Hard-to-Place Coverage
Can I Get General Liability with a Past Claim?
Yes — contractors with prior GL claims can absolutely get coverage, but it usually requires an independent agent with access to specialty markets, not the standard online quoting tools.
Or call (234) 231-8427 — Mon–Fri, 9 AM–5 PM EST
Getting Contractor GL With a Past Claim on the Record
Almost every contractor will have at least one GL claim on their loss runs at some point in their career. A homeowner trips on your jobsite. A water line gets nicked. A piece of property gets damaged in transit. These are routine costs of doing business, and the insurance industry has built specialty markets specifically to handle accounts with claim history. Learn more about general liability insurance for contractors or scroll down for the details on this question.
What changes when there is a claim on your record is which carriers will write you and at what price. Preferred carriers (the names you see on TV) generally want three years of clean loss runs, meaning zero paid or open claims of meaningful size. With one or two claims, you move to standard markets — carriers who still write you, but at a 10–30% premium debit. With multiple or large claims, you move to excess & surplus (E&S) markets like Lloyd’s of London syndicates, Scottsdale, Lexington, Burlington, and a half-dozen others that specialize in hard-to-place risks.
E&S markets are not consumer brands. They are accessed only through licensed agents and wholesale brokers. This is precisely why an independent agency is essential after a claim: a captive agent who can only quote one carrier will tell you ‘sorry, you are uninsurable.’ An independent agency with strong E&S relationships will quietly market your account to 20–40 carriers and find the one or two that have an appetite for your specific situation.
The underwriting process is also different. Standard carriers issue quotes from a 3-page application. E&S carriers will want detailed loss runs (the full 5 years, not 3), a written description of what happened and what corrective actions you implemented, references from your current carrier, sometimes a phone interview, and often a higher deductible or a per-occurrence sub-limit on the troubled trade.
The good news is that most claims become invisible after three to five years. Once a claim ages off your loss runs, you move back into preferred markets and your rates come down. So the goal after a claim is twofold: get covered now at the best rate the market allows, and position the account to move back to preferred markets in 3–5 years through clean operations and documented risk-management improvements.
Trade Safe specializes in exactly this kind of placement. We routinely write roofers, demolition contractors, abatement contractors, restoration contractors, and trades with claims that other agencies have walked away from.
We Specialize in Hard-to-Place Contractors
If three other agents have already told you ‘sorry, we cannot help,’ we want the conversation. Trade Safe has E&S relationships specifically built for contractors with claim history, hard trades, or unusual operations. Most quotes turn around inside a week.
What to Send With Your Application
The four documents that get a hard-to-place quote turned around fastest at the E&S markets.
Complete 5-Year Loss Runs
Request directly from every prior carrier — they are free and required. Without them, no E&S market will quote.
Claim Narrative
A one-page written description of each claim: what happened, what was paid, what you changed to prevent recurrence.
Updated Operations Summary
What the business actually does now, % of revenue by trade, average job size, types of clients.
Risk Management Documentation
Anything formal — safety program, OSHA training records, sub-contractor procedures — that shows the account has matured since the claim.
Why Contractors Trust Trade Safe
An independent Akron agency that has spent 20+ years exclusively underwriting and servicing contractor accounts. We answer the phone, we shop the carriers, and we get your COI back the same day.
20+
Years in Contractor Insurance
We do not dabble. Every account we write is in the trades.
Dozens
Of Carriers Shopped
Independent agency — we work for you, not one insurer.
Same-Day
Certificates of Insurance
COIs back in your inbox before the GC moves on.
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Independent agency. 20+ years in the trades. Dozens of A-rated carriers shopped on every quote.