Contractor Insurance in Indiana

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Indiana contractors work across a wide mix of sites, from plant floors and warehouse retrofits to new homes and kitchen remodels. That variety is good for business, but it also means the ways a job can go sideways multiply. General liability insurance is the coverage that sits underneath all of it.

What general liability does on the job

General liability protects you when your work injures someone who is not your employee or damages property that is not yours. Picture a subcontractor doing a tenant improvement inside an occupied manufacturing building who accidentally clips a sprinkler line, or a remodeler whose dropped debris cracks a homeowner's countertop. Those are the everyday events this policy is built for.

It also covers your legal defense if a client decides to sue, which matters because defense costs alone can outrun the value of the original job.

• Bodily injury to clients, tenants, or visitors on your site
• Property damage inside occupied buildings during a retrofit
• Damage to a homeowner's finishes during a remodel
• Attorney fees and settlements from covered claims

Meeting client requirements and covering the rest

Whether you are bidding a commercial fit-out or a residential addition, the general contractor or property owner will typically want a certificate of insurance before work begins, often naming them as an additional insured. Carrying general liability keeps you eligible for the jobs that require it.

Add tools and equipment coverage if you want to protect the gear you move between sites, and keep professional liability in mind if you do design-build, where advice and drawings create exposure that a standard liability policy will not pick up.

Frequently asked questions

I do both commercial and residential work in Indiana. Does one policy cover both?

General liability generally responds to third-party injury and property damage across your job sites, but you should tell your insurer about the full scope of your work. Commercial retrofits inside occupied buildings and residential remodels carry different exposures, and accurate information keeps your coverage valid.

Why do property owners want to be named as an additional insured?

It extends your policy's protection to them for claims arising out of your work, so they are not left exposed if something goes wrong on their site. Indiana GCs and owners request it routinely, and it is a standard part of getting the certificate they ask for.

Does general liability cover mistakes in my actual workmanship?

It is designed for injuries and property damage, not for redoing faulty work itself. If you provide design or engineering-type advice on a design-build project, a claim that the advice was wrong is a professional liability matter, which is separate coverage.

Disclaimer: Informational only, not insurance advice or a substitute for a licensed agent. Coverage descriptions are summaries; policy terms govern. Availability and pricing vary by state and business, and prices are illustrative. Hiscox is available in 49 states and DC, not Alaska.