And if the GC is responsible for hiring/paying them, should I as the homeowner be concerned with verifying the insurance?
Every subcontractor should have their own insurance policy. However if you have a general contractor his policy should cover what work is being performed.
It is a very simple process. Just ask the contractors to have their insurance company send you a certificate of insurance with you listed as the certificate holder.
All Contractors and Subcontractors working on the property SHOULD maintain both General liability and Workers compensation if they have ANY employees
Yes, subcontractors should have their own insurance. Anyone in business should have insurance.
You as the homeowner should be listed as an additional insured on the GC insurance policy and a release of liens should prevent any subcontractors from putting a mechanics lien on your property due to whatever problems may arise between contractors. Check with your local building department and State’s attorney generals office for more information.
In my state any licensed contractor, whether a sub or GC, must carry workers compensation and general liability insurance. It can never hurt to verify insurance of people working on your home, although the liability ultimately falls on the GC. Ask them for proof of insurance for all subs, which they should have on file, and see how they respond to your request. Good luck!
A homeowner should be very concerned who works on his project and that they all carry the proper licenses and insurance.
The homeowner and primary contractor almost always require the subs to have liability insurance, but I’m not sure if that is required by law. However, if the sub has employees, the law does require that they have workers comp insurance.
Subs- don’t forget to be licensed and bonded, or you could end up in jail.
Short answer. YES! They should be licensed and insured. It would not be unreasonable for you to ask your GC for proof of insurance as they should require the information from the subs as well. And … if they declare themselves as “workman’s comp exempt” be aware this merely means that they are not required by law to have the specific insurance. This means that the liability will fall on the GC or the Owner if you hire them.
Yes, it is very important that the general contractor and their subcontractors are fully insured. Verifying these credentials will help you navigate through the competition.
While subcontracts should have their own insurance, your Prime Contractor is solely responsible for anything that may happen on or to your jobsite. When engaging with a General Contractor, always make sure you get a copy of their insurance. For major projects, your Contractor can easily add you, the property owner, to their insurance. You’re covered either way so long as your GC’s insurance and Bonding information is up-to-date.
We require our subcontractors to carry their own liability insurance and workers compensation. The reason for workers comp being if they get hurt on the job we do not end up paying for it and the liability insurance is just to protect us if something were to go wrong down the road as a result for the subcontractors work.
i.e. if they installed the plumbing incorrectly and it ended up flooding the client’s home… being that we were responsible and contracted for the entire scope of the work, the homeowner would look to us first. But in that case, if it was the subcontractors mistake they would be the ones responsible for paying, not us.
We pull permits for all of our work so everything must pass inspection. Nothing like that has ever happened nor should it… but it’s one of those just in case things.
As the homeowner, if your GC is responsible for the entire scope of the work then THEY are responsible, ultimately, for making sure any subs they use are insured because if they are not then they are responsible for anything that may go wrong.
If we were the GC, we would definitely make sure the subs have their own insurance; but, that is more important for the GC as long as the GC’s insurance is “Primary and non-contributory.” I am not an insurance expert by any means; but, my understanding is that the GC’s insurance will cover everything even if the subs do not have insurance as long as the GC’s insurance has that kind of coverage.
We have not had any customer ask us for any information like that.
Yes, a minimum of $100,000.00 - $300,000.00 depending on the scope of work they are doing. Electricians should be covered for more.
Any one who is stepping in your house should have insurance. If sub doesn’t have insurance, the GC will have his own and it’s good for most homeowners. Some GCs require from sub to carry their own. In California the law requires contractors to carry:
- Bond 12,500 min
- Liability 1,00,000 min
- Workers comp
So the sub should have it otherwise legally he cant work.
Any contractor that sets foot on your property to do any kind of work at all needs to have the proper liability insurance, ANY Contractor. Any contractor who is professional will take no issue with you requesting such documentation. Most may have a standard declarations page they can present for inspection and depending on the size of the job, they can have their insurance company send you a certificate with your name/address on it.
To dig a little deeper, there are a couple of other things to consider as well:
Does the contractor have the correct coverage for the work they are doing?
General liability or business owners insurance can have gaps for someone doing things like tree work, excavation, security systems, or gas piping. The insurance coverage they have should match the type of work they are performing, including workers compensation insurance if they have employees.
Is the GC responsible for sub-contractors insurance?
In a word, yes. It is their responsibility to ensure all subs have the correct insurance since any issues will likely fall under their umbrella. As the customer, you would be within your right to request copies for your review.
You are the property owner and in todays litigious society, if there is some type of claim to be made (whether it is property damage or injury to personnel) it is not an outside possibility that you (or your homeowners insurance) can be dragged into the mix. That is why it is important to shop for industry professionals who have the safeguards in place to protect you and your home.
Yes they should, but if they don’t, you must make sure your GC has his insurance current and stays that way. If he hires someone that does not have insurance, then the GC will be responsible for the subcontractor’s insurance.
Yes in all scenarios.
Yes, subcontractors should carry their own insurance.
Yes, subcontractors should have their own insurance. Generally, the general contractor is responsible for getting a certificate of insurance from any subcontractors insurance that they use. Every insurance I’ve had has required us to get a certificate of insurance from subcontractors so that the appropriate liability is transferred to the responsible party. If the GC isn’t getting certificate of insurance for his subcontractors he might have additional “rider” on his policy. You could ask to see a copy of his insurance policy to make sure he is adequately covered. I would also check out his history. If he has a contractors license check to see if he has had any claims against it.
Yes, specialty and trade subcontractors must carry general liability insurance; however it is not your responsibility to verify their coverage. Your general contractor must do their due diligence and verify their insurance. Also, if any issues did arise with a subcontractor, you must peruse the matter with your GC’s carrier or go after their bond as you should have no direct contractual agreement with the subcontractors.
If you still feel you want to be more certain the subs have coverage, you can use your state’s online search tools to verify yourself. For example in WA we have:
https://secure.lni.wa.gov/verify/
Personally, I would recommend asking your GC to furnish proof of their sub’s coverage and you can even have your general contractor issue a copy of their Certificate of Coverage (COI) and list you as “additionally insured.”