Contractor insurance that clears the contract.
Alishahi Insurance places workers’ comp, general liability and license bonds for trades and general contractors across the country, with deep experience in California, from an office in Beverly Hills (CA License #4348151), with the certificates, additional-insured endorsements and waivers your GCs and property managers ask for, turned around quickly.
Quick answer Alishahi Insurance, Sam Alishahi's independent brokerage in Beverly Hills (CA License #4348151), places workers' comp, general liability and license bonds for trades and general contractors in Los Angeles and across California.
- Alishahi Insurance handles the certificates, additional-insured endorsements and waivers that general contractors and property managers ask contractors for.
- Workers' compensation is required in California for employers and is rated on payroll by classification code, so accurate class codes and payroll estimates matter at audit.
- Many construction contracts ask contractors for general liability of $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate.
- The CSLB requires a $25,000 contractor license bond to keep a California contractor license active.
- Sam Alishahi starts from the contracts a contractor signs and the jobs it takes, then builds the policies to fit them.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · En español · How this page is researched
Coverage that matches the work you actually do
Most contractor insurance problems don’t show up when you buy the policy. They show up when a GC rejects your certificate, an audit reclassifies your payroll, or a claim lands on an exclusion nobody mentioned.
I start from the contracts you sign and the jobs you take, then build the policies to fit them.
- Workers’ compensationRequired in California for employers. Rated on payroll by classification code, so accurate class codes and payroll estimates matter at audit.
- General liabilityInjury and property damage your work causes to others. Many contracts ask for $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate.
- License bondThe CSLB requires a $25,000 contractor license bond to keep a license active; see California contractor license bond ($25,000).
- Also commonCommercial auto, tools and equipment, builder’s risk and excess liability for larger contracts.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Your license: CSLB number and classifications.
- Your work: trade, and the split between residential and commercial jobs.
- Payroll: annual payroll by type of employee, including owners who work in the field.
- Subcontractors: what you pay subs each year and whether they carry their own insurance.
- Contracts: the insurance requirements page from a typical contract.
- History: loss runs from your current carrier for the last three to five years.
California defect claims: the builder's prelitigation clock
In California, a buyer's defect claim against the builder of a new home goes through a written prelitigation procedure before a lawsuit (Civil Code section 910 and following). It applies only to new residential units where the purchase agreement was signed on or after January 1, 2003 (section 938). Rules vary by state. The deadlines:
- Inspection within 14 days. If the builder elects to inspect, it must finish within 14 days after acknowledging the claim, pay the costs, give written proof of liability insurance, and restore the property within 48 hours of testing. A second inspection needs written reasons within three days and must be done within 40 days of the first (section 916).
- Offer to repair within 30 days. If the builder offers to repair, the written offer comes within 30 days of the inspection and names the repair contractors with their license numbers. Those contractors must be fully insured for damage or injury they cause during the repair (section 917).
If the builder doesn't inspect in time, the homeowner may file suit (section 916). Unless the title says otherwise, actions must be brought within 10 years after substantial completion, and that includes indemnity actions against those who did the work or furnished materials (section 941).
For subcontractors: a builder that intends to hold you responsible must notify you in time to attend the inspection and take part in the repair (section 916). Report that notice to your insurer right away. These claims can surface years after the job closed, which is why completed operations coverage matters.
Managing subs: the endorsement is the coverage, not the certificate
A certificate lists a sub's policy; the additional insured endorsement is what gives you direct access to it. Collect the endorsement pages along with the certificate (see certificate holder vs. additional insured). What to check, per IRMI's history of the ISO forms:
- CG 20 10 is ongoing operations. ISO limited it to the named insured's ongoing operations in 1993.
- CG 20 37 is completed operations. ISO introduced it in 2001 to restore completed operations coverage for additional insureds.
- "Caused in whole or in part." Since 2004 the ISO wording covers you only where the sub's acts or omissions, or those of people working for it, caused the injury or damage in whole or in part.
- The contract caps the coverage. ISO's 2013 revisions made coverage no broader than the written contract requires, at the lesser of the contract's required limit or the policy limit. Write the limits you want into the subcontract.
- "Only as permitted by law." The 2013 revisions also added this. IRMI notes some states bar additional insured coverage broader than indemnity could provide.
Related: additional insured on a contractor policy and do subcontractors need their own insurance?.
Restrictive endorsements to read for before you bid
IRMI describes endorsements insurers attach to contractors' policies in response to construction defect claims. The combination varies by class of contractor, type of construction and state, so read your endorsement list for these:
- Residential construction exclusion: removes coverage for operations on property intended for habitation. Some versions apply only to multifamily housing such as apartments, townhomes and condominiums; check single versus multifamily and new construction versus renovation. On a sub's policy, it can also eliminate your additional insured coverage.
- EIFS exclusion: the ISO version IRMI describes (CG 21 86 12 04) reaches virtually all claims tied to your work on an exterior fixture of a building that has EIFS on any portion, even if you never touch the system.
- Earth movement or subsidence: watch for it if you do foundation work or move, grade or compact soil. IRMI notes some insurers apply it only to residential work or to areas prone to earth movement, most notably California.
- Damage to work performed by subcontractors (CG 22 94, CG 22 95): removes coverage for damage to your work that is, or is caused by, a sub's work, either entirely or for scheduled sites.
- Umbrella contractors limitation: bundles exclusions such as mold, EIFS, subsidence and residential construction. Check that your umbrella doesn't exclude what your CGL covers.
Contractor insurance, answered
Do roofing contractors need special insurance?
Roofing is one of the higher-risk trades, so general liability for roofing contractors is underwritten and priced separately, and some carriers won’t write it. California also requires roofing (C-39) contractors to carry workers’ compensation even without employees. I shop the carriers that write roofers.
Do I need workers’ comp if I don’t have employees?
California requires workers’ comp for employers, and the CSLB requires a workers’ comp certificate or an exemption on file for your license. Requirements have been tightening for some classifications, so confirm your classification’s current rules with the CSLB or ask me.
Do you file the CSLB license bond too?
Yes. The $25,000 contractor license bond is a separate surety product that I place and the surety files with the CSLB; the bond page covers amounts, claims and cancellations.
What does additional insured, primary and non-contributory mean?
Additional insured extends your policy to protect the GC or owner for claims arising from your work. Primary and non-contributory means your policy responds first, without the GC’s own policy having to contribute.
Why did my workers’ comp bill go up after the audit?
Usually because actual payroll was higher than the estimate, work was classified differently, or subcontractors without their own coverage were counted as your payroll.
Do you offer contractor insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- Contractors State License Board
- California Division of Workers' Compensation: employer information
- California Civil Code 916 (builder inspection)
- California Civil Code 917 (offer to repair)
- California Civil Code 938 (new residential units, purchase agreements on or after Jan. 1, 2003)
- California Civil Code 941 (time limit for actions)
- California Civil Code 2782 (construction indemnity limits)
- California Civil Code 2782.9 (residential wrap-up programs)
- IRMI: Owner-controlled insurance program (OCIP)
- IRMI: Designated operations exclusion endorsement
- IRMI: 2013 ISO Additional Insured Endorsements, Putting the Changes into Context for the Construction Industry
- IRMI: Construction Defect Trend Produces Coverage-Restricting Endorsements (2024)
Send the contract requirements. I’ll match them.
If a certificate is holding up a job, say so on the form or tell the intake assistant it’s urgent.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.
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