Trade coverage
Heavy material handling, scaffolding, and silica dust create serious injury exposure plus structural defect claims. Falls and dropped material are the dominant severity drivers.
General liability responds to two different things for your trade. The first is injury or damage caused while you are working, which for masonry work is a fall from scaffolding while laying block or stone. The second is a claim that surfaces after you have finished, known as completed operations, and it is the half of the policy most often missing from a cheap quote.
Standard residential masonry is often admitted; high-rise, restoration, and high-limit work frequently moves to surplus lines.
These are the loss scenarios that drive claims for this trade, in the order we see them.
Each of these changes what the policy actually pays. Request them at quote stage.
General liability on its own leaves gaps that show up as denied claims rather than as missing coverage.
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is common; commercial and high-rise masonry work often requires $2M/$4M or higher. That is the limit, not the premium. The premium depends on your payroll, your state, your subcontractor use and your claims history, and it moves most with the hazard of the trade itself, which for masonry is high.
Standard residential masonry is often admitted; high-rise, restoration, and high-limit work frequently moves to surplus lines.
In order of how often we see them: A fall from scaffolding while laying block or stone; Silica dust exposure to workers and neighbors during cutting; A wall or chimney collapse damaging property.
These four come up repeatedly: Pollution coverage for silica; Additional insured with completed operations; Waiver of subrogation; Per-project aggregate. Get them written into the quote rather than requested after binding, because that is where the delays come from.
Alongside general liability: Inland marine for heavy equipment; Commercial auto; Pollution liability; Workers compensation and umbrella.
Yes. Their policy defends them, not you. If your work causes damage, their carrier can pay the claim and then pursue you to recover it.
Classification and carrier appetite differ by trade, so it is worth seeing how yours compares.
Tell us your payroll, state and what your contract requires.
