General contractor insurance should provide more than just a safety net in case something goes wrong. Here at C&S Insurance, we’re not just insurance agents — we’re risk managers. We have the tools, experience, and knowledge to effectively help you mitigate risks on and off a construction site. Need help outlining your safety policies or keeping up with the latest regulations? Looking for ways to rein in workers’ compensation costs? We have specialized insurance agents with resources and extensive knowledge ready to help.

Read on to learn more about general contractor insurance and why C&S Insurance is well-positioned to provide you with the information, knowledge, and resources you need to help manage your business.

What Is General Contractor Insurance?

Contractors often find themselves exposed to potential risks, which is why it’s important to have the right insurance coverage. General contractor insurance protects against lawsuits and claims related to bodily injury, property damage, and other types of losses that can occur as part of a construction or remodeling project.

In the state of Massachusetts, a general contractor needs to have workers’ compensation, commercial auto insurance. Many other types of coverage — including liability and commercial umbrella — are also advisable, to protect your business from today’s most common jobsite claims.

Residential and commercial construction companies, utility services, and site contractors all need general contractor insurance.

What Does General Contractor Insurance Cover?

• Commercial general liability
• Professional liability
• Commercial auto
• Contractor equipment coverage
• Coverage of leased or rented equipment
• Inland marine insurance
• Workers’ compensation
• Builders risk coverage
• Pollution liability
• Cyber coverage

Where’s the Best Place to Buy General Contractor Insurance in Massachusetts?

If you research places online where you can buy general contractor insurance, you’ll probably find many national “direct writers” (such as GEICO and Progressive) that claim to offer quotes and coverage options in just minutes.

It’s possible to buy coverage from these types of companies without any assistance from a licensed agent, but we don’t believe that’s the best option. Here’s one reason why: If you have to receive quotes from outside the state, it’s important to know that they aren’t subject to oversight of the Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner’s Office, which means these policies can contain harmful language that can take valuable coverage away from you.

We recommend opting for an independent agency like C&S. We specialize in serving the Bay State, and we act as advisors and advocates, working on your behalf. When it comes to general contractor insurance, there’s more to think about than just the premium. We have specialized insurance agents who know GC insurance inside and out, and we’ll review your insurance program for accuracy at least twice a year to make sure you understand your insurance costs, and receive the best coverage at the best rates available in the market.

Why Is General Liability Insurance Important?

Most companies wouldn’t think of bearing the financial burden of paying for every claim out of pocket. The defense costs and the cost of settlements or judgements would be the peril of numerous businesses. That’s why general liability insurance is so important for general contractors to have. It protects against a variety of risks, most notably injuries to subcontractors and property damage arising from your ongoing and completed operations.

How Does a General Liability Policy Differ from a Business Owner’s Policy?

A business owner’s policy (BOP) is an insurance package designed for small to mid-size businesses. Typically, a BOP bundles together key coverages like general liability, business income, commercial property, and equipment coverage. Companies can also purchase add-on coverages to supplement a basic BOP. Notably, a BOP does not include workers’ compensation insurance or commercial auto coverage, but if a company will provide you with one, they may write these coverages as well and help you leverage policy bundling discounts!

The Difference with C&S Insurance

Here’s what sets us apart from other insurance agencies:

Industry Knowledge
Our construction group has decades of experience in contractor and subcontractor insurance. Beyond securing optimal coverage at the industry’s most competitive rate, we’ll provide insights and resources to ensure that your insurance program is playing a clear role in your company’s success.

Specialized Team Members
When you run a specialty business in Massachusetts, experience and education are two critical attributes you should require from your commercial insurance agent. Our experienced team members are niche-driven and spend time not only getting to know your business, but also your industry. We understand the specific GC insurance we need to talk about when it comes and how to design those policies. We have industry designations and belong to several business associations specific to general contractor insurance specialties.

Our agents are also active in industry associations, and for general contractors that includes:

• The National Association of Home Builders
• The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston
• Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod
• Utility Contractors Association of New England

Total Quote Diligence & Review
A contractor’s business can change frequently. Some years may be busier than others. You hire and let people go, move office locations, purchase development property, and trade in vehicles and equipment. That’s why we believe it’s very beneficial for general contractors to spend some time with us, at least twice a year, to ensure your risks match with the coverage your insurance program provides you. We spend the time to review your exposures and rates to make sure you understand your insurance costs in order to help you be profitable.

Ability to Look for Coverage Gaps
Our agents are well versed in all types of coverage gaps, limitations of coverage, and policy language ambiguity. We’ve seen a lot, which means we know what to look for to ensure you are receiving the best coverage.

Helping You Mitigate Risks by Leveraging Resources
We have relationships with highly reputable construction professionals who can help you implement a client contract to clearly define responsibilities of each party, a subcontractor agreement to reduce your risk through contractual risk transfer, and safety professionals who will work with you to create a safety program for your employees and subcontractors. After all, it pays to be safe in construction.

Wide Variety of Services & Programs
When working with C&S Insurance, we provide you with the ability to issue certificates of insurance from our own website, so there’s no more waiting after you make a phone call or send a certificate request by email. If you have the certificate holder’s information, you can instantly email it.

