All California drivers must be insured. NEXT helps you get the right general contractor or maintenance personnel insurance at an affordable price. Terri has 38 years of experience in the industry and knows a thing or two about insurance, so she reviewed and approved everything on this page. While workers' compensation insurance and general liability insurance are the only types of insurance required to obtain a hiring license in California, you may want to consider a few others to protect your business.
Handyman insurance may be more suitable for you if you don't need a license because you only do smaller jobs. General liability insurance protects your business from legal expenses resulting from common mishap, such as client bodily injury and property damage. Perhaps it's not so confusing that a maintenance worker may or may not be a tradesman or a contractor, but rather that tradesmen are not necessarily contractors, but can work as employees of someone else, whether the employer is a contractor or the owner of a property. Commercial auto insurance can help cover costs related to accidents, such as property damage and medical expenses.
As maintenance personnel, some risks fall outside the scope of the protection that general liability and workers' compensation insurance can provide. San Jose does not impose city-specific insurance requirements on maintenance workers, but they must meet state requirements established by the California State Contractors Licensing Board. If you work on larger home improvement projects that are part of the structure, such as building a deck or installing new kitchen wiring that require subcontractors, you may be considered a contractor and need the right license and insurance coverage. California general liability insurance can help cover bodily injuries sustained by others and accidental damage to property. Commercial auto insurance covers property damage and medical bills that result from an accident involving your maintenance staffing company's vehicle.
For vehicles that the company uses but that are leased, rented, or that are not owned by the company, you'll need a separate policy called rental and non-owner car insurance (NOTE).
