Roofing Contractor Insurance & Bonding
If you are bidding commercial or public work, you also need bonds. Many roofing contractors do not realize that their state may require a license bond just to pull a roofing permit. And if you are chasing larger projects - schools, government buildings, commercial developments - you will need performance and payment bonds to even submit a bid.
Grit Insurance Group builds insurance and bonding programs specifically for roofing contractors. We do not just sell you a policy. We help you put together a program that keeps you legal, protects your crew, satisfies your GCs, and qualifies you for the work you want to win.
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Roofing Contractor Bonds
Most insurance agents skip the bonding conversation with roofers entirely. That is a mistake. Bonding is often the first thing a roofing contractor needs - and the last thing their agent brings up.
License Bonds
Many states require roofing contractors to carry a license bond before they can legally operate. This is not insurance. A license bond is a guarantee to the state that you will follow licensing laws and regulations. Bond amounts vary by state, typically ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for residential roofers and higher for commercial classifications.
If you are getting your roofing license for the first time - or expanding into a new state - the license bond is step one. Requirements vary by state, so confirm with your state licensing board.
Performance and Payment Bonds
If you bid on commercial roofing projects, public works, or government contracts, you will need performance and payment bonds. Federal projects over $150,000 require both under the Miller Act. Most states have their own versions (called Little Miller Acts) that apply to state-funded work at lower thresholds.
Performance bonds guarantee you will complete the project. Payment bonds guarantee you will pay your subcontractors and suppliers. Both are typically required at 100% of the contract value.
Here is what matters for roofers: qualifying for these bonds is not just about having good credit. Sureties look at your financial statements, work history, equipment, crew capacity, and backlog. If you have never been through the bonding process before, it can feel like applying for a mortgage on your business.
That is exactly where we help. Grit's bond team works with roofing contractors to build the underwriting file, position your financials, and get you approved. We do not just submit your application and hope. We go to market on your behalf and find the surety that fits your situation.
Check your bond readiness with our free Contractor Bond Scorecard
Written and reviewed by the Grit Insurance Group team · Last reviewed August 12, 2026
Grit is an independent brokerage that places contractor insurance and surety bonds across the 31 states we write in, led by a principal holding the CIC designation with more than 30 years in insurance ownership. We came out of the trades we insure. Coverage and bond requirements are verified against each state's own statutes, rules and agency publications, and they are subject to current state code. Meet the team or call (801) 505-5500.
Insurance Coverage Every Roofer Needs
A complete roofing contractor insurance program covers six areas. Miss any one of them and you are exposed.
General Liability
This is your foundation. General liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage caused by your roofing work. If a shingle blows off a completed job and damages a neighbor's car, GL responds. If a client trips over materials on the jobsite, GL responds.
For roofers, completed operations coverage is critical. Roofing claims often show up months or even years after the job is done - a leak develops, flashing fails, a warranty claim turns into a liability claim. Make sure your GL policy includes completed operations and that the limits are high enough to satisfy your GC requirements. Most commercial projects require $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate at minimum.
Workers Compensation
Roofing carries some of the highest workers comp rates in construction. Class code 5551 (roofing - all kinds) reflects the fall exposure and injury frequency in this trade. Your rates are driven by your state, payroll, claims history, and experience modification rate (EMR).
A clean safety record and a low EMR can save you thousands per year on workers comp premiums. If your EMR is above 1.0, it is costing you money on every project - and it may be disqualifying you from work with GCs who set EMR thresholds for their subcontractors.
We help roofers understand their EMR, build safety programs that drive it down, and find carriers that price your workers comp fairly based on your actual loss history - not just your class code.
Commercial Auto
If you have trucks hauling materials, trailers carrying equipment, or crews driving to jobsites, you need commercial auto coverage. Personal auto policies do not cover vehicles used for business - and most roofing contractors have multiple trucks on the road every day.
Commercial auto covers liability if your driver causes an accident, physical damage to your vehicles, and hired/non-owned auto for employees using personal vehicles on company business. If you are running a fleet of five or more trucks, fleet pricing can reduce your per-vehicle cost significantly.
Inland Marine / Tools and Equipment
Roofing equipment is expensive - nail guns, compressors, safety harnesses, ladders, lifts, and material hoists add up fast. Inland marine coverage (also called contractor's equipment or tools coverage) protects your equipment whether it is on the jobsite, in transit, or stored in your shop.
Standard property policies often exclude equipment in transit or at temporary locations. Inland marine fills that gap. If a trailer full of roofing tools gets stolen from a jobsite overnight, this is the coverage that pays.
