Contractors in Montgomery County live on paperwork as much as on work: the Maryland Home Improvement Commission wants proof of general liability before it issues or renews your license, the general contractor wants a certificate naming them additional insured before you set foot on site, and the county wants your workers comp policy number on the permit. Terrapin has been putting those pieces together for remodelers, roofers, HVAC and plumbing shops, electricians, painters, landscapers and handymen across Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Silver Spring and the I-270 corridor since 2011.
Most contractors need some combination of six policies: general liability, workers compensation, commercial auto, an inland marine policy for tools and equipment, builders risk for projects you own or are responsible for, and a commercial umbrella when contracts demand higher limits. Which carrier writes each one depends on your trade, payroll and residential-versus-commercial mix, and matching them is the part we handle.
Get a Maryland contractors insurance quote — usually same day. Call 240-243-0042 or request a business insurance quote online.
General liability for MHIC licensing and job-site requirements
The Maryland Home Improvement Commission requires proof of GL insurance to issue or renew a home-improvement contractor license, and every GC and property manager will ask for a certificate before you start. The standard limits are 1M per occurrence and 2M aggregate, with products and completed operations included so a leak from a bathroom you finished last year is still covered.
The details of the form matter more than the premium. Look for blanket additional insured for ongoing and completed operations, a waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, and no exclusion for the type of work you actually do. Residential remodelers, electricians, HVAC and plumbing contractors fit comfortably with Erie, MGT and ERGO Next. Roofing, demolition and heavy use of subcontractors often push the account to the excess and surplus lines market, covered below.
Workers compensation: ghost policies, minimum premium policies and subcontractor certificates
Maryland requires workers compensation for essentially all employers with one or more employees, administered by the Maryland Workers' Compensation Commission. In practice the requirement reaches solo operators too, because GCs will not let an uninsured sub on site:
- Ghost policies. A workers comp policy for a sole proprietor with no employees who excludes himself from coverage. It provides no benefits to the owner but produces the certificate the GC requires.
- Minimum premium policies. For a one- or two-person shop with small payroll, priced at the carrier's minimum with real coverage for the employee. Pie Insurance quotes these quickly for most trades.
- Subcontractor certificates. If you hire subs, collect a current workers comp certificate from each one before they start. At audit, any sub without one is treated as your employee and their payments are added to your payroll.
- Chesapeake Employers is Maryland's largest WC writer and insurer of last resort; it takes brand-new contractors with no payroll history and high-hazard trades like roofing.
Commercial auto for work trucks, vans and trailers
A pickup with a ladder rack is a business vehicle, and a personal auto policy will typically deny a claim once the carrier learns it was hauling tools to a job. Maryland's minimum liability of 30/60/15 applies as a floor to commercial auto too, but it is far too low for a contractor; 1M combined single limit is what GCs ask for and what any umbrella will require underneath it. Add hired and non-owned auto if employees drive their own vehicles for the business, and schedule your trailers.
For small fleets, contractor pickups and vans, Progressive Commercial has a broad appetite and quotes quickly, including newer businesses and imperfect driving records. Erie writes commercial auto alongside its ErieSecure Business package for established contractors who want one carrier and one claims department, and Travelers handles larger fleets. Tools inside the truck are not covered by auto insurance, which is why the next section exists.
Tools and equipment coverage (inland marine) for contractors
Tools get stolen from trucks in Gaithersburg parking lots and left on job sites in Bethesda. None of that is covered by your GL or your auto policy. A contractors equipment floater, written as inland marine, covers your tools wherever they are: in the truck, on site, in the shop or at the rental yard.
Small hand and power tools are usually covered on a blanket basis with a per-item limit, while larger equipment such as compressors, generators, trenchers, scaffolding and skid steers is scheduled individually by serial number. Rented and borrowed equipment can be added, and some forms include installation coverage for materials you have purchased for a job but not yet installed, a real exposure for HVAC, plumbing and electrical contractors with expensive units sitting in a garage overnight. Erie includes a tools option in its contractor package; MGT and the wholesale markets write standalone floaters for larger schedules.
Builders risk and commercial umbrella: the two policies the project may require
Two coverages come up when a contractor moves from service work to building something:
- Builders risk covers the structure under construction, materials on site and in transit, and often soft costs, from the day ground breaks until the certificate of occupancy. Custom-home builders, remodelers doing gut renovations and additions, and investors flipping houses in Silver Spring all need it. US Assure is our primary builders risk market and can bind residential and small commercial projects quickly. Full details are on our builders risk page.
- Commercial umbrella adds limits above your GL, auto and employers liability when a subcontract or municipal bid calls for 2M, 5M or more. Erie and Travelers write umbrellas over their own packages; roofing, demolition and other heavier trades are placed through excess markets. See the commercial umbrella page for how the layers fit.
Roofers and other trades that go to the E&S market
Admitted carriers like Erie, MGT and ERGO Next have clear appetites, and some trades fall outside them. Roofing is the main one: height exposure, fire risk from torch-down work and completed operations claims years later mean most standard carriers decline roofers regardless of experience. Demolition, waterproofing, tree work, crane and rigging, spray foam, and contractors with heavy subcontracting or a prior large loss often land in the same place.
For these risks we go to the excess and surplus lines market through wholesalers including RT Specialty, AmWins, CRC, Burns & Wilcox and the FirstChoice platform on Semsee. Surplus lines carriers are not backed by the Maryland guaranty fund, the policy carries surplus lines tax, and the forms often include conditions such as subcontractor warranties requiring certificates from every sub. The upside is that the coverage exists and the certificate satisfies the GC. We explain the differences in our admitted vs. non-admitted guide.
How to get a Maryland contractors insurance quote from Terrapin
- Send us your trade, payroll and vehicles. Your work and its residential-versus-commercial split, estimated payroll and subcontractor costs, MHIC number if you have one, your trucks and trailers, and any GC requirement you need to meet. Use the business quote form or call 240-243-0042.
- We match each line to the right carrier. GL and tools to Erie, MGT or ERGO Next where they fit; workers comp to Pie or Chesapeake; auto to Progressive or Erie; builders risk to US Assure; umbrella and hard-to-place trades to the wholesale market.
- Bind and start issuing certificates. Once bound, we issue your MHIC proof and your first certificates the same day, and we keep a file of every GC you work for so future certificates take minutes.
Ready to get covered? Call 240-243-0042 or request a business insurance quote online. Our office is at 1300 Piccard Dr. #201, Rockville, MD 20850.