Professional services
Roofing Insurance Calculator
Works insurance cost for a roofing contractor, where fall exposure makes workers compensation the dominant line.
Result
An estimating tool, not insurance advice and not a quote. Underwriting sets real premiums on claims history, exact operations and contract requirements. What cover you need is a question for a licensed broker. Roofing carries the highest workers compensation rates of any common trade because of fall exposure, and general liability is priced accordingly. Many insurers decline the class outright or require specific fall protection programmes, so the market is thin and pricing volatile. Uninsured subcontractors are commonly added to your payroll base at audit, which produces large adjustments. Collect certificates before work starts.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Each line totalled annually and monthly with the share of revenue shown. For roofing the workers compensation line usually dwarfs the others because the classification carries one of the highest rates in construction, driven by fall exposure. General liability with completed operations, commercial vehicle and tools and equipment make up the rest.
What moves the number
- Payroll, which drives the dominant workers compensation line.
- Classification, since roofing rates are among the highest.
- Claims experience, which follows the business for years.
- Whether subcontract crews carry their own cover.
Where this one goes wrong
Where a roofing contractor uses subcontract crews, those crews must carry their own workers compensation and the certificates must be current, because an uninsured subcontractor's injury commonly falls back on the hiring contractor's policy and the premium audit will add their payroll. Collecting and tracking certificates is tedious and it is the single largest financial exposure in a subcontracted roofing operation. Experience rating is the other long tail, since a serious claim raises premium for years after the event.
Before you quote
- Collect and track current certificates from every subcontract crew.
- Expect uninsured subcontractor payroll to be added at audit.
- Treat fall protection compliance as a premium issue as well as a safety one.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
Why is roofing insurance so expensive?
Workers compensation, which carries one of the highest classification rates in construction because of fall exposure. It usually dwarfs every other line, which means payroll and claims history drive the total far more than the choice of insurer.
What if a subcontract crew has no coverage?
Their injury commonly falls back on the hiring contractor's policy, and the premium audit will add their payroll to yours. Collecting and tracking current certificates is tedious and it is the largest financial exposure in a subcontracted roofing operation.
How long does a claim affect premium?
Several years, because experience rating looks back over a period rather than at the last year. A serious claim therefore costs the business long after it is closed, which is part of why fall protection is a financial issue as well as a safety one.
The formula
general liability on revenue, workers compensation on payroll at the class rate, plus commercial auto per vehicle
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How to use this calculator
- Annual revenue ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,100,000.
- Annual payroll ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $420,000.
- General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 26.
- Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 22.
- Vehicles. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 4.
- Commercial auto per vehicle ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,900.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to total 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 | $1,100,000 |
| Annual payroll | $420,000 |
| General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue | 26 |
| Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll | 22 |
| Vehicles | 4 |
| Commercial auto per vehicle | $1,900 |
| Claims history loading | 0% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total annual premium main result | $128,600 |
| General liability | $28,600 |
| Workers compensation | $92,400 |
| Commercial auto | $7,600 |
| As a share of revenue | 11.69% |
About $128,600 a year across all three policies, 11.69% of revenue. Workers compensation at $92,400 is usually the largest line for this trade, and the experience modifier is the part you control.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only annual revenue, this is what happens to total annual premium. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Annual revenue ($) | Total annual premium |
|---|---|
| $550,000 | $114,300 |
| $825,000 | $121,450 |
| $1,100,000 example above | $128,600 |
| $1,650,000 | $142,900 |
| $2,200,000 | $157,200 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Annual revenue ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,100,000.
- Annual payroll ($)
- A money amount, starting at $420,000.
- General liability rate per $1,000 of revenue
- A number, between 0 and 60, starting at 26.
- Workers compensation rate per $100 of payroll
- A number, between 0 and 60, starting at 22.
- Vehicles
- A number, between 0 and 200, starting at 4.
- Commercial auto per vehicle ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,900.
- Claims history loading (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 200, starting at 0%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total annual premium | The headline result. A money figure. |
| General liability | A money figure. |
| Workers compensation | A money figure. |
| Commercial auto | A money figure. |
| As a share of revenue | A percentage. |
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