Builders Risk
If you are a roofing GC taking on full roof replacement projects - not just subcontracting under another GC - you may need builders risk coverage. This protects the structure and materials during construction against fire, wind, theft, and vandalism. Many project owners and lenders require it.
Umbrella / Excess Liability
Roofing is a high-exposure trade. A single fall injury or major property damage claim can exceed your underlying GL and auto limits. An umbrella policy provides additional limits above your primary policies - typically in $1 million increments.
For roofers working on commercial projects, an umbrella is not optional. Most GCs require $2 million to $5 million in umbrella coverage from their roofing subcontractors. The cost is relatively low compared to the protection it provides.
How Much Does Roofing Contractor Insurance Cost
Roofing contractor insurance costs more than most other trades. That is the reality of working at height. But the actual cost depends on several factors specific to your business:
- Annual revenue and payroll - Higher numbers mean higher premiums across all lines
- Number of employees - More crew members mean more workers comp exposure
- Claims history - A clean record for 3-5 years makes a significant difference
- Experience modification rate (EMR) - Below 1.0 saves money. Above 1.0 costs money.
- Types of roofing work - Residential shingle work prices differently than commercial flat roof or metal roofing
- Project locations and heights - Multi-story work increases risk and premiums
- Subcontractor use - Using uninsured subs creates liability gaps that carriers price into your program
We are not going to quote a number on a webpage because every roofing contractor is different. What we will tell you is this: the cheapest policy is almost always the most expensive mistake. Roofers who buy minimum coverage to check a box end up paying out of pocket when a real claim happens - or they lose a commercial bid because their limits do not meet the GC's requirements.
The right approach is building a program that matches your actual risk, satisfies your contract requirements, and positions you to bid the work you want. That is what we do.
Roofing Subcontractor Insurance Requirements
If you subcontract roofing work under a general contractor, you will be asked to provide proof of insurance before you set foot on the jobsite. Here is what most GCs require from roofing subs:
Certificate of Insurance (COI) - A document showing your current coverage, policy numbers, and limits. Your agent should be able to issue these same-day.
Additional Insured Endorsement - The GC (and often the project owner) needs to be listed as an additional insured on your GL policy. This gives them protection under your policy for claims arising from your work.
Waiver of Subrogation - This prevents your insurance carrier from going after the GC's insurance to recover claim payments. Most commercial contracts require it.
Minimum Limits - Typical requirements for roofing subcontractors on commercial projects:
- General Liability: $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate
- Workers Comp: Statutory limits with $1M employers liability
- Commercial Auto: $1M combined single limit
- Umbrella: $2M to $5M depending on project size
If you cannot meet these requirements, you cannot get on the job. We make sure your program is built to satisfy the contracts you are signing - before you sign them.
Why Roofers Work with Grit
We are not a quote mill. We do not sell you the cheapest policy we can find and move on to the next call.
Grit Insurance Group is an independent brokerage that specializes in contractor insurance and surety bonding. That means two things for roofers:
We shop the market for you. As an independent agency, we work with dozens of carriers - not just one. We find the carrier that fits your risk profile, your claims history, and your budget. If one carrier prices roofing too high, we move to the next one.
We handle your bonds and your insurance together. Most agents do not touch surety. We lead with it. When you need a license bond to get started, a bid bond to chase a project, or a performance bond to land a commercial contract - we build that program alongside your insurance. One team. One relationship. No gaps.
We work with roofing contractors nationwide. Whether you are a two-person crew doing residential re-roofs or a 50-person company bidding public works, we build the program that matches where you are and where you are going.
Coverage Roofing Contractors Are Most Often Missing
- Errors and omissions covering workmanship and rip and tear. This is the widest gap between what a roofer thinks general liability does and what it actually does. The damage to your work and damage to your product exclusions mean the cost to tear out and replace a defective roof system is normally your own money. General liability pays for the ruined ceiling and contents below, not for the roof.
- Contractors pollution liability. Tear-offs on older buildings put crews into asbestos-containing built-up roofing, coal tar and silica dust. The standard liability form also carries an absolute mold, fungi and algae exclusion, so the mold claim that follows a wet tear-off has no home on your general liability at all.
- Products and completed operations, kept in force after the job closes. Roofs fail on a delay. The leak that appears in year three is a completed operations claim, and by then the policy in force during installation may be gone. General contractors require additional insured status to include completed operations and to stay in place on every renewal through the statute of limitations.
