Trade coverage
Roofing Contractor Insurance
Roofing contractor insurance is harder to place than most trades, and California adds a firm rule: every C-39 license must carry workers' comp, employees or not. A solid roofing program pairs general liability and workers' comp with an umbrella for bigger contracts and coverage for your tools. We shop multiple carriers to find the ones that want your account.
What puts roofing crews at risk
Every roofing job puts two things on the line at once: your crew's safety at height and the building's protection from water. During a tear-off, the structure is open to the weather, and an afternoon storm or a tarp that lets go can send water into ceilings, insulation, and everything below. Hot work adds fire risk — torch-down membranes, hot asphalt, even a grinder throwing sparks near dry debris. And the job doesn't really end when you pack up. Leaks blamed on flashing, valleys, or penetrations can come back as completed-operations claims years later. That's why carriers look hard at roofing, and why the answers on your application carry so much weight: methods, heights, residential versus commercial, and how much work you sub out. California keeps roofing in its strictest workers' comp group. C-39 licensees have been required to carry it for well over a decade, even with no employees, and they can't file the CSLB exemption. Working up in the foothills? Wildland-edge areas of Placer County fall under CAL FIRE hazard maps, and structures there must meet the state's wildfire building standards (CRC R337 / CBC Chapter 7A).
Common exposures
- Falls from roof edges, skylights, and ladders during tear-off and install
- Water intrusion through an open roof when weather turns mid-job
- Fires from torch-down membranes, hot asphalt, and other hot work
- Leaks traced to flashing or penetrations, surfacing years later as completed-operations claims
- Falling debris and dropped bundles hitting people, cars, and landscaping below
- Subcontracted crews without their own workers' comp landing on your policy
Coverage roofing contractors need
Roofing insurance — FAQs
Because roofing's two biggest exposures — falls from height and water getting into a building — both tend to produce serious claims. Some carriers won't write roofers at all, and others limit what they'll take, such as residential only, a cap on stories, or no torch-down. Underwriters want to know how long you've been in business, your residential and commercial split, the roof types and methods you use (shingle, tile, metal, single-ply, torch-down, hot asphalt), the tallest buildings you work on, how much is tear-off versus new construction, your claims history and experience mod, your fall protection and safety practices, and whether your subs carry their own insurance. Clean, complete answers open up more markets. That's where shopping multiple carriers really pays off.
Yes, and this one isn't new. California has required C-39 roofing licensees to carry workers' comp regardless of employees for well over a decade. Roofing is one of five license classes that can't file the CSLB exemption — concrete, HVAC, asbestos abatement, and tree service joined it in 2023. So the January 1, 2028 deadline you may have heard about for every licensee doesn't change anything for you; the requirement already applies. If your workers' comp lapses, your license is at risk. Because comp is one of the biggest line items in a roofing program, class codes and payroll reporting need to be right. We check both before we shop the policy, so you're paying for the work you actually do.
Start with a certificate showing general liability at $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate and proof of workers' comp. Most GCs want to be named as additional insured, and on roofing they care a lot about completed operations, since a leak can show up long after the job closes. Commercial contracts often add primary and non-contributory wording, a waiver of subrogation, and higher total limits that an umbrella can cover. Property managers and HOAs usually want the certificate before a crew shows up, naming the association or management company. Some will ask whether your policy has exclusions for height or certain roofing methods, so it helps to know your own policy. Send us the requirements and we'll confirm they match before you sign.
Underwriters build the price from your risk profile, not a flat rate. On workers' comp, that's payroll, class codes, and your experience mod. On general liability, it's revenue, your residential and commercial mix, roofing methods (hot work draws extra scrutiny), building heights, tear-off versus overlay or new work, and how much you subcontract — plus whether those subs carry their own coverage. Years in business, claims history, safety practices, limits, and deductibles all play in, along with the value of your tools and equipment. Fewer carriers compete for roofing than for most trades, and the ones that do have very different appetites. That's exactly why we shop it widely instead of taking a single renewal number.
Usually, the damage the leak causes is what your general liability responds to — stained ceilings, ruined drywall and insulation, flooring, the owner's belongings — under completed-operations coverage. What GL generally won't pay for is redoing your own roofing work, like replacing the flashing or the section that failed; that's treated as the cost of your workmanship. Policies differ, and some roofing policies carry exclusions or limits tied to certain methods or heights. Read those before you buy, not after a claim. Keep your general liability active without gaps, too, since coverage generally follows the policy in force when the damage happens. Photos of underlayment, flashing details, and the finished roof are your best evidence when a claim comes back.
More than people expect. California requires LLC contractors to carry liability insurance under B&P section 7071.19: a minimum of $1M for an LLC with five or fewer persons of record, plus $100,000 for each additional person, capped at $5M. LLC licensees also need a $100,000 employee/worker bond on top of the $25,000 contractor license bond every licensee files. Your workers' comp requirement as a C-39 doesn't change — you need it either way. We can put the liability policy, both bonds, and workers' comp in place together, so the CSLB sees everything it needs when you file and your license doesn't stall over a missing piece.
Quote roofing coverage today.
Tell us your trade, payroll, and typical jobs once — we shop multiple carriers and come back with real options.