For GCs with employees, we have access to multiple insurance companies that offer “pay as you go” workers’ comp payment options, which can increase your cash flow and prevent large, unexpected audit premiums. And relating to workers’ compensation, we also help our clients with claim management. Our construction agents understand a workers’ compensation loss can have long-term effects on your bottom line. Managing your experience modification factor though claim analysis, payroll classifications, and review can help alleviate the adverse financial impact a claim might otherwise have on your company.

Losing an employee from a work-related injury has financial and emotional consequences that reach far beyond the simple cost of your workers’ compensation.  That’s why when you have an injured employee, gaining their participation in a light-duty or modified-duty “return to work” program as soon (and safely) as possible can help reduce the long-term financial impact of that claim. We’re here to help you through the claims, to get your employee back to work.

Switching Made Seamless
We don’t hide the fact that switching insurance companies involves some work. Open and timely communication, along with cooperation, are key in a smooth agent transition. Providing us with your prior agent information, accurate rating information, and loss reports makes the process easy. And when we have this information, we’re more than happy to notify your previous agent of the switch. It’s one less thing for you to worry about.

Top-Tier Carrier Relationships
We’re well versed on today’s GC insurance products and options, and we pride ourselves on our market strength when it comes to general contractor insurance. We have longstanding relationships with almost every insurance company that can offer premium, comprehensive general contractor’s insurance — without the harmful exclusions that are often added in by surplus lines companies.

For the same reason you wouldn’t seek out the lowest-priced medical advice, we don’t believe commercial insurance should but shopped on price. Still, we are able to find cost-cutting opportunities for many of the businesses newly opting to work with us. Because of our longstanding relationships with many of the industry’s leading carriers, we’re uniquely positioned to negotiate on your behalf to ensure you have the best coverage and price.

Responsive, Efficient Service
We’re not just easy to work with; we’re easily accessible. If you have questions about bills, or certificates, or serious claims that require speed and urgency, our Massachusetts-based services team is readily available and here to help. A lot of service teams like to tell clients how important they are, so don’t take our word for it. We want you to experience first-priority status, starting from day one.

Customer Service that Never Sleeps
Collisions and other loss events don’t follow regular business hours. For any time you can’t get us on the phone immediately, our CSR24 client portal provides a host of self-service options. If you need access to your policy information, report a First Notice of Loss, or issue a certificate of insurance on the fly, you can get it done.

Our GC insurance group will partner with your team to optimize your risk management efforts, while recommending steps to boost productivity and profitability. Curious to hear what we’d recommend for your business? Give us a call at 508-339-2951, or complete the quote form on this page.

Testimonials

“Brian is a wonderful account representative for us. He is always proactive in his approach to our account and goes above and beyond to make sure we understand exactly what our coverage includes. I have no hesitation in recommending Brian to anyone considering doing business with him.”
David Medeiros
Barnes Custom Builders

“Brian came highly recommended by a local builder association group and upon our first meeting we felt like we were in good hands. He quickly set to work analyzing our current insurance and found ways to save us money and extend our coverage in areas that we were lacking. What was most impressive and appreciated was Brian’s follow-up. He didn’t simply sell us an insurance package and move on to his next sale, he continued to check in with us to make sure the transitions went smoothly. This continued throughout the year, making time to review our current positions to make sure we were adequately covered as we expanded our business. Having Brian on board looking out for us allowed us to focus on what we do best.”
Paul MacDougall, Jr.
MacDougall Plumbing & Mechanical LLC.

FAQs

Q: Who needs general contractor insurance in Massachusetts?
A: Residential and commercial construction companies, utility services, and site contractors need general contractor insurance.

Q: What insurance should a general contractor carry?
A: Workers’ compensation (if you have at least one employee or hire subcontractors) and commercial auto (if your company owns, rents, or leases any vehicles); these are required in Massachusetts. You also need liability insurance, and should seriously consider an umbrella policy for higher limits of liability coverage.

Most general liability, business auto, and workers’ compensation employer’s liability policies we write have $1,000,000 in liability coverage, but sometimes that’s not enough. No one likes to think about it, but serious injuries and fatalities could occur as a result of construction operations. Higher limits of liability are often best secured through a commercial umbrella policy. Other important coverages a general contractor might want to include in their program are builder’s risk insurance, professional liability (errors and omissions), pollution liability, employment practices liability, employee benefits liability, and cyber coverage, etc.

Q: How is general contractor insurance calculated and how much does it cost?
A: There are a lot of different factors across the different lines of coverage, so no two contractors will pay the exact same rate. If you feel you’re paying too much, the following items are worth exploring and optimizing together with your agent:

• Experience Modification Factor
• Loss history
• Open claims
• Safety program
• Vehicle list
• Equipment inventory

Q: Why should I choose C&S insurance?
A: As your insurance agent, we position ourselves as your partners, advisors, and advocates on your behalf. We have specialized insurance agents who regularly practice and have a firm understanding of general contractor’s insurance. Our expertise in the construction insurance, coupled with our diligence and hard work, is why so many general contractors have put their trust in C&S.