- Installation floater on material staged before it is fastened down. General liability pays nothing toward your own property. Two pallets of shingles on a job site overnight are an inland marine exposure, and that gap between delivery and installation is when theft and storm loss happen.
What Your State Requires, and Who Has To Be Named
Most roofing insurance pages say requirements vary by state and stop there. They vary in ways that decide whether your filing is accepted. Grit verified these against each state's own statutes, rules and agency publications, and every state links through to the full breakdown.
| State | Liability minimum for licensure | Who must be named, and the catch |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Proof of current liability insurance, with no dollar minimum published | The Board itself at 445 Dexter Ave must be the certificate holder, and the insured name must match the applicant exactly. The $1,000,000/$2,000,000 figures you will find quoted are not licensing minimums - they come from Division of Construction Management Form C-8 Article 37, which governs state building contracts. Minimum net worth and working capital of $10,000 to license at all. |
| Arizona | None. A license bond instead, $2,500 to $100,000 by classification and volume | The ROC takes no insurance filing whatsoever. Residential contractors additionally pay into the Residential Recovery Fund or post a second bond of $200,000. Bond amount steps with contemplated gross volume, so growing past a threshold means raising the bond. |
| California | None for most licensees. LLCs: $1,000,000 cumulative, rising $100,000 per person of record above five, capped at $5,000,000 | B&P 7071.19, and the policy must come from an admitted California insurer or an approved surplus lines carrier. Every licensee posts a $25,000 bond; LLCs add a $100,000 employee bond. C-8 concrete, C-20 HVAC, C-22 asbestos, C-39 roofing and C-61/D-49 tree service must carry workers comp even with zero employees. |
| Colorado | GL $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate at PPRBD; Fort Collins $2,000,000 aggregate | There is no statewide license, so this is municipal. A lapse suspends the license automatically at PPRBD, and Fort Collins keeps a license current only while bond and insurance are. One PPRBD filing covers nine jurisdictions. |
| Georgia | GL $300,000 residential-basic, $500,000 light commercial and commercial | The Board in Macon as certificate holder. Binders, information pages, policies and declaration pages are all refused - it must be a signed certificate, and an individual applicant must be the named insured, not their company. Workers comp at three or more employees. |
| Idaho | GL $300,000 single limit, including products and completed operations | From an Idaho-authorized insurer. A floor set in 2006 and never raised, so treat it as the registration minimum rather than the coverage decision. No bond at all. |
| Illinois | Roofing: $250,000 property damage and $500,000 bodily injury, each occurrence | The license is cancelled without a hearing on the termination date of your bond, and on proof that insurance lapsed. No grace period. The amounts live in the rule at 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1460.20, not in the statute that most pages cite. |
| Kansas | Roofing registration: a liability certificate of not less than $500,000 | K.S.A. 50-6,125, and it is filed with the Attorney General rather than a licensing board, which is why roofers looking for a contractor board never find it. Kansas licenses no general contractors, so roofing carries the only statewide insurance minimum. Cities license separately. |
| Louisiana | GL $100,000 residential and home improvement, $50,000 mold remediation | A liability trust fund at the same amount is accepted instead of a policy. Commercial applicants file no insurance certificate at all. Workers comp required alongside. |
| Maine | None required for licensure | Maine licenses no general contractors at all. It regulates the contract instead, and a home construction contract over $3,000 must be written, with the down payment capped at one third of the price. |
| Michigan | None required for licensure | The widely quoted $100,000 figure is not in the law, and the statute it is cited to is about an unlicensed builder being unable to sue for payment. Nothing filters your competitors, so your own certificates carry the whole burden. |
| Mississippi | GL $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate | MSBOC as certificate holder, and the insured name must match the license name exactly. Workers comp at five or more employees. A Certificate of Responsibility holder must also disclose to the owner at signing whether they carry GL, in type larger than the rest of the contract. |
| Missouri | Statewide electrical license: $500,000 liability | And a bond posted with every political subdivision you work in. The state license removes local exams, never local bonds. Outside electrical there is no state license and no state minimum. |
| Montana | Montana-issued workers compensation | Montana does not accept another state's workers comp in construction. Your home-state policy does not travel, and contractors from Idaho, Wyoming and the Dakotas discover it after winning the job. |
| Nebraska | Workers compensation only, on an ACORD 25 | Department of Labor as certificate holder. If the coverage lapses you are removed from the registered contractor list until your agent files a current certificate. |
| Nevada | No GL minimum. Workers compensation is a condition of licensure | Industrial insurance compliance, or a signed exemption affidavit, must be on file to issue a license, to activate an inactive one, and to renew. An active license without comp on file is not a valid license. The license bond scales with your limit, and the Residential Recovery Fund covers homeowners in place of a GL mandate. |
