A roofing company’s insurance starts with general liability and workers’ comp, then commercial auto, tools and equipment cover, an umbrella policy and a surety bond. Insureon, an insurance broker, puts the average general liability bill for its roofing customers at $3,808 a year. Most of those customers have fewer than five employees, and comp is the line that climbs with every roofer you put on payroll.
On Insureon’s averages, liability and auto cost a small roofer more than comp
Insureon’s roofing customers have mostly been in business five years or less. These are its averages, from a page updated in August 2026:
| Policy | Average a month | Average a year |
|---|---|---|
| General liability ($1M per occurrence, $2M aggregate, $1,000 deductible) | $317 | $3,808 |
| Commercial auto | $268 | $3,212 |
| Workers’ comp | $175 | $2,101 |
| Umbrella | $93 | $1,111 |
| Contractor’s tools and equipment | $42 | $505 |
| Surety bond | $9 | $112 |
Comp is priced per $100 of payroll, so a company with little payroll pays little for it.
An owner on r/RoofingSales hiring a first W-2 sales rep in 2025 planned to supply a truck, pay its insurance and carry the rep on the company policy. If a rep or crew lead will drive a company truck, ask your agent to add that driver before the first day on the road.
The surety bond is the smallest line, and Roofing Contractor Bonds: Which States Require One and What It Costs lists the states that require one.
Comp climbs with every roofer on payroll, and the job class sets the rate
BLS puts the median roofer’s pay at $55,440 a year. At Pennsylvania’s published 2026 base cost for roofing, before a carrier adds its own expenses, one roofer at that wage carries about $4,184 a year in comp. That is roughly double Insureon’s average comp bill for a whole company.
A new owner lining up crews wrote in a July 2026 YouTube comment that insurance alone ran $35,000 a year and comp $25 for every $100 of payroll.
That owner was subcontracting at $140 a square and asked how the crews could make money at that price.
Each person on payroll is rated in a job class, and the classes are far apart. In Pennsylvania in 2026, roofing carries $7.547 per $100 of payroll and outside salespeople carry $0.135. Pennsylvania’s roofing class also covers the ground crew passing materials and picking up debris.
Two owners who sub out nearly all their roofing, one in New York and one in Illinois, posted comp quotes over $100,000 a year on about $350,000 of payroll in 2024. The Illinois payroll was office and sales staff.
Before you sign, ask the agent which class each person on the payroll is rated in, office and sales staff included. Get a comp quote on the payroll you plan to run before you bid the first crew job, because that number sets what each square has to cover. Roofing Workers’ Comp and General Liability: What It Costs and How Audits Work explains how year-end audits move the bill.
Roofers have posted general liability quotes from $1,200 to $10,000 a year
On r/Roofing in 2024, one roofer collected general liability quotes from $1,200 to $4,500 a year, and a new Dallas company was quoted $10,000 a year by Progressive.
In 2025 a solo roofer on r/Construction said the best quote was $5,500 a year with a $10,000 deductible. That deductible is ten times the one in Insureon’s average, so ask every agent to quote the same limits and deductible, or the prices won’t compare.
A roofing and siding contractor that subs out every crew posted on r/Roofing in 2025 that its general liability premium would rise 500% under new roofing applications. A commenter on that post said their own premium is over $100,000 with all work subbed. Subbing out the installs did not keep roofing off that contractor’s rating, so give the agent your true share of roofing work, whoever installs it. General Liability Insurance for Roofers: What It Costs and What It Leaves Out covers what a roofing policy excludes.
A sub crew without its own comp can end up on your comp bill
In Pennsylvania, a carrier may not charge you premium for a sub that had its own standard comp policy for the whole time it worked for you. For any other sub, the carrier “may either waive or collect premium,” and an uninsured sub covered under your policy is classified as if your own employees did the work.
In Texas, when a general contractor that carries comp hires a sub with no employees, “the general contractor shall be treated as the employer of the subcontractor.” The exception is a sub working as an independent contractor who signed a written agreement taking on the employer’s duties.
Collect a current comp certificate from every sub crew before it starts, covering the whole job. In Texas, TDI’s TXCOMP lookup shows whether an employer has coverage.
Florida and California tie coverage to the license, and Texas makes comp a choice
Florida won’t let a roofing contractor hold a license without public liability insurance of at least $100,000 and property damage cover of $25,000, kept for the life of the license. The certificate must name Florida’s Construction Industry Licensing Board as holder, and the policy must promise 30 days’ written notice before cancellation.
Florida also requires comp for a construction company with even one employee, and corporate officers and LLC members count. Up to three officers who each own at least 10% can exempt themselves, and the exemption covers only those officers.
California’s no-employee exemption from comp doesn’t apply to roofers. A C-39 roofing contractor must keep a comp certificate on file with the Contractors State License Board even with nobody on payroll, and the board removes the roofing classification from a license without one.
A private Texas employer may choose whether to carry comp. One without it who is sued by an injured worker cannot use contributory negligence, assumed risk or a co-worker’s negligence as a defense, and waivers signed before an injury are void. A Texas employer without comp must also file DWC Form-005 within 30 days of hiring its first employee and again each year between February 1 and April 30. On a public building or construction job, repairs included, the contractor must certify in writing that every employee on the project is covered.
Read your own state’s licensing rule and comp law before you buy, because they can set your minimum limits and decide whether you can go without comp.
Nine facts set a roofer’s premium, so write them down before you shop
Insureon lists what sets a roofer’s premium: the coverage you choose, the services you offer, company size, revenue and payroll, equipment value, safety practices, location, limits and deductibles, and claims history. Write those down once and give the same sheet to every agent.
A Pennsylvania owner wrote on r/Roofing in September 2026 that biBERK “no longer covers roofing in PA,” and that no local broker could place the company with a carrier. Start shopping well before a renewal or a job that needs a certificate, and ask more than one broker.
In Texas, a company turned away for comp has a fallback. Texas Mutual, the state’s insurer of last resort, “may not refuse to insure a risk” that pays the premium, and it writes a company that fails its underwriting standards at a higher premium instead.
Check six things before your next renewal
- Your state’s minimum limits and whether it makes you carry comp.
- A comp quote on the payroll you plan to run, with each person’s class confirmed.
- The same limits and deductible on every general liability quote you compare.
- Your true share of roofing work, including what subs install.
- A current comp certificate from every sub crew, covering the whole job.
- Every driver of a company truck listed on the auto policy.
Once the policies are in order, the next question is whether homeowners near you can find the company on Google Maps. Run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.