about construction contractor insurance requirements.
What are some common risks faced by construction businesses?
There are a number of potential risks that construction professionals face at work, including:
Damage to someone’s property
While renovating a client’s kitchen, you drop your toolbox and crack their tile flooring. Your general liability policy can help cover the costs to repair the damage.
Accidents that hurt someone
A box of shingles slides off the roof you’re replacing, injuring a passerby. General liability insurance for construction projects can pay for their medical expenses up to your policy limit and help with legal fees if they sue.
Advertising harm
After you complete your landscaping work at a client’s property, you take some pictures and use them on your social media accounts to promote your work. Your client sees the photos and sues you for invasion of privacy.
Court and legal fees
Your client alleges that your electrical work was faulty and started a fire at their home. General liability insurance can help to pay for your legal fees.
Libel, slander and defamation
A competitor claims that your advertisements imply that their services are inferior. If the business owner sues you for libel, your construction liability insurance can help cover the costs to defend yourself.
How much is General Liability insurance for construction companies?
NEXT keeps construction liability insurance costs low by offering policies customized to meet your unique business needs.
At NEXT, 44% of our customers pay between $66 and $85 in monthly premiums for general liability insurance. General liability can cost as little as $37.5 monthly for construction business liability insurance.**
Besides the type of work you do, a number of other factors affect how much you’ll pay in insurance premiums, such as:
- How many employees you have
- The state where you work
- How high you set your policy limit
- How long you’ve been in business
- Your claims history
NEXT offers tailored business insurance for construction professionals
NEXT offers the best construction insurance for small businesses. It only takes a few minutes to find the general liability insurance coverage that’s right for your business.
Our online service makes it easy to get everything set up from your computer or mobile device. We’ll walk you through each step, from comparing insurance options to purchasing coverage to downloading a certificate of insurance.
Get an instant liability insurance quote online today.
More about General Liability and Construction insurance
We specialize in business insurance for construction trades
Choose your profession for more information or start an instant quote to get covered fast
Customer reviews
Let’s find the coverage you need for your business
Business insurance is divided into different policies. We offer seven types so it's easy to design the coverage that fits your business.
