Montana contractor insurance requirements

Workers' comp in Montana

Montana employers with full-time, part-time, seasonal or occasional employees must carry workers' comp. Self-employed contractors can apply for an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate.

The agency in charge is the Montana Department of Labor and Industry. 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

We found no statewide general liability minimum tied to a general contractor license. Montana requires construction contractors to register with the state. Cities and counties can set their own licensing and insurance rules, so check where the project is.

Indemnity and additional insured clauses

Montana's anti-indemnity statute (Mont. Code Ann. § 28-2-2111) voids construction contract clauses that make a contractor indemnify another party for that party's own negligence, even in part. Clauses limited to the contractor's own share of fault generally hold up. The statute also reaches insurance: a contract can't use an additional insured requirement to get coverage for the other party's negligence that the indemnity rule forbids.

What to check on a contractor COI for a Montana project

1. Workers' comp. Nearly every contractor with employees needs it in Montana. A contractor with a crew and no workers' comp on its COI is a gap. For an out-of-state contractor, confirm Montana is listed on the workers' comp policy.
2. General liability. Montana doesn't set a statewide floor for a general contractor license, so your project requirements set the bar. Compare each limit on the COI with what the contract asks for.
3. Additional insured. In Montana, the anti-indemnity statute also limits what an additional insured requirement can do. Ask your broker or attorney which wording holds up, then check that the endorsement on file matches it.
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.