Professional services
Contractor Insurance Calculator
Totals contractor insurance across lines, where the certificate requirements often set the limits.
Result
An estimating tool, not insurance advice and not a quote. Actual premiums are set by underwriting on factors no calculator sees: claims history, credit and loss data, exact location, construction, contract requirements and the insurer's own appetite. What cover you need is a question for a licensed broker who has looked at your situation. Contractors typically need general liability, workers compensation, commercial auto and often a surety bond, and contracts frequently specify minimum limits plus additional insured status and waivers of subrogation. Uninsured subcontractors are commonly picked up on your own policy at audit, which is why certificates are collected before work starts rather than after.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Each line of cover totalled annually and monthly with the share of revenue shown. The usual set is general liability with completed operations, workers compensation, commercial vehicle, tools and equipment, and an umbrella sitting above the primary limits. Most lines are rated on payroll and revenue, so the total scales with the business.
What moves the number
- Payroll and revenue, which drive most lines.
- Trade classification.
- Limits required by the contracts you want to bid.
- Whether subcontractors carry their own cover.
Where this one goes wrong
On commercial and public work the limits are frequently dictated by the contract rather than chosen, and a contractor who cannot produce a certificate at the required limits is excluded from bidding regardless of capability. That makes the insurance programme a market access question as much as a risk one, and it is worth knowing the limits the work you want requires before renewal rather than after losing a bid. Additional insured endorsements are usually required alongside the limits, and they are not automatic.
Before you quote
- Check the limits the work you want to bid actually requires.
- Confirm additional insured endorsements are available.
- Track subcontractor certificates, since audits add uninsured payroll.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
What limits does a contractor need?
Often whatever the contracts you want to bid require, since commercial and public work specifies them and a contractor who cannot produce the certificate is excluded regardless of capability. Knowing those requirements before renewal is better than discovering them after losing a bid.
What is an additional insured endorsement?
An endorsement extending cover to another party, commonly the general contractor or owner, which most commercial contracts require. It is not automatic and has to be arranged, so a certificate without it can still fail the contract's requirement.
Do I need cover for subcontractors?
They should carry their own, with current certificates collected and tracked, because uninsured subcontractor payroll is commonly added to your policy at audit and their injuries can fall back on your cover. It is administrative work that prevents a large bill.
The formula
premium = exposure / rate basis x rate x risk multiplier, less deductible credit, plus claims loading
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How to use this calculator
- Annual revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $900,000.
- Rate per $1,000 of revenue. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.5.
- Risk classification. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Typical (1.0x).
- Deductible ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,000.
- Claims history loading (%). Prior claims increase the premium, sometimes sharply.
- Minimum premium ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,200.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated annual premium, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue | $900,000 |
| Rate per $1,000 of revenue | 8.5 |
| Risk classification | Typical (1.0x) |
| Deductible | $1,000 |
| Claims history loading | 0% |
| Minimum premium | $1,200 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated annual premium main result | $7,097 |
| Per month | $591.44 |
| Before loadings | $7,650 |
| Credit for the deductible | $552.69 |
| Effective rate on exposure | 0.79% |
Roughly $7,097 a year, about $591.44 a month, which is 0.79% of the exposure. Underwriting will move this considerably.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only annual revenue, this is what happens to estimated annual premium. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Annual revenue ($) | Estimated annual premium |
|---|---|
| $450,000 | $3,549 |
| $675,000 | $5,323 |
| $900,000 example above | $7,097 |
| $1,350,000 | $10,646 |
| $1,800,000 | $14,195 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Annual revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $900,000.
- Rate per $1,000 of revenue
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 8.5.
- Risk classification
- Choose from Low risk (0.75x), Typical (1.0x), Higher risk (1.6x), High hazard (2.5x).
- Deductible ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,000.
- Claims history loading (%)
- Prior claims increase the premium, sometimes sharply.
- Minimum premium ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,200.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated annual premium | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Per month | A money figure. |
| Before loadings | A money figure. |
| Credit for the deductible | A money figure. |
| Effective rate on exposure | A percentage. |
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