Contractor insurance in New York

Section 240(1) of New York's Labor Law (the 'Scaffold Law') holds owners and contractors liable for elevation-related injuries — falls from ladders, scaffolds and roofs, or objects falling on workers — where the required safety protection was inadequate, and the worker's own carelessness is generally not a defense unless it was the sole cause. Section 241(6) adds liability for violating specific construction-safety rules. Because these claims are large and hard to defend, general liability for contractors costs far more in New York than anywhere else, and many carriers won't write it at all.

Contractor GL is rated on your trade's class code and your payroll or revenue, plus what you pay subcontractors. What moves it most: the heights you work at and whether you do roofing or exterior work, because Labor Law §240 makes falls the most expensive claims in New York; how much of your work is commercial or new construction versus residential remodeling; how much you sub out and whether you collect certificates from every sub; your claims history and years in business; and whether you have a written safety program with fall-protection training records. The same trade can price very differently from one carrier to the next, so I don't publish a typical figure, and I compare exclusions as closely as price.

Almost always because the cheap one excludes something: work above two stories, roofing, exterior work, subcontracted labor, or injuries to employees of subcontractors (the 'action over' exclusion). That last one is critical in New York — it's exactly how Labor Law claims reach you. I read every exclusion before I show you a quote.

An action-over exclusion, sometimes called an employee-injury or Labor Law exclusion, removes coverage for claims that start with an injury to a worker on the job, most often a subcontractor's employee. Under the Scaffold Law the injured worker usually sues the owner and general contractor, who then sue you under the indemnity clause in your contract; that claim over is exactly what the exclusion takes away. It applies the same on a job in Albany, Schenectady or anywhere else in New York, because Labor Law 240 is state law. I read the endorsement list on every quote, and a general contractor's insurance reviewer will too.

Typically: a certificate showing general liability at $1M/$2M with the GC and owner as additional insured (on a primary and non-contributory basis), workers' compensation (form C-105.2), disability/PFL (DB-120.1), commercial auto, and sometimes an umbrella. Send me the contract's insurance section and I'll match it.

Not by law if you truly have no employees — but nearly every GC, municipality and many homeowners' contracts require it, and it's the only way to get on most sites. Sole proprietors can elect coverage. If you ever use helpers or day labor, you need it regardless.

Start with general liability: it's what homeowners, landlords and property managers ask to see, and it pays when a job causes damage or someone gets hurt. Make sure the policy's description of your work covers everything you actually do, because a handyman policy that excludes roofing, electrical, plumbing or work above a set height leaves those jobs uninsured. Add tools and equipment cover for what rides in the truck, and check that your auto policy allows business use of the vehicle. Workers' compensation is required as soon as you have a helper, even part-time or paid in cash; working alone it's optional by law, but many jobs ask for it or for the exemption certificate. The handyman insurance page goes through each piece.

Not from the state: New York State does not license home improvement contractors, but some counties and cities do. The Attorney General lists New York City and Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties as places where home improvement contractors must be licensed. Anywhere else, including the Capital Region, ask the building department of the town or city where the job is what it requires for your trade. Any business asking a state or municipal office for a permit, license or contract must also show workers' compensation and disability coverage, or a certificate of exemption.

Yes, every time, and check them. Under Workers' Compensation Law §56 a contractor is liable for injured employees of a subcontractor that has no coverage of its own, and at audit your carrier can count part of what you paid an uninsured sub as your payroll. In a 2015 Manhattan case the State Insurance Fund collected exactly that charge even though the contractor had certificates on file, because the subs' coverage wasn't actually in force. Before work starts, get a C-105.2 (or U-26.3 if the sub is insured through the State Insurance Fund), look the sub up on the Workers' Compensation Board's Does Employer Have Coverage? search, and keep both for the audit. A CE-200 exemption won't do: the Board says it's only for showing a government agency that a business needs no coverage, not proof of exemption to another business or its carrier.