Contractor insurance in New York is a different animal. I read the exclusions first.

Labor Law 240 and 241 put liability for gravity-related and site-safety injuries on owners and contractors, with very limited defenses. That makes contractor claims in New York larger and more frequent than in most states, so fewer insurance companies write New York contractors and the ones that do charge more. The policy you want is one that does not exclude those claims. Price matters, but an exclusion matters more.

It is a clause that removes coverage when your injured employee sues the owner or GC, and the owner or GC then comes after you under your contract. In New York that is a common chain of events because of the Labor Law. A policy with this exclusion can be cheaper for a reason. I check for it on every quote.

Once the policy is bound, the same day when I can, during business hours. Send me the certificate holder's name and address and the contract's insurance section. If it asks for additional insured, primary and non-contributory, or a waiver of subrogation, those endorsements have to be on your policy, so tell me before you sign the contract, not after.

If the subs are truly independent and carry their own comp, you may not need a policy for them, but you need their certificates on file and a lot of GCs will still require you to carry a policy of your own. If you have even one employee, it is required. New York also looks closely at whether a sub is really an employee. Tell me how your crew is set up and I will give you a straight answer.

Workers comp and most contractor GL policies are priced on estimated payroll or revenue, then audited at the end of the term against the real numbers. If the real number is higher, you owe the difference. The fix is to estimate honestly up front and to give me a heads up mid-year if you grow, so the next renewal is priced right.

In many cases, yes. Corporate officers and LLC members can often elect to be excluded, which lowers the premium. The tradeoff is that you have no comp coverage if you are hurt, and some GCs will not accept a certificate with the owner excluded. We look at who you work for before deciding.

It depends on the policy. Some cover work your subs perform on your behalf, some require every sub to carry their own GL and comp with certificates on file, and some exclude subcontracted work entirely. Which one you have changes how you should run your jobs. I will tell you what yours says.

Licensing typically requires proof of insurance on file, and the specific policies and limits vary by county and license type. Some also require a bond. Tell me which license you are applying for and I will put together the certificate in the form the office asks for.

General liability first, because no GC, landlord or town will let you work without it. Then commercial auto for the truck, inland marine for the tools, and workers comp with DBL/PFL the day you hire your first helper. We can start small and add as you grow. Text me your trade and I will tell you what the first policy should look like.

Start with what you have. For a contractor quote I use the name you work under, the address, your trade, an estimated payroll and your EIN if you have one. If you do not have a Social Security number and work with an ITIN or EIN, tell me up front and I will tell you which companies can work with your situation.

Yes. Quotes, policy explanations, certificates, audits and claims, all in Spanish or English. Many of the contractors I work with run their business by WhatsApp, and so do I.