Most insurance producers feel strongly about insuring contractors—it’s often a love to or hate to reaction. One of the things that makes insuring contractors so challenging is the myriad ways insurers modify the Commercial General Liability policy, often to restrict coverage.
Here are some of the things to ask the next time you review a contractor’s CGL policy:
- Has coverage been restricted to certain operations or certain classification codes?
- Has coverage for certain contracting exposures been excluded?
- How might coverage be modified when the named insured is working on a project covered by a wrap-up?
- Have residential exclusions been added, and why are they so dangerous?
- How can coverage be improved by amending how the aggregate limits are applied?
- How might the contractual liability coverage have been restricted?
- Are there coverage limitations that apply based on what the insured requires of his or her subcontractors?
- What ways have insurers found to exclude coverage for injuries to employees and sub-contractor employees?
Learn more about CGL policies for contractors
Do you know what to look for on your contractors’ CGL policies? If not, register for Contractors: Commercial General Liability Coverage Issues, taught by Cathy Trischan, CPCU, CIC, CRM, AU, AAI, CRIS, ARM, MLIS, TRIP, on Monday, Feb. 14, 2022, from 1-4 p.m. For more information, to keep up-to-date on the CE-approval process or to register for this class, see the PIA Northeast education schedule.
Cathy Trischan
Cathy Trischan, CPCU, CIC, CRM, AU, AAI, CRIS, ARM, MLIS, TRIP, is the director of commercial underwriting at the E&K Insurance Group in Eatontown, N.J. She is a regular speaker for PIA Northeast and in The National Alliance’s CIC, CISR and Ruble programs.
