Insurance in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania splits trades insurance into three layers: the HICPA liability floor at the state registration level, workers' compensation under the Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act, and the higher commercial limits set by local trade licenses and by general contractors who hire you. HICPA commercial general liability floor. 73 P.S. §517.4(a)(1)(ix) (Act 132, the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act) requires every registered home improvement contractor to carry, at a minimum, $50,000 personal injury (bodily harm) coverage and $50,000 property damage coverage. The current Office of Attorney General HIC application instructions state the same: a valid Certificate of Insurance showing at least $50,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage must be submitted with the application, with the policy issued in the business name (or the owner's name for sole proprietors). The statute allows a self-insurance alternative only with an accepted Self-Insurance Certificate of Coverage and Attestation. This floor is the registration minimum. It is almost never enough for the work you will actually quote. Workers' compensation. The Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Act (Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, codified in 77 P.S. §1 et seq.) makes workers' compensation mandatory for almost every employer in the Commonwealth. The Department of Labor & Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation, administers the Act. Narrow exemptions exist (federal employees, railroad workers, longshoremen, some agricultural workers below $1,200 earned in a calendar year or 30 working days, domestics by election, and certain religious or executive exemptions), but trades contractors almost always fall squarely inside the coverage requirement. Penalties. L&I's workers' compensation page states that employers without coverage may be subject to employee lawsuits and criminal prosecution by the Commonwealth. Criminal penalties under Section 305 of the Act can reach misdemeanor or felony territory for willful non-compliance. How to buy coverage. Three paths are available under Pennsylvania law: - A licensed private insurance carrier writing PA workers' compensation. - The State Workers' Insurance Fund (SWIF), a public insurer operated by the Commonwealth, which is required to accept any qualified PA employer and often serves as the market of last resort for new or high-mod contractors. - Self-insurance, only with approval from the Bureau of Workers' Compensation based on statutory financial criteria. Philadelphia trade license commercial limits. Philadelphia L&I trade licenses (Master Plumber, Electrical Contractor, and the general Contractor License) set their own commercial minimums above the HICPA floor. Published requirements for the Master Plumber license include general liability of $500,000 per occurrence, automobile liability of $300,000, and workers' compensation coverage. Expect comparable limits on the other L&I trade licenses, and confirm the current certificate requirements through L&I's eCLIPSE portal before you bind a policy. Other coverages Pennsylvania trades contractors should price. - Commercial auto. Personal auto policies carve out business use; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia general contractors often require $1,000,000 combined single limit on commercial auto. - Hired and non-owned auto. For employees or subs using their own vehicles on company errands. - Inland marine (contractor's equipment). Tools and equipment on the job, in transit, or stored off-site. - Pollution liability. Relevant for HVAC refrigerant handling, plumbing sewage work, and any fuel or solvent transport. - Professional liability / errors and omissions. Required when you offer design-build or system-design services. - Umbrella. $1M or $2M above your primary general liability is common to meet GC insurance schedules. - Builder's risk. Typically required on ground-up construction; the GC or owner usually specifies whose policy applies. Shop the market annually. ABC Keystone, ABC Western PA, the Master Plumbers Association of Philadelphia, AMPAC (Associated Master Plumbers of Allegheny County), PHCC of Pennsylvania, and MCA trade groups all run member insurance programs that typically price better than street rates. Confirm every policy against HICPA §517.4 and your local license requirements before you assume the coverage is accepted.