Your policy needs to describe both sides of the job
Self-performed work is the work done by you and your employees. Subcontracted work is assigned to another business. Insurers ask about both because supervising a project creates different responsibilities from performing the installation.
For example, a contractor may subcontract plumbing and electrical work but use employees to install tile. A description that says only project supervision leaves out the tile installation. Tell us the trades your crew performs and the trades you hire out, along with the money paid to subcontractors.
Your customer and your insurer may each have requirements
Your customer’s contract may require subcontractors to carry certain limits or add parties as additional insureds. Separately, your own policy may make coverage dependent on obtaining particular documents or following specified subcontractor procedures.
An exclusion removes coverage for a described situation. A condition tells you something you must do under the policy. If a proposal says uninsured subcontractors are excluded, or requires written contracts and evidence of insurance, ask what that means before hiring a crew. We can explain the consequence of each condition and whether your process meets it.
Collect the certificate and the endorsements you need
A certificate of insurance summarizes a subcontractor’s policies, dates and limits. Check that the insured business is the one doing the work and that the dates cover the job. Keep it with the subcontract and payment records.
If you need additional-insured protection, ask for the applicable endorsement too. That document gives your company specified protection under the subcontractor’s policy. Ongoing operations refers to work in progress; completed operations concerns injury or damage arising from finished work. Your contract may require both.
Before the next subcontract begins
Share your proposed subcontract insurance requirements and your own policy’s subcontractor wording with us. We can explain which records are needed, identify missing evidence and help you compare the request with available coverage.
If a subcontractor cannot provide a required policy or endorsement, address it before the work starts. Keep a current record of who is on the job, what they are doing and when their policies expire.