Insurance in Hawaii

Hawaii is one of the states where insurance is a condition of licensure. The Hawaii Contractors License Board requires every licensed contractor to submit and maintain certificates of insurance; a gap in coverage forfeits the license. Minimum coverages required for a Hawaii contractor license: - General liability. Bodily Injury Liability of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence, and Property Damage Liability of at least $50,000 per occurrence. The Board accepts liability insurance from a non-admitted carrier if the producer qualifies for an exemption under HRS Section 431:9A-104(b)(6). Coverage must be continuous; a gap triggers automatic forfeiture of license if not reinstated within 60 days. - Workers' compensation. Mandatory certificate of workers' compensation insurance from a Hawaii-authorized carrier. A prescribed form may substitute for single-member LLCs with no employees, and for corporations where the RME owns at least 50% and there are no other employees. Hawaii does not allow a general private-sector opt-out from workers' comp; the single-member / solo-corporation substitute is narrow. - Commercial auto. Your personal auto policy almost certainly excludes business use. Hired and non-owned auto coverage protects against claims arising from employee-owned vehicles used on company business. - Tools and equipment (inland marine). Homeowners and auto policies exclude business tools beyond small dollar limits. Inland marine is the contractor-specific tool coverage. - Professional liability (errors and omissions). Rarely required for pure trades work but useful if you do design-build or estimating for others. - Umbrella. A $1M or $2M umbrella is cheap relative to what it protects; many Hawaii commercial and federal-facility projects require coverage higher than the $300k / $50k state minimums and an umbrella is the cost-effective way to get there. The state-minimum limits ($100k / $300k / $50k) are a floor for the license, not a commercial job requirement. General contractors on commercial work and federal facilities (including the substantial DoD construction market in Hawaii) routinely require $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate general liability plus an umbrella. Shop the market. Trade association programs (NECA, PHCC, ABC, AGC, MCA) and local Hawaii independent agents that specialize in contractor accounts can beat street-rate premiums. Use the Insurance Certificate Electronic Online Submittal System at https://pvl.ehawaii.gov/inikua/public/welcome.html to get certificates to the Board faster than paper mail. Never let coverage lapse during an active job. Hawaii's automatic forfeiture rule means a one-day gap that coincides with a loss can void a claim and cost you the license.