General contractor insurance, built around the subs you hire

Your sub's injured worker becomes your comp claim

Under Florida Statutes 440.10, a contractor that sublets work must secure comp for the sub's employees unless the sub has secured it, and must require evidence of the sub's coverage. Other states have their own statutory employer rules. A lapsed sub policy or a crew of 1099 workers then shows up on your audit or your loss run, see workers' comp and 1099 subcontractors.

Falls from someone else's ladder or scaffold

Fatal falls, slips and trips among construction and extraction workers totaled 370 in 2024 (BLS), and fall protection in construction is the standard OSHA cites most often in its preliminary FY2026 list. Falls lead OSHA's Focus Four construction hazards, alongside caught-in or between, struck-by and electrocution. When a sub's worker falls, the injured worker's lawyer will usually name the GC too.

OSHA cites you for a sub's hazard

Under OSHA's multi-employer citation policy, a GC with general supervisory authority over the site is a controlling employer and must exercise reasonable care to prevent and detect violations, including subs' violations. OSHA's own example finds a GC citable for repeatedly seeing a painting sub's fall protection violations without escalating them.

The sub's policy stops at completion

A sub's additional insured endorsement for ongoing operations does not reach a claim that arises after the work is finished; ISO added a separate completed operations endorsement in 2001 to fill that gap, as IRMI explains. A leak or collapse two years after turnover can come straight back to your GL, see the additional insured problem.

Indemnity clauses a statute voids

Several states limit how far a construction contract can shift your own negligence onto a sub. New York's General Obligations Law 5-322.1 voids indemnity for the indemnitee's own negligence, and Texas Insurance Code 151.102 and 151.104 restrict both indemnity and additional insured coverage for it. A subcontract written for one state can fail in another.

A sub walks off the job

When a key sub defaults, the GC pays to finish its scope. Subcontractor default insurance exists as an alternative to sub performance bonds, but IRMI notes buyers must run rigorous sub prequalification and retain a share of losses, and it best suits large GCs.

Subcontracted cost, and whether subs are insured

Under ISO rules a GC's liability premium on sublet work is calculated per $1,000 of total cost when the sub is adequately insured, as the Big I explains. That basis applies only to adequately insured subs, so a missing or lapsed sub certificate can change how that work is charged at audit.

How your payroll is split

Office, management and self-performed field payroll sit in very different comp classes. Without clean records showing who did what, an auditor can push payroll into a higher-rated class.

Your experience mod

Your mod compares your actual losses with those expected for employers in your classes, usually over three years, and multiplies your comp premium (NCCI). A mod above 1.00 can also cost you bids where owners prequalify on it.

Contract-required limits and endorsements

Higher umbrella limits, blanket additional insured for completed operations, waiver of subrogation and primary and noncontributory wording all carry a cost, and requirements are often specified in the owner's contract.

Project mix and location

Residential versus commercial, building height, and where you work all move rates. In New York, Labor Law 240 puts scaffold and hoist duties on all contractors and owners and their agents, see the New York Scaffold Law.

Claims history

Underwriters read both the number and the size of past claims in your loss runs, including sub-related claims tendered to your GL, see how claims history affects rates.

Estimated versus audited exposure

GL and comp are priced on estimated subcontracted cost, receipts and payroll, then trued up at audit, see the contractor premium audit. A busy year can produce a large audit bill.