Tennessee contractor insurance requirements

Workers' comp in Tennessee

Tennessee construction employers with one or more employees must carry workers' comp, and construction business owners must cover themselves too unless they qualify for an exemption. Outside construction and coal mining, the threshold is five employees. Exempt construction owners are listed on the state's Exemption Registry, and the exemption covers only that person.

The agency in charge is the Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation. 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. Tennessee's contractor license has financial requirements but no liability insurance minimum we could find. Cities and counties can set their own licensing and insurance rules, so check where the project is.

Indemnity and additional insured clauses

Tennessee's anti-indemnity statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-123) 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.

Check the Exemption Registry

A Tennessee construction exemption covers only the owner named on it, not the business or its employees. If a contractor gives you an exemption instead of a COI, look it up on the Exemption Registry and confirm nobody else from that company works on your site.

What to check on a contractor COI for a Tennessee project

1. Workers' comp. A contractor below Tennessee's threshold can legally go without it, but your project requirements can still require it. Decide what you'll accept, and get an exemption or a policy in writing. For an out-of-state contractor, confirm Tennessee is listed on the workers' comp policy.
2. General liability. Tennessee 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.