Most insurance forms start by asking who you are and what you do. Ours starts with the number CSLB already gave you.

1. Enter your license number. We find your business in the CSLB public record and show you how many A-rated insurance companies write your licence classes.
2. Confirm you are the owner. Name, mobile, email and consent. Then you see your licence details.
3. Answer about a minute of questions. Tap to answer: your trade, homes or businesses, new construction, sales, payroll, subs, crew, years in business, claims, current insurance and start date.
4. Watch the quotes come in. The quote board shops A-rated programs live. Prices arrive one by one, each with the deductible, the limits, and what is included and excluded. We also text and email you the link.
5. Submit for approval. Tap "Submit for approval" on the quote you want. A licensed agent handles it. Approval usually takes 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the insurance company. The final quote is emailed to you to sign. Nothing is bound until you sign.

Because the quote starts from your licence, the questions fit your classes. You do not retype what CSLB already has on file.

General liability (GL) pays when your work injures someone else or damages their property.

• Generally covered: bodily injury to a third party, like a homeowner who trips over your materials; damage to someone else's property caused by your work; and completed operations, if your policy includes it, for problems that show up after the job is done.
• Not covered: injuries to your own employees (that is workers' comp), your own tools and equipment, your vehicles (that is commercial auto), and the cost of redoing faulty work itself.

Online quotes use limits of $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate, the limits general contractors usually ask for. Once you are covered, we send the certificate to your GC. See certificates of insurance for contractors for what a GC will ask to see.

California contractors with a CSLB licence who need general liability for their own work: sole owners, partnerships, corporations and LLCs, in trades like roofing, concrete, painting, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, landscaping, framing, drywall and general building.

Some licence types are never quoted online and go to a licensed agent: C-22 asbestos, C-11 elevator, D-9 drilling and blasting, D-30 pile driving, C-16 fire protection and ASB certification. Workers' comp is quoted online from your license number, same as GL. Commercial auto, umbrella and bonds are handled by phone. Call or text (877) 940-4313.

For most licensees, CSLB does not require GL by law, but it strongly recommends it. GCs, commercial owners and many homeowners require it in the contract. Home improvement and service and repair contracts must also include a notice about your Commercial General Liability Insurance, or say that you have none.

An LLC is the one case where CSLB requires liability insurance by law. Under B&P Code §7071.19, an LLC licence must carry an aggregate limit of at least $1,000,000 if 5 or fewer people are on the personnel of record, plus $100,000 for each additional person, up to $5,000,000. The insurer must be California-admitted or an eligible surplus line insurer.

Our standard quote has a $2M aggregate, which meets the minimum for an LLC with up to 15 people listed. Bigger LLCs should call an agent about higher limits. Full details: the CSLB LLC insurance requirement.

GL needs change by trade. A roofer's risks are not a painter's. Start with contractor insurance by trade.

• What drives general liability cost in California
• Contractor license bond vs insurance
• The workers' comp change coming in 2028
• Certificates of insurance and additional insureds