Frequently Asked Question:

What Insurance Limits Do You Need to Bid on a Construction Project?

Insurance Type
Related Industries
Construction
Related Coverages

The Short Answer

There’s no standard limit — required insurance and bonding limits come from the contract and the project itself, not a fixed rule. Public and larger private jobs spell out minimum GL, umbrella, auto, and workers’ comp limits in the bid documents, and Liberty reviews your contract to confirm exactly what you need before you bid.

The Full Answer

We scrub the insurance and indemnity sections of your contract to identify required GL per-occurrence and aggregate limits, completed-operations duration, and any special endorsements — including additional insured requirements, primary and noncontributory wording, and waivers of subrogation.

We match umbrella limits to the size and risk of the project. Smaller jobs may only need a modest excess tower; larger GCs, heavy civil contractors, and wrap-up projects often need significantly higher limits to satisfy owner and lender requirements.

We align bonding with contract value, confirming bid, performance, and payment bond requirements, along with any maintenance or warranty bond provisions tied to the contract amount and duration.

We also look at your role on the project. A trade contractor under a wrap-up may only need certain practice limits, while a GC holding the prime contract typically carries higher limits and broader responsibility.

How Liberty helps: Send us the bid documents before you submit, and we’ll flag any limit or endorsement gap between what the contract requires and what your current program provides.

Related Questions

Usually not for the water-side exposure. Commercial general liability policies commonly exclude liability from owning, operating, or caring for watercraft, with narrow exceptions, so businesses with vessels, docks, or customers’ boats need marine liability coverage.

Ship repairers legal liability (SRLL) insurance covers a repair yard’s legal liability for damage to customers’ vessels while they are in the yard’s care. It fills the gap left by general liability policies that exclude property in the insured’s custody.

Yes. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault state system, while Jones Act claims are negligence lawsuits that crew members bring under federal maritime law. Employers with seamen on staff typically need maritime employers liability coverage, added to a workers’ compensation policy or written separately.

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