Start here
New to contractor insurance or just want the essentials first? These four cover the most common starting questions.
CSLB's $25,000 Contractor Bond: What It Protects, and What It Does Not
Every active California contractor license must be backed by a $25,000 license bond — but the bond protects consumers and the state, not the contractor's own liability exposure, wh
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
The Six Coverage Lines Most California Contractors Carry
There isn't one "contractor insurance policy" — there's a stack of coverage lines, each answering a different question, usually added in roughly the same order as a business grows.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
How a Workers' Comp Premium Audit Works
Every workers compensation policy is priced on an estimate — the annual audit is where that estimate gets reconciled against what actually happened, and it's the step most contract
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
What Is a Loss Run, and Why Carriers Ask for One
It's genuinely common — not rare — for a contractor who's been in business three, five or more years to have never pulled a loss run before, and to find out what one is only when a
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Cyber insurance guides
Five new guides for business owners weighing cyber coverage: how it differs from general liability, what a contract requirement means, how wire fraud splits between cyber and crime policies, what happens after ransomware, and the questions on an application.
Cyber Insurance vs. General Liability: Where One Stops and the Other Starts
General liability answers for injury and property damage; cyber insurance answers for data, networks and money moved on false instructions. Here is where the line usually falls.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
When a Contract Requires Cyber Insurance: What to Check Before You Sign
More owners, general contractors, lenders and agencies now write cyber insurance into their agreements. Here is how to read the requirement before it becomes a condition you cannot meet.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Wire Fraud and Payment Diversion: Cyber Insurance, Crime Insurance, or Both?
A redirected payment is the most common cyber-related loss for many businesses, and the one most likely to fall between policies. Here is how cyber and crime forms divide it.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Ransomware and Cyber Insurance: What a Policy May Do After an Attack
When systems are encrypted and a demand appears, a cyber policy can fund the response — but the steps in the first hours matter. Here is what to know before it happens.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
The Questions on a Cyber Insurance Application, and Why Underwriters Ask Them
Cyber applications are short, but almost every question is about a control that stops a real attack. Here is what you will be asked and what underwriters are looking for.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Latest articles
How AI Is Changing the Cyber Threat Facing California Businesses
Every business email compromise scheme depends on sounding convincing enough that someone acts before they double-check. Generative AI has made that step dramatically easier fo
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Why California's ADU Boom Is Reshaping Contractor Insurance Demand
California has made it dramatically easier to add a second home to an existing property, and the demand response has been real. Here's what's actually driving it, and what it means
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Why California Commercial Construction Has Shifted to Tilt-Up Shells and the Outskirts
Since 2020, a lot of California commercial construction has quietly changed shape — literally. Here's the real data behind why tilt-up shell construction became the default cost-pe
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
California Liquor Liability Costs: Why It's Getting Harder to Place for Restaurants and Breweries
Liquor liability has become one of the harder lines to place well, and the cost of doing business as a California restaurant or brewery reflects it. Here's the real market data beh
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
How Much General Liability Coverage Does a California Contractor Need?
There is no single required general liability limit for California contractors. CSLB does not set one, and the number that matters in practice is usually the one written into the s
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
CSLB's $25,000 Contractor Bond: What It Protects, and What It Does Not
Every active California contractor license must be backed by a $25,000 license bond — but the bond protects consumers and the state, not the contractor's own liability exposure, wh
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Additional Insured Endorsements: What Subcontractors Get Asked to Provide, and Why
A request to be named "additional insured" is one of the most common insurance requirements a subcontractor sees — and one of the most commonly misunderstood, because a certificate
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Commercial Auto vs. Personal Auto: Why a Work Truck Usually Needs Both Reviewed
A pickup truck registered to a contractor personally isn't automatically covered for business use under a personal auto policy — how the vehicle is actually used, not just who owns
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
The Six Coverage Lines Most California Contractors Carry
There isn't one "contractor insurance policy" — there's a stack of coverage lines, each answering a different question, usually added in roughly the same order as a business grows.
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
How a Workers' Comp Premium Audit Works
Every workers compensation policy is priced on an estimate — the annual audit is where that estimate gets reconciled against what actually happened, and it's the step most contract
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Primary and Noncontributory Wording: What It Means and Why GCs Ask for It
"Primary and noncontributory" shows up in almost every GC contract's insurance requirements — and most subcontractors sign off on it without knowing what it actually changes about
By David Gleason · Published August 24, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026
Find articles by the question you're trying to answer
The GIB blog is organized into ten categories so you can go straight to the topic in front of you. Reviewing a subcontract or a certificate request? Start with Coverage & Endorsements. Bidding bonded or public work? Go to Bonds & Licensing. Trying to make sense of an audit bill or an EMR? See Workers' Compensation. Adding trucks, renting vehicles or letting employees drive their own cars for work? Read Fleet & Auto.
Developers can follow a project from land to completed units in Developer Risk; restaurant and brewery owners will find liquor liability in Hospitality; and contractors working in Utah, Nevada, Texas or California should check State Rules. Tools, rented equipment and pollution exposures have their own Inland Marine & Equipment and Pollution Liability categories, and market trends and supplier risk sit in General Construction. For short answers to common questions, the contractor insurance FAQ is the quickest route.
Editorial policy: how we check sources and handle changes
Every post that cites a specific figure, threshold or agency requirement is checked directly against that agency's own current page or published rule before publishing — not against a secondary summary, a competitor's blog, or a prior version of our own content. The specific source is linked inline so a reader can verify it directly rather than take the figure on faith.
Regulatory figures change — a bond amount, a licensing threshold, a filing deadline. When we identify a change to something a published post cites, we update that post directly and reflect a new "Updated" date rather than leaving the old figure standing or publishing a separate correction post. We don't silently rewrite history: the post's substance stays intact, only the specific figure or requirement that changed gets corrected.
Posts are written and reviewed by Gleason Insurance Brokers based on direct client questions, underwriting experience and official source material — not repurposed generic content. Nothing on this blog is legal, tax or binding insurance advice; coverage is always subject to the carrier's underwriting and the issued policy.