Insurance: the certificate to ask for
If an uninsured worker is hurt on your property, the claim can land on you. One document — requested the right way — closes that door.
The two policies that matter
General liability covers damage the contractor causes — the fire, the flooded floor below, the neighbor’s fence. Workers’ compensation covers their people when someone is hurt on the job. A contractor missing either one is quietly transferring that risk to you: injured workers without comp coverage can and do bring claims against the homeowner.
Utah requires both for licensure, but “required at licensing” is not “in force today” — policies lapse, and a lapsed policy with an active license is exactly the gap you’re checking for.
How to ask for it
Ask for a certificate of insurance (COI) — and request it directly from the contractor’s insurance agent, not as a PDF forwarded by the contractor. Certificates are easy to doctor; agents send current ones as a matter of routine, and a contractor who bristles at the request is telling you something.
Ask to be listed as the certificate holder. That costs nothing and means the insurer notifies you if the policy is cancelled mid-project. Check the effective dates against your project schedule, and sanity-check the liability limit against your project — $1M per occurrence is a common floor for residential work.
Before you sign
- COI for general liability AND workers’ comp, sent by the agent.
- You listed as certificate holder.
- Policy dates cover your whole project; limits fit its size.
- Re-verify on long projects — policies renew annually.