| New Hampshire | None. No state general contractor license exists | Only electricians and plumbers are licensed statewide, so there is no board to file a certificate with. Requirements come from municipalities and from the owners and general contractors who hire you, which in practice means the contract sets your limits. |
| New Mexico | No general liability minimum in the rule | But workers comp compliance is a condition of license validity under Section 60-13-23, so a comp failure invalidates the license. Every license also carries a $10,000 bond, and it is a code bond rather than a contract bond. |
| North Carolina | None. The Board states there is no insurance requirement for licensing | Financial responsibility instead: working capital of $17,000 limited, $75,000 intermediate, $150,000 unlimited. A surety bond substitutes for the working capital entirely at $175,000, $500,000 and $1,000,000. Workers comp is still North Carolina law, it is simply not a license condition. |
| North Dakota | A liability certificate naming the Secretary of State as certificate holder | Plus Workforce Safety and Insurance verification. No dollar minimum is published, so the certificate itself is the requirement. |
| Ohio | $500,000 contractor liability insurance | Must sit in one contracting company name. The figure is set by the licensing board and published on its application, not fixed in the Revised Code, so confirm it at renewal rather than assuming last year's number. |
| Oklahoma | $50,000 GL per plumbing, electrical or mechanical license | CIB as certificate holder, and both the bond and the certificate must be in the individual license holder's name, not the company's. $50,000 is far too low for real commercial MEP work - meeting the minimum and stopping is the exposure. |
| Oregon | Scaled to your endorsement: residential $100,000 to $500,000 per occurrence, commercial $500,000 per occurrence to $2,000,000 aggregate | The CCB pairs every bond amount with an insurance amount, so the two move together. Hold both a residential and a commercial endorsement and you file two bonds but one policy, written at the higher of the two amounts. Commercial General Contractor Level 1 is an $80,000 bond with $2,000,000 aggregate; a number of surety sites publish $75,000 for it, which is out of date. |
| Pennsylvania | $50,000 personal injury and $50,000 property damage | HICPA registration through the Attorney General, required of anyone doing more than $5,000 of home improvement work a year. Registration is not a license - no exam, no financials, no experience - but your PA number must appear on every advertisement, contract, estimate and proposal, and non-compliance can make the contract unenforceable. |
| South Carolina | None for general or mechanical contractor licensure. Alarm and fire sprinkler registrations: $100,000 | That $100,000 gets quoted as though it covers every South Carolina contractor. It does not. GC and MC licensure runs on financials or a bond: Group 1 is a $20,000 bond for a $100,000 job limit, through Group 5 at $350,000 for unlimited. The bond is a full substitute for the CPA financial statement. |
| Tennessee | GL scaled to your monetary limit, plus workers comp unless exempt | The board publishes the schedule separately from the statute, so confirm the tier that applies to your limit rather than assuming. New since July 1, 2026: a bond of at least 50% of your monetary limit can replace the CPA-reviewed or audited financial statement entirely. Monetary limit is 10 times the lesser of working capital or net worth. |
| Texas | Air conditioning and refrigeration: Class A $300,000 per occurrence and $600,000 aggregate; Class B $100,000 and $200,000 | No state general contractor license exists, so most trades face no state insurance minimum at all. The licensed trades do, and TDLR will not issue without it. |
| Utah | GL $1,000,000 per incident and $2,000,000 total | DOPL as certificate holder, plus workers comp or a Labor Commission waiver. Raised from $100,000/$300,000 effective April 20, 2026. The $3,000,000 aggregate you may have read about was the original proposal and was pulled back. |
| Virginia | None. Class A and B document net worth or equity instead: $45,000 and $15,000 | A financial statement, a CPA review or audit, or a surety bond on the Board's own form - any one of the three satisfies it. Class C has no financial threshold at all. Third-party sites publish per-class GL minimums for Virginia that appear nowhere in DPOR's application or instructions. |
| Washington | GL $200,000 public liability plus $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined single limit | L&I as certificate holder. Washington runs a monopolistic workers comp system, so comp comes from the State Fund and never from a private carrier. Specialty contractors also post a $15,000 bond, general contractors $30,000. |
| Wyoming | None. No state contractor license exists | Cities and counties license instead, so the requirement changes by jurisdiction rather than at the state line. Casper, Cheyenne and Laramie each run their own program. Plan coverage around the owner's contract, because no state floor is going to set it for you. |
Three patterns travel to any state you work in. A lapse is a licensing event, not just an insurance one, and several states suspend or de-register automatically with no hearing. The certificate holder is state-specific, so naming the wrong entity gets the filing rejected even when the coverage is right. And in a growing number of states a surety bond is an accepted substitute for the financial statement - North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and, since July 2026, Tennessee all let a bond stand in place of CPA-prepared financials or a working capital test. That turns a bond into a way to qualify for a license, not just a box to check after you have one.
