How much does general contractors insurance cost?
For a small general contractors operation, general liability typically lands around $800–$3,500 per year — and your real number depends on payroll, limits, state, and claims history. Here’s what actually moves the price.
Typical costs by coverage
⚖️ General Liability
$800–$3,500/yr for a small shop at standard $1M/$2M limits. Revenue, payroll, and your exact operations set the number.
👷 Workers Comp
Rated per $100 of payroll by class code — General Contractors codes rate high relative to other trades. State and claims history (your experience mod) move it further.
🚚 Commercial Auto
Commonly $1,500–$3,000/yr per work truck depending on radius, drivers, and equipment like plows or racks.
🧰 Tools & Equipment
Often a few hundred dollars a year, scaled to the gear on your schedule.
Ranges reflect what we typically see for small operations nationally — they’re a starting point, not a quote. Your state, payroll, limits, and history decide the real premium.
What drives your price
- Sub vs. self-performed work ratio — the defining GC rating question
- Sub COI discipline (uninsured subs become your payroll at audit)
- Project types and heights
- Contract indemnity obligations flowing down from owners
How to pay less (legitimately)
- A real COI-tracking habit for subs is worth actual money at audit
- Supervisory payroll in 5606/executive classes only when duties truly qualify
- Per-project aggregates only where contracts require them
The class codes behind your rate
How these ranges were developed
The figures above are directional planning ranges for small operations (roughly 1–5 workers) at standard $1M/$2M liability limits, drawn from published small-business premium benchmarks and our own multi-state placement experience as an independent agency. They are not carrier rate filings, not averages of bound policies, and not a quote — your premium is set by the carrier from your payroll, state, class codes, limits, and loss history, and can fall outside these ranges in either direction.
Written by the We Insure Things team — licensed independent insurance agents. Last reviewed July 13, 2026. The only number that matters is a real quote — get yours here.
Cost questions we hear
I sub everything out — why do I still need GL?
Because the owner sues everyone, and your indemnity obligations plus completed-operations exposure survive even a fully-subbed job. GC coverage is priced on exactly that reality.
What happens at audit if a sub had no insurance?
Their cost gets treated like your payroll and charged at the trade’s rate — the most expensive way to discover a missing COI. Collect certificates before mobilization, every time.
Stop guessing — get your actual number.
Five minutes with a licensed agent beats an hour of internet ranges.
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