Construction Contractor Insurance: What Builders and Remodelers Actually Need

General liability insurance for a construction contractor, builders and remodelers specifically, typically costs $800 to $3,500 a year for a small operation, scaling sharply with payroll as you add employees.

How much does general liability insurance cost for a builder or remodeler?

• Solo or small crew: roughly $972 to $1,200 a year ($81/month average)
• Broader range: $796 to $3,500 a year depending on revenue and scope
• 20-49 employees: averaging around $7,894 a year for general liability alone, since pricing is payroll-rated at this scale

$1 million per occurrence / $2 million aggregate is the standard contractual floor, but builder's risk is the companion coverage specific to this trade, priced at 0.5% to 1% of completed project value for remodeling work. A $350,000 home remodel can mean $3,500 to $17,500 in builder's risk premium alone, separate from general liability.

What's a real example of a renovation liability claim?

Removing a load-bearing wall without an engineering review or permit is a well-documented, named liability scenario in remodel lawsuits. It leads to sagging floors, cracked drywall, doors and windows that won't close right, and in extreme cases partial or full structural collapse. This is exactly the kind of claim that shows up months after a project wraps, long after the crew has moved on.

Does my policy cover lead paint or asbestos found during demo?

Usually not. The vast majority of contractor general liability policies don't cover lead paint claims, this is a real coverage gap, not just a safety issue. Disturbing lead-based paint in a pre-1980 structure during demolition triggers EPA RRP rule violations separately from any insurance question, and asbestos-containing materials carry their own liability exposure most standard GL policies exclude outright.

What causes most builder's risk claims?

Wind causes 28% of builder's risk claims, water seepage and leakage 10%, arson/fire 8%, collapse 5%, and vandalism 3%. Fire is comparatively rare, about 0.2% of all construction fires, but expensive when it happens: roughly 4,300 construction-site fires a year cause an estimated $376 million in direct damage annually.

How much does jobsite theft actually cost?

Construction site theft and vandalism cost the U.S. industry over $1 billion a year, and the recovery rate on a single stolen item is under 7%. Tools account for nearly 40% of all construction site theft incidents, a real, recurring cost that general liability doesn't touch, that's what tools and equipment coverage is for.

See full coverage details for Construction Contractor Insurance, or start a free quote to compare your own numbers.