How much does insurance cost for installation contractors?

Installation businesses and contractors pay an average premium of $73 per month, or $879 per year, for general liability insurance.

This policy helps pay for legal costs if a customer trips over your ladder and suffers an injury, or if an installer accidentally damages a customer's property. It also covers advertising injuries, which include slander, libel, and copyright infringement.

This is the average general liability policy for installation businesses that buy from Insureon:

Premium: $73 per month
Policy limits: $1 million per occurrence; $2 million aggregate
Deductible: $500

Insureon’s licensed agents typically recommend a business owner’s policy over a standalone general liability policy. A BOP combines general liability insurance with commercial property insurance to protect your tile, glass, or HVAC installation company, and costs less than purchasing each policy separately.

Small, low risk businesses are typically eligible for a BOP. Businesses with higher risks can often save money with a commercial package policy (CPP), which offers liability and property coverage with more coverage options and higher policy limits.

Among installation businesses and independent contractors that purchase general liability coverage with Insureon, 24% pay less than $50 per month and 68% pay $100 or less each month.

The amount you pay depends on several factors, such as the size of your business, how often you interact with customers, and your business revenue.

Businesses with larger premises, such as a fence installation business with a two-story office and a storage yard, typically pay more for general liability insurance than smaller businesses, such as a siding installation business with only a few employees.

Your industry risks, years in operation, claims history, and location will also affect your insurance premium.

When determining your insurance premium, providers look at the claims history for businesses that are similar to your own. General liability premiums are higher for professions that often report bodily injuries or property losses.

For example, a ceiling installer could accidentally injure someone if a portion of a ceiling fell down, while businesses that install drywall or cables are less likely to cause injuries and other damages.

The average cost of general liability for a ceiling installation business is $106 per month, while the average for drywall installers is $57 per month. As you can see, premiums vary significantly across professions.

Policy limits are the maximum amounts your insurer will pay on covered claims. Most installation business owners (95%) choose a general liability policy with a $1 million per-occurrence limit and a $2 million aggregate limit.

The per-occurrence limit is the maximum your insurer will pay for a single incident, while the aggregate limit is the maximum they will pay for all claims during your policy period, typically one year.

Choosing lower limits is one way to get an affordable premium, but you'll also want to make sure it's enough to cover a lawsuit.

Learn other ways to save, how to choose coverage limits, and more on Insureon's general liability insurance cost analysis page.

Installation businesses pay an average of $193 per month for workers' compensation insurance, or $2,320 annually. This insurance policy covers medical expenses when an employee is injured on the job, and it also provides disability benefits while they're recovering and unable to work.

Typically, state laws require installation businesses that have employees to carry this coverage. It's also recommended for sole proprietors, as health insurance plans can deny claims when an injury or illness is related to your job.

Most workers' comp policies include employer's liability insurance, which covers the cost of lawsuits related to workplace injuries.

The cost of workers' comp depends on several factors, such as your business's location, the number of employees, and the type of work they do.

Among installation businesses that purchase workers’ compensation insurance with Insureon, 22% pay less than $100 per month and 46% pay between $100 and $300 per month.

Insurance companies primarily look at the number of employees and their level of occupational risk when determining your premium.

Installation businesses pay an average of $216 per month, or $2,588 per year, for commercial auto insurance. This policy can pay for property damage and medical bills when your truck or other vehicle gets into an accident. It can also cover vehicle theft, vandalism, and weather damage.

Most states require a commercial auto policy for businesses with company-owned vehicles, such as HVAC trucks and appliance company vans. For personal, rented, and leased vehicles used for work purposes, look to hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA) instead.

The cost of commercial auto insurance depends on several factors, including the policy limits you choose, the value of your vehicle, and the driving records of anyone permitted to drive.

On average, installation businesses pay only $14 per month, or $169 per year, for contractor’s tools and equipment insurance.

A form of inland marine insurance, this policy covers the cost of lost, stolen, or damaged tools and equipment. Unlike standard property insurance, it protects your items while they're in transit, at a customer's home, or stored off-site.

The cost of contractor's tools and equipment coverage depends on the value of your tools and equipment and the type of work you do.

Small businesses pay an average of $145 per month, or $1,740 annually, for cyber insurance. You might also see this policy called cyber liability insurance or cybersecurity insurance.

Cyber insurance helps installation companies recover financially after a data breach or cyberattack. It can help pay for customer notification costs, fraud monitoring services, and other costs necessitated by state data breach laws.

The cost of cyber insurance depends on the amount of personal information handled by your installation business, along with the number of employees who can access it.

Installation businesses pay an average of $99 per month, or $1,189 annually, for commercial umbrella insurance, which is available in $1 million increments.

This policy boosts the protection of your general liability insurance, commercial auto insurance, and employer's liability insurance. When a claim exceeds the limits of the underlying policy, umbrella insurance kicks in to provide coverage.

Installation businesses may need this type of insurance if a client requires liability coverage in excess of $2 million. For example, a client might require you to carry $3 million in general liability coverage before they'll allow your workers onto their property. You could carry $2 million in general liability insurance along with a $1 million umbrella policy to meet this requirement.

The cost of umbrella insurance depends on your risks and how much coverage you buy. You need to buy a certain amount of underlying coverage before you can purchase umbrella insurance.

Installation businesses pay an average of $13 per month for surety bonds, or $158 annually. A surety bond reimburses your client if you're unable to fulfill the terms of a contract or other agreement.

The cost of a surety bond is a percentage of the total bond amount. It may also be influenced by your type of work and your credit score.