Contractor Insurance: The Coverages Every Trade Business Needs

Coverage Lines · InsureToday24 (BNW Services LLC), a licensed independent agency across MO, KS, NE, TN, OK, AR & CO.

# Contractor Insurance: The Coverages Every Trade Business Needs

If you swing a hammer, run wire, set tile, or pour concrete for a living, one bad day on a job site can wipe out years of work. A dropped ladder through a customer's window, an employee who hurts their back, a tool theft from your truck overnight — these aren't rare events in the trades, they're Tuesday. Contractor insurance is how you stay in business when one of them lands on you.

At BNW Services / InsureToday24, we're an independent agency licensed in Missouri and Kansas. That means we shop your job across the 69+ carriers we represent to find the right fit and price — not just whatever one company is selling. Here's the plain-English breakdown of what a trade business actually needs.

The core coverages every contractor should carry

No two trades are identical, but most contractors — plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, roofers, painters, remodelers, landscapers — need some combination of the same handful of policies.

1. General Liability (the non-negotiable)

General liability is the foundation. It covers bodily injury and property damage you cause to other people while doing your work. Think: a client trips over your extension cord, or your crew cracks a marble countertop during a kitchen remodel.

Most general contractors won't let you on the site without it, and many municipalities require proof of general liability to pull a permit or hold a contractor's license. According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), general liability is the most commonly purchased commercial coverage for exactly this reason.

2. Workers' Compensation (often legally required)

If you have employees, workers' comp pays their medical bills and lost wages when they're hurt on the job — and protects you from being sued for that injury.

In Missouri, the Department of Commerce & Insurance notes that most employers with five or more employees must carry workers' compensation, and construction-industry employers are held to a stricter threshold. In Kansas, the Kansas Insurance Department and the state's workers' compensation rules require coverage for most employers above a low payroll threshold. The exact rules depend on your headcount and structure, so confirm your obligation before you skip it — penalties for going without are steep in both states.

Even solo operators sometimes need a workers' comp policy (or a waiver) because their general contractor demands one before adding them to a project.

3. Commercial Auto

Your personal auto policy will likely deny a claim if you wreck your work truck while hauling materials or driving between job sites. Commercial auto covers the vehicles your business depends on — trucks, vans, trailers — for liability and physical damage. If you've got a fleet, this is essential.

4. Tools & Equipment (Inland Marine)

Your tools are your livelihood, and a homeowners or general liability policy won't replace them when they're stolen off the truck. Inland marine coverage (sometimes called a tools-and-equipment floater) protects mobile equipment wherever it travels — the job site, the truck, the storage yard.

5. Builders Risk

If you're building or substantially renovating a structure, builders risk covers the project itself — materials, fixtures, and work in progress — against fire, theft, wind, and vandalism while it's under construction. This is project-specific and usually written for the duration of the build. (We cover this in depth in a separate guide linked below.)

Bundling it: the Business Owners Policy (BOP)

Many smaller trade businesses can package general liability with commercial property coverage into a Business Owners Policy (BOP) — one policy, often at a better price than buying the pieces separately. A BOP typically won't include workers' comp or commercial auto, so you'll usually pair it with those.

Carriers we shop for trade businesses

Because we're independent, we can place contractor accounts with carriers that genuinely want trade business. Among the markets we represent for commercial lines are biBerk (Berkshire Hathaway's small-business arm), Great American, Blitz, and BTIS — a specialty wholesaler that's strong on contractor classes other carriers shy away from. If one market won't write your trade or prices it high, we move to the next. That's the whole advantage of working with an independent agent instead of buying direct.

How much does contractor insurance cost?

Anyone who quotes you a flat number sight-unseen is guessing. Your premium depends on:

The right move isn't to chase the cheapest premium; it's to match the coverage to your actual exposure and *then* shop the price.

What happens if you skip it

Going bare might save a few hundred dollars a month — until it doesn't. One uncovered injury claim or property-damage lawsuit can mean tens of thousands out of pocket, a lien on your business, or losing your contractor's license. In the trades, insurance isn't overhead. It's what lets you keep working after the worst day.

Get a contractor quote that fits your trade

Tell us what you do and how you do it, and we'll shop it across the carriers we represent to build coverage that actually fits — no bloat, no gaps.

Call or text (573) 594-5148 (ask for Lucy) or request a quote at insuretoday24.com. We're licensed across Missouri and Kansas and we speak contractor.

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