General Liability is the backbone of a contractor's insurance program — and in this market, the details of how it's written matter as much as the limits on the certificate.
Most contractor GL today is placed in the surplus-lines market, where the form carries exclusions, warranties, and conditions that decide whether a claim actually responds. We build the coverage — and the contract and paperwork structure around it — so the policy you pay for holds up when a claim lands. That's the difference between a policy and a program.
Third-party bodily injury
Claims from a non-employee injured in connection with your work, on or off the jobsite.
Third-party property damage
Damage to property that isn't yours arising out of your operations.
Products & completed operations
Claims that surface after a job closes — critical in California's long construction-defect tail.
Personal & advertising injury
Certain non-physical claims like libel, slander, or advertising-related liability.
What's actually covered is governed by your issued policy and its endorsements — this is a general description, not a coverage determination. That's exactly why the structure below matters.
A GL certificate can look complete and still leave you open.
The gaps that sink contractor claims rarely show up on the certificate — they live in the endorsements: additional-insured status that only covers ongoing (not completed) operations, missing primary & non-contributory wording, action-over exclusions, and subcontractor warranties that quietly shift risk back onto you. We structure your GL, your subcontractor requirements, and your COI process to close those seams before a claim ever tests them.
Go deeper on General Liability
Plain-English guidance on General Liability, written for contractors, not adjusters.
General Liability for Contractors
General Liability is the coverage almost every GC and property owner will ask to see proof of before you're allowed on a jobsite. The Services page covers the basics — this is the deeper…
Read the full article →More General Liability guidance is on the way.
More General Liability guidance is on the way.
Not sure your GL form actually covers the work you bid?
Start with a free coverage review — we'll read the endorsements, not just the certificate, and show you where the gaps are.
Unique Risk Management & Insurance Services — commercial insurance for contractors since 2007. Licensed in CA, FL, MN, UT & NJ. This page is general risk-management and business-structuring education. It is not a coverage determination, a guarantee of coverage, or legal advice; coverage is governed solely by the terms of your issued policy and its endorsements.