Hawaii contractor insurance requirements

Workers' comp in Hawaii

Any Hawaii employer with one or more employees, full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary, must carry workers' comp.

The agency in charge is the Hawaii Disability Compensation Division. It can tell you whether a specific business needs coverage, and most states let you look up an employer's policy online.

Contractor licensing and insurance

Hawaii's Contractors License Board requires general liability insurance, and workers' comp where it applies, to keep a contractor license. A lapse forfeits the license.

Indemnity and additional insured clauses

Hawaii's anti-indemnity statute (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 431:10-222) voids construction contract clauses that make a contractor indemnify another party for that party's sole negligence. Clauses that cover shared fault are generally allowed.

What to check on a contractor COI for a Hawaii project

1. Workers' comp. Nearly every contractor with employees needs it in Hawaii. A contractor with a crew and no workers' comp on its COI is a gap. For an out-of-state contractor, confirm Hawaii is listed on the workers' comp policy.
2. General liability. A Hawaii license only shows the contractor met the state's floor. Compare each limit on the COI with your project requirements, which are usually higher.
3. Additional insured. The endorsement is a separate promise from the indemnity clause, so check both. Ask for the endorsement itself, not just a box ticked on the certificate.
4. Dates. Every policy should run through the end of the job. A COI only shows coverage on the day it was issued, so check again at each renewal.

Forsured checks every contractor COI against your project requirements, then keeps checking for the life of the project. Send us one project's requirements and a contractor COI or two for a free COI risk check.