Insurance in New Jersey

New Jersey requires Home Improvement Contractors to carry commercial general liability insurance as a condition of registration. The market (general contractors, commercial customers, larger residential customers, municipal permit offices) will require additional proof of coverage before you step on site. Minimum coverages a new New Jersey trades shop should expect to carry: - General liability. HIC registration requires commercial general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence. Source: NJ Division of Consumer Affairs, Home Improvement Contractors (https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/regulatedprofessions/home-improvement-contractors). $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the typical commercial job requirement. - Workers' compensation. New Jersey is mandatory. Under N.J.S.A. 34:15-71 et seq., almost every New Jersey employer must secure workers' compensation. Sole proprietors and single-member LLC owners may exclude themselves; corporate officers are generally covered automatically. Penalties for operating without coverage are significant. Source: NJ Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation (https://www.nj.gov/labor/wc/). - 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 needed 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. Shop the market. Trade association programs (ABC New Jersey, AGC of New Jersey, PHCC of New Jersey, MCANJ, IBEW/NECA-affiliated shops) often have group insurance programs that beat street-rate premiums for the trade. Never let coverage lapse during an active job. A 1-day gap on a multi-month project is enough to void a claim if something happens during the gap.