New York contractor insurance requirements

Workers' comp in New York

Virtually every New York employer must carry workers' comp, including for part-time, temporary, leased and family workers. Sole proprietors and partnerships with no employees, and certain one- or two-owner corporations with no other workers, don't have to.

The agency in charge is the New York State Workers' Compensation Board. 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. New York has no statewide general contractor license; New York City and other localities license contractors. Cities and counties can set their own licensing and insurance rules, so check where the project is.

Indemnity and additional insured clauses

New York's anti-indemnity statute (N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law §§ 5-322.1, 5-324) 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.

ACORD certificates don't prove New York workers' comp to the government

When a business applies for a permit, license or public contract in New York, the agency has to see the state's own forms: C-105.2 (or U-26.3 from the State Insurance Fund) for workers' comp, DB-120.1 for disability and paid family leave, or CE-200 for an exemption. The Workers' Compensation Board says ACORD forms are not acceptable proof under Workers' Compensation Law § 57.

What to check on a contractor COI for a New York project

1. Workers' comp. Nearly every contractor with employees needs it in New York. A contractor with a crew and no workers' comp on its COI is a gap. For an out-of-state contractor, confirm New York is listed on the workers' comp policy.
2. General liability. New York 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. 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.