Remodeling Contractors
You're working inside someone's home, on a structure you didn't build, for a customer who is watching. We connect you with independent agents who write renovation accounts and understand where existing-conditions claims actually come from.
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Why It's Different
Underwriters price remodeling contractors on exposures most generic business policies never account for. These are the ones that move your premium.
Once you open a wall, damage to the rest of the house tends to become your conversation. Water from a nicked supply line, a cracked slab, or a settled floor rarely stops at the edge of your scope.
Occupied renovation means personal property, pets, and family in the work zone. Damaged belongings and injury to a homeowner or their guest are ordinary claims in this trade and rare in new construction.
Knob-and-tube wiring, asbestos tile, lead paint, and undersized framing surface after demolition starts. Pre-1978 housing brings lead-safe work practice obligations that carry their own penalties.
Hot work, temporary heat, and open plumbing during a renovation produce some of the largest severity claims in the trade — and the homeowner's own carrier will look to subrogate against you.
Remodelers lean on the same handful of electricians, plumbers, and finish carpenters. If a certificate lapsed for part of the period they worked, that spend is generally treated as your payroll when the auditor arrives.
You sell to a consumer, not a purchasing department, so change orders, deposits, and completion disputes are governed by home improvement statutes that carry real teeth. Contract paperwork is a coverage issue as much as a legal one.
Free Tool
At audit time, the auditor compares the payroll you estimated to the payroll you actually paid. Any sub who can’t produce a certificate for the work they did can end up on your bill instead of theirs. Answer a handful of questions about your crews, your subs, and your payroll, and see where you stand before the audit does. Built for remodeling contractors who run 1099 crews.
Free. Takes about 90 seconds. No quote unless you ask.
Coverage Types
A complete program is usually six policies working together, not one general liability certificate.
Third-party bodily injury and property damage, including damage to parts of the home outside your scope. The policy your homeowner customers and their insurers will look to first.
Medical bills and lost wages for your crew, and the policy that absorbs uninsured trade-partner payroll at audit. Certificate discipline is the cheapest premium control a remodeler has.
Covers cabinetry, fixtures, flooring, and materials you've delivered or partially installed but haven't handed over. General liability won't respond when staged materials are stolen or damaged.
Covers tools and equipment on the job, in transit, and in the truck overnight — where they actually get stolen. A remodeler's tool investment is often larger than a specialty trade's.
Trucks, trailers, and dump runs between jobs and the yard, plus hired and non-owned auto for crew driving personal vehicles to sites.
Sits above general liability and auto. High-value residential work and any commercial or multi-family remodeling routinely push required limits past what a base policy carries.
Pricing
Workers' comp is priced per $100 of payroll by class code, and the share of work you subcontract matters as much as your own crew size. Uncertified trade-partner spend is priced as though it were your payroll.
Kitchen and bath, whole-house renovation, additions, and structural work each underwrite differently. Adding structural or foundation work to an otherwise cosmetic book changes the conversation with carriers.
Pre-1978 homes bring lead-safe practice requirements, and older housing generally brings asbestos, outdated wiring, and existing-conditions exposure that newer stock doesn't.
Renovating around a family in residence raises the odds of a personal property or bodily injury claim. Carriers ask about it, and some price it directly.
Three clean years is the biggest lever on renewal. Water damage frequency in particular tends to narrow the list of carriers willing to quote a remodeling account.
Home improvement statutes govern deposits, notices, and cancellation rights, and disputes over change orders are the most common source of friction. Underwriters do ask to see your agreement.
By State
Licensing, workers' comp thresholds, and storm exposure all change at the state line. Pick yours for the local details.
Metro Areas We Cover
Every region we write remodeling contractors in, across all 6 states. Pick the one your crews work out of.
Common Questions
This is the central coverage question in remodeling and the answer depends heavily on policy wording. Damage you cause to other property is generally the kind of thing liability coverage addresses, while the cost of redoing your own defective work usually is not. Because renovation blurs that line constantly, it's worth reviewing the specific exclusions with a licensed agent rather than assuming.
At audit, what you paid that electrician or plumber is generally treated as your own payroll and you pay premium on it. How much depends on your records: labor-only work is typically included at a high percentage, labor and materials at a lower one when your invoices separate the two, and the full contract price when they don't.
Related:Chargeback Risk Score →
Often yes. Work disturbing lead paint in pre-1978 housing carries federal lead-safe practice obligations, and asbestos-containing materials are commonly excluded from standard general liability. If you regularly open up older homes, ask your agent specifically how pollution and lead exclusions are worded on your policy.
Generally no. General liability covers damage you do to someone else's person or property. Tools are covered by inland marine, and materials you've delivered or partially installed are covered by an installation floater. These are two of the most common gaps we see on remodeling policies.
Related:Coverage Gap Assessment →
It depends on the state, and construction trades are often treated more strictly than other businesses. Some states require coverage at the first employee and others at three or more. Check your state's page for specifics and confirm with a licensed agent, because the rules on counting subcontractors vary too.
Because if something goes wrong during your work, their carrier will pay their insured and then look to recover from whoever caused it. A current certificate tells them where to send that claim, and its absence is a good reason for them to look harder at you.
Tell us about your business and an independent agent who works with remodeling contractors will reach out within one business day.
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