Grit verified every row above in all 31 states we write in, from each state's own statutes, rules and agency publications rather than from other insurance blogs. Several of the figures circulating online are misattributed - Alabama's are lifted from a state construction contract form, South Carolina's from a specialty registration, and Virginia's do not exist. Call (801) 505-5500 and we will confirm what your state actually requires before you file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do roofers need a surety bond?
In many states, yes. Many states require a contractor license bond for roofing contractors before you can get licensed. Bond amounts vary by state. If you are bidding on public or commercial projects, you will also need bid bonds, performance bonds, and payment bonds.
What insurance do I need to start a roofing company?
At minimum, you need general liability insurance and workers compensation (required in almost every state if you have employees). Most states also require a contractor license bond. As you grow, you will need commercial auto, inland marine for tools and equipment, and an umbrella policy to meet GC contract requirements.
How much is general liability insurance for a roofer?
It varies based on your revenue, payroll, claims history, location, and type of roofing work. Roofing GL rates are higher than most trades because of the fall exposure and property damage risk. Get a quote based on your specific business rather than relying on online estimates.
What is the workers comp class code for roofing?
The standard NCCI workers comp class code for roofing is 5551. This is one of the highest-rated class codes in construction due to the fall risk and injury frequency associated with roof work. Your actual rate depends on your state, EMR, and claims history.
Do I need a performance bond for commercial roofing work?
For public projects, yes. Federal projects over $150,000 require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act. Most states have similar requirements for state-funded projects. Many private commercial projects also require bonds from roofing subcontractors, especially on larger jobs.
Can I get bonded with bad credit?
Possibly. For smaller license bonds, credit is a major factor. For larger performance bond programs, sureties look at the full picture - financial statements, work history, equipment, and management. We work with roofers who have been declined elsewhere and find paths to approval. Start with our Bond Scorecard to see where you stand.
What does additional insured mean for a roofing subcontractor?
It means the general contractor is added to your GL policy as a protected party. If a claim arises from your roofing work, the GC has coverage under your policy. Almost every commercial contract requires this endorsement before you can start work.
If a roof I installed leaks, will my general liability policy pay to replace it?
Usually not the roof itself. A general liability policy excludes damage to your work and damage to your product, so tearing out and redoing a defective roof system generally comes out of your pocket. What the policy is built to pay is the damage the leak caused to everything else: the ruined ceiling, the flooring, the customer's contents. Two things change that picture and are worth asking about by name. Errors and omissions written for roofers can pick up defence costs and rip and tear expense, and products and completed operations coverage kept in force after the job closes matters because roof failures surface years later. Watch the mold angle too, because the standard form carries an absolute mold exclusion and a wet tear-off often becomes a mold claim.
Why is workers compensation so much more expensive for roofers?
Because the loss history is worse, and it is not close. Roofing is one of the deadliest occupations in the country and fall protection has been the most frequently cited OSHA standard for fifteen years running. Rating bureaus price that history straight into the class code. Two things to understand about any per-$100 figure you are quoted. The numbers states publish are advisory loss costs, which exclude the carrier's own expenses, so they are not prices. And the spread between states is very wide, with California even splitting roofing into two codes on an hourly wage test. Your own number comes from your class code, your state, your payroll and your experience modifier.
What will a general contractor require before my crew starts a commercial job?
Expect more than the usual $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate floor. Roofing gets singled out for higher limits because of the fall and water damage exposure, and published subcontractor requirements from commercial general contractors put roofing in tiers demanding several million in each occurrence and general aggregate, often allowing you to build it from general liability plus an excess policy rather than one large primary. The endorsements matter as much as the limits: additional insured status including completed operations and maintained through the statute of limitations, primary and non-contributory wording, and waiver of subrogation on the workers compensation policy. Send the actual subcontract to your broker before you sign it, because a limit you cannot produce on a certificate will stop you from starting.
Get Your Roofing Insurance and Bonding Program Started
Call us at (801) 505-5500 or check your bond readiness with our free Contractor Bond Scorecard. We build programs for roofing contractors nationwide - from license bonds to full commercial insurance packages.
