North Dakota contractor insurance requirements

Workers' comp in North Dakota

Any business with employees working in North Dakota must have workers' comp, and it can only come from the state fund, Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI).

The agency in charge is the North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance. 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

North Dakota requires a contractor license for jobs over $4,000. The application needs a certificate of liability insurance with the Secretary of State as certificate holder and a WSI certificate of payment or letter of good standing.

Indemnity and additional insured clauses

North Dakota has no general construction anti-indemnity statute. Its laws void indemnity for intentional or unlawful acts (N.D. Cent. Code § 9-08-02) and limit clauses that shift an owner's design errors onto a contractor (§ 9-08-02.1).

What to check on a contractor COI for a North Dakota project

1. Workers' comp. North Dakota workers' comp comes only from the state fund, so a private carrier's workers' comp line on the COI doesn't cover work there. Ask for the state fund certificate, and look for stop gap employers liability, which is usually added to the general liability policy.
2. General liability. A North Dakota 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.