6 Best Insurance for Contractors 2023

To get a quote, visit its website and enter information about your business. The process takes approximately 10 minutes. It will usually then provide multiple quotes with different tiers of coverage. We received the following options when researching this article:

1. Basic costs $1,007.84 monthly for $1 million of total general liability and $20,000 of negligence lawsuit coverage. This is what Next calls errors & omissions insurance.
2. Premier costs $1,081.26 monthly for the same level of coverage as basic but also with an endorsement for $10,000 in stolen or damaged tools.
3. Deluxe costs $1,175.67 monthly for $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in general liability coverage. It also contained $25,000 per occurrence and $50,000 in negligence coverage and $15,000 for tools and equipment.

These quotes were for same-day coverage and could be purchased online. Alternatively, you could call and speak with an agent to finalize your policy.

Next offers a business owners’ policy (BOP) and workers’ compensation insurance, too, and works with partners to help you find commercial auto insurance. You can save 10% when you bundle two or more policies.

Next is a newer company but is rapidly expanding into more states with extensive coverage. It has many customer reviews from its policyholders. On its website, it publishes verified buyer reviews, and there are currently more than 5,000 reviews. Next has an average score of 4.5 out of 5 stars.^[1]

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) tracks complaints filed against state insurance regulation bodies. Next has lower than expected complaints nationwide.

Convenience is an area where Next shines. While it is not open 24/7, you can manage your policy, change coverage, file claims and, as previously discussed, create and share COIs online or via the app (available on both iOS and Android).

Next offers insurance for more than 900 different industries, so if you are a contractor in a field outside of construction, odds are you can still purchase a policy through Next.

In research for prior articles, it is usually hit or miss whether Nationwide will offer a quote online and, if so, it rarely provides the option to purchase the policy online. This was not the case when researching this article.

We received a quote in about 10 to 15 minutes for $8,324 annually, or $1,387 down with 10 payments of $693.67. This was for a general liability policy with $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate but nothing for tools or equipment. The coverage, however, was available for the same day—and it could be purchased online.

Nationwide has some coverage enhancements and endorsements for contractors. For example, its standard general liability for contractors includes blanket additional insureds and per-project aggregate coverage. There is a contractors advantage enhancement for property and inland marine coverage that can be added to the general liability.

Nationwide’s complaints with the NAIC are higher than expected. However, in J.D. Power’s 2022 customer satisfaction survey for small businesses, Nationwide ranked third.

In terms of convenience, Nationwide has in-house adjusters for claims resolution, offers a 24/7 call center for loss reporting and customer service, and provides online account maintenance for your policy. It works with independent agents and is pivoting this year to moving quoting and policy maintenance more with the local agents.

It maintains robust loss control and risk management services for its customers, especially ones that work in construction or other high-risk industries. These services are free for its customers.

You can get a quote online or through its app, and it is one of the quickest quoting systems. It advertises you can get a quote in 60 seconds—and that isn’t far off the mark.

We received a quote for $1 million in total general liability that cost $172.09 for 10 months with $434.18 due. This was for same-day coverage and could be purchased online. The policy included $2 million for products-completed operations, $1 million for personal and advertising injury, and $100,000 for damages to rented premises.

For $14.58 a month, you could add $2,500 in equipment coverage. This includes a $500 deductible.

The quoting process had a lot of customization with coverages you could add and subtract and adjustable limits. For example, we could increase the general liability from $1 million to $2 million if we wished for more coverage and were comfortable paying more.

Like Next Insurance, Thimble has an app that lets you manage your policy and claims. It even has a compliance certificate manager feature to help you with running a project. Enter your email address, and Thimble will send a checklist to you or any other parties involved. Then, through the dashboard, you will see the status of the requests for certificates.

The provider is well-reviewed by its customers. On Trustpilot^[2], it has over 1,300 reviews with an average score of 4.6 out of 5.

It is not open 24/7 and, in our research, if you call the number, it just lists different email addresses for the various departments. The app will be your primary tool for policy management and communication with Thimble.

Similar to Next Insurance, biBERK’s quote system is fairly fast and generates three tiers of coverage for you to select which one fits your business needs. We received three quotes for a BOP:

1. Basic costs $4,590 yearly with $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate with $60,000 in property and $1.2 million for the building.
2. Preferred costs $4,979 yearly. The preferred option had the same coverage as above but included equipment breakdown and water backup for the building.
3. Elite is the most comprehensive option and costs $5,431 annually for our quote. It included the above with many other more specialized coverages like local ordinances or law coverage and utility services coverage.

You could purchase any of the options online but none of them were for same-day coverage. biBERK states you can save up to 20% off by purchasing directly from it.

biBERK is a newer provider and is still rolling out coverage. It publishes a coverage map with what coverage is available in each state. Unfortunately, not every coverage is widely available. For example, professional liability is available in every state, whereas general liability is only available in about half of the United States. You can check out biBERK’s coverage map to find exactly what is available in your state.

Like other providers, it publishes customer reviews on its website^[3]. It has a score of 4.9 out of 5 stars from over 40,000 reviews. Helpfully, you can sort reviews by highest or lowest score if you want to see what people like, or don’t like, about biBERK you can find it quickly.

You can manage your policy, pay your bill and create a COI on its website. However, finding contact hours is a bit difficult. It is also unclear if biBERK handles its claims or if the claims services are shared by its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group.

In researching this article, we received six quotes for general liability insurance. All of them were for the same type and level of coverage: $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. The prices ranged from $69.97 monthly to $249.90 monthly, and Frank Winston Crum was the cheapest: $233.30 was due today, followed by 10 installments of $69.97.

All of the quotes could be purchased online. Alternatively, you could call and speak with an agent before purchasing.

Simply Business works with top providers to offer nationwide coverage. Its customers are happy with their experience. On Trustpilot^[4], it has 4.8 out of 5 stars from nearly 800 reviewers.

As a broker, it does not handle claims and its claims reporting process is to direct you to the carrier who underwrites the policy. However, if you are having problems, it has a process for helping you to get the claim started. It also does not handle any of the claims directly.

It does, however, give you the ability to manage your policy either online or by contacting one of its agents. This includes requesting and obtaining a COI.

CoverWallet offers quotes online or over the phone. To get an online quote you’ll need to be prepared to answer a number of questions about your business.

We received six quotes for drywall installation contractors. The prices ranged from $2,300 to $13,486 for general liability with a limit of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. The most affordable policy was from CNA and included blanket additional insureds.

None of the policies had the option to purchase it online but to finish the process you have to call and speak with one of its dedicated agents.

CoverWallet offers insurance in all 50 states. It provides quotes for a wide range of coverages: commercial auto, semi-truck, workers’ comp, professional liability, general liability, and commercial property to name a few.

Once you purchase a policy with it, you can manage your account online and request a COI. It has partnered with eKomi^[5] to provide verified customer reviews, and there are nearly 800 reviews with a total score of 4.7 out of 5 stars.