Here's something most roofing contractors learn the hard way: hiring subcontractors without proper insurance requirements is like working without a safety harness. It feels fine until something goes wrong—then you're facing a lawsuit that could sink your business. Whether you're a general contractor managing a commercial roofing project or a roofing specialist bringing in help for a big job, understanding subcontractor insurance requirements isn't optional anymore. It's the difference between protecting your business and watching it crumble because someone else didn't have the right coverage.
In 2026, general contractors are tightening insurance requirements across the board. What used to be a handshake and a promise is now a documented, verified, and tracked process. Let's break down exactly what you need to require from your roofing subcontractors and how to manage it without losing your mind.
Essential Insurance Coverage Your Subcontractors Must Carry
Most general contractors require subcontractors to carry general liability coverage with limits of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. This isn't arbitrary—it's based on the real cost of construction accidents and property damage claims. For roofing work specifically, some commercial projects are pushing requirements up to $3 million to $5 million aggregate because of the high-risk nature of the work.
Workers' compensation is the other non-negotiable. If your subcontractor has employees, they need workers' comp coverage. This protects you from liability if one of their workers gets injured on your job site. For roofing contractors, workers' comp costs typically run 20-50% of payroll—it's one of the highest-rated class codes in construction insurance because of the injury risk. Before you let anyone climb on a roof, verify their workers' comp coverage is active and covers all their employees.
Your subcontract agreement should also require automobile liability coverage (if they're driving to job sites), umbrella liability for larger projects, and potentially pollution liability for work involving certain roofing materials. Don't assume your insurance will cover their gaps. It won't.
Additional Insured Status: The Endorsement That Actually Matters
Here's where most contractors mess up: they collect a certificate of insurance that says they're an additional insured, and they think they're protected. Wrong. Additional insured status cannot be granted with a certificate of insurance. Certificates are often delivered as 'proof'—but it's false proof.
Additional insured status is only obtained through an actual endorsement, issued by the insurance company, to the primary named insured's policy. That endorsement needs to specifically name your company and extend coverage for both ongoing operations and completed operations. Without that endorsement, the certificate means nothing when there's a claim.
Your subcontract should require the subcontractor to provide not only the certificate of insurance but also the declarations pages and all additional insured endorsements. You need to see the actual policy language. This lets you know whether the policy contains nonstandard exclusions or endorsements that might radically reduce your coverage. When you're named as an additional insured properly, the subcontractor's insurance responds first if there's a claim related to their work—keeping their problems from becoming your insurance claim.
Waiver of Subrogation: Why It's Now Mandatory
In 2026, waiver of subrogation is mandatory on most commercial projects, not optional. Here's what it means in plain English: if your subcontractor's insurance pays out a claim, they can't turn around and sue you to recover what they paid. Without a waiver of subrogation, an insurance company might pay their insured (your subcontractor) for damages, then sue you claiming you were partially at fault. The waiver prevents that.
General contractors are now verifying that this endorsement is actually attached to policies, not just checked on a certificate. For high-risk activities like roofing work, waivers of subrogation are standard practice because the risk of injury or property damage is elevated. Missing this endorsement gets your certificate rejected outright on many job sites now.
The waiver typically needs to apply to both the general liability policy and the workers' compensation policy. Make sure your subcontract agreement requires waivers of subrogation across all applicable coverage types, and verify the endorsements before work begins.
Certificate Tracking: The System That Saves Your Business
Collecting certificates of insurance is one thing. Tracking expirations, verifying coverage limits, and ensuring compliance throughout a project is another beast entirely. According to industry data, construction accounts for more than 21% of private industry worker fatalities, which is why certificate tracking isn't just administrative busywork—it's critical risk management.
Here's the problem: collecting, tracking, and verifying subcontractor certificates of insurance is extremely time-consuming and manual. Most subcontractors aren't insurance experts. They don't understand the specific language you require—like additional insured endorsements or waivers of subrogation. You end up chasing them for weeks to get compliant certificates.
That's why many roofing contractors are turning to certificate tracking software. Platforms like myCOI, TrustLayer, Jones, and Constrafor automate the collection process, send reminders when policies are about to expire, and verify that endorsements match your requirements. These systems can save 15-20 hours per week on compliance management and significantly reduce risk exposure from coverage gaps. Instead of discovering a subcontractor's insurance lapsed after they've been on site for two weeks, you get automatic alerts before their coverage expires.
At minimum, your certificate tracking process should include: standardized templates showing exactly what coverage you require, a system to collect certificates before subcontractors start work, regular reviews to catch expirations or coverage gaps, and clear documentation that you verified compliance. If there's ever a claim, you need to prove you did your due diligence.
How to Get Started: Building Your Subcontractor Insurance Requirements
If you're just setting up your subcontractor insurance requirements, start with your subcontract agreement. It should specify each insurance policy the subcontractor must maintain and minimum coverage limits. Include requirements for general liability, workers' compensation, automobile liability, and umbrella coverage. Specify that you must be named as an additional insured on both primary and umbrella policies, with coverage for both ongoing and completed operations.
Require waivers of subrogation across applicable policies. State clearly that certificates of insurance must be accompanied by actual endorsements and declarations pages. Set a deadline for receiving proof of insurance before any work begins—no exceptions. And require subcontractors to maintain coverage without lapses throughout the project duration and notify you immediately if coverage is canceled or reduced.
Talk to your own insurance agent about your subcontractor requirements. They can review your contracts and recommend appropriate coverage limits based on the projects you're working on. They can also help you understand what to look for when reviewing certificates and endorsements. Getting professional help upfront prevents expensive mistakes down the road.
Managing subcontractor insurance requirements feels like a lot of paperwork until the day it saves your business. When a subcontractor's employee gets injured and you can prove they had active workers' comp coverage, or when property damage occurs and the subcontractor's additional insured endorsement protects you from liability, you'll understand why these requirements exist. Don't cut corners. Verify coverage before work starts, track certificates throughout the project, and document everything. Your future self will thank you.
