Map the work and responsibility
List the projects you accept, the services you contract to deliver and each trade you subcontract. Distinguish residential, commercial, new construction and remodeling. Explain whether you supervise work, buy materials, perform any hands-on tasks or provide design services.
An all-subcontractor arrangement is not the same as a business with no exposure. Insurers may apply different conditions or decline particular arrangements; the application needs the actual facts.
- Describe your contract with the customer and supervision role.
- List subcontracted trades and occasional specialist work.
- State the largest project, building types and work locations.
Separate receipts, payroll and subcontractor costs
Use separate figures for gross business receipts, employee payroll and subcontractor costs. If employee payroll is zero, state zero; do not enter a token payroll amount to satisfy a form. If you only know a range, identify it as a range and confirm the estimate used for rating.
Ask the reviewer which accounting period and subcontractor amounts the market requires. Do not silently substitute net profit for gross receipts or assume all markets calculate the same way.
- Prepare receipts, employee payroll and subcontractor costs separately.
- Identify known figures versus estimates and their time periods.
- Confirm unresolved inputs before accepting the quote.
Prepare contracts and subcontractor evidence
Gather the customer insurance exhibit, subcontractor agreements, available certificates and any requested endorsements. Ask the broker to review required limits, additional insured wording and completed-operations requirements.
A certificate summarizes evidence; it does not itself amend coverage. Review what the policy requires when a subcontractor is uninsured or fails to maintain the requested protection.
- Collect customer and subcontractor insurance requirements.
- Ask how uninsured subcontractors are treated.
- Resolve missing evidence and responsibility before work begins.
Your startup action list
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Use this guide for planning. Confirm requirements and current fees with the agencies serving your address. Coverage depends on the policy and insurer; this guide does not confirm that a particular operation is eligible.