Roofing Contractor Insurance

Roofers pay the highest insurance rates in construction, and carriers aren't guessing. Every roofing job stacks four risks on top of each other: falls, water damage, fire, and falling debris. Plenty of carriers look at that list and decline the whole trade.

Falls set the tone. They're the leading cause of death in construction, and roofing tops the fatality list year after year. That danger rating is baked into every roofing premium before you've filed a single claim.

Leaks are where the real money bleeds. You work on the one barrier between a building and Washington's rain — Seattle gets 37 inches a year, and the coast gets far more. A bad flashing detail can soak insulation, drywall, and framing for months before anyone notices. Completed operations claims on residential roofs regularly top $100,000. On commercial projects they can reach seven figures. And Washington's construction defect rules can leave you exposed for up to six years after the job closes.

The job site adds everyday claims on top. Tear-off debris dents the neighbor's truck and cracks their window. Torch-down and hot-tar work can start fires. A gust of wind turns loose sheathing into a projectile. Each one is a third-party claim your general liability policy has to answer.

Washington requires roofers to register with L&I, carry general liability insurance, and post a $15,000 specialty contractor bond. The bond protects your customers — not your business. Real protection is a policy built for the trade.

That's harder to buy than it sounds, because so many carriers refuse roofing outright. Who's willing to quote you matters as much as what you pay. We work with the handful of markets that actually want roofing risk — including carriers that specialize in the trade — so a declined application somewhere else isn't the end of the road.