Built for One of the Hardest Trades to Insure.
Protecting roofing contractors, crews, and completed work
Roofing is among the most difficult construction classes to insure, and for good reason: it stacks the exposures carriers fear most into one trade. Crews work at height every day, use open-flame torches and hot kettles, and expose a building's interior to weather every time they tear off a roof — and a leak can surface years after the job. Standard carriers have narrowed their appetite or exited, so roofing is routinely placed in specialty and excess-and-surplus markets. Getting a roofer covered well takes a broker who knows those markets and how to present the risk. This is a specialized corner of contractor insurance built for how roofers actually get sued and hurt.
Properly structured coverage protects your crew, your clients, and the roofs you leave behind.
The Roofer's Signature Exposure
Falls from height dominate everything. Falls are the leading cause of death in construction, and roofs are the single leading source — a single fall can generate a six- or seven-figure claim, and verdicts against roofers have reached eight figures. That severity drives both workers' compensation, where roofing carries one of the highest rate classes in all of construction, and third-party liability.
Around that sit the other roofing perils: torch-down and hot-kettle work that can ignite a structure or an adjacent building; weather and water intrusion when a torn-off roof isn't dried in before a storm; falling tools and debris; and completed-operations leaks and membrane failures that show up long after the crew is gone. Because the class is so hard, coverage often carries height limitations, hot-work exclusions, and self-insured retentions that have to be navigated carefully.
Key Risks in Roofing Work
Roofing contractors face exposure related to:
Falls from height — the dominant injury and liability exposure
Torch-down and hot-kettle fires, including spread to adjacent property
Water intrusion when a torn-off roof is left un-dried-in before weather
Falling tools, materials, and tear-off debris injuring people or property below
Completed-operations leaks and membrane failures years after installation
Workers' comp audit surprises when uninsured subs roll into your payroll
Asbestos and coating hazards on older roofs
The fall claim is the one that most defines — and most threatens — a roofing business.
Core Coverages for Roofers
A properly built roofer program typically includes:
General Liability with Completed Operations — Covers third-party injury, tear-off and water damage, and post-job leak and defect claims — often written with height and hot-work limitations to watch closely.
Workers' Compensation — Provides legally required coverage for a crew facing the highest-rated fall exposure in construction, and is the program's largest line item.
Tools & Equipment / Inland Marine — Covers scaffolding, harnesses, nail guns, compressors, and tear-off equipment.
Commercial Auto — Covers material trucks, dump trailers, and crew vehicles.
Pollution Liability — Addresses torch-down and kettle byproducts, adhesive fumes, and asbestos on older roofs that the general-liability pollution exclusion denies.
Umbrella / Excess Liability — Adds higher limits — often $3M to $10M — that commercial and institutional jobs require above a high-hazard primary.
Surety Bonds — Satisfies the license and permit bonds required for licensure and the performance bonds public and institutional jobs demand.
Employment Practices Liability — Protects against claims from crews and seasonal labor.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Roofer programs are most often weakened by:
Height-limitation endorsements that exclude work above a certain number of stories
Hot-work or torch-down exclusions the roofer doesn't realize are there
Completed-operations coverage too thin for a leak that surfaces years later
No pollution coverage for hot-work and asbestos exposure
Uninsured subcontractors that reclassify to the roofer's payroll at audit
Because the class is so restricted, the exclusions buried in the policy are where roofers get hurt.
Real-World Claim Examples
A worker falls from a two-story roof, producing a catastrophic workers' comp and liability claim
A torn-off roof is left un-tarped and a storm soaks the interior overnight
An open-flame torch ignites underlayment or spreads to a neighboring building
A dropped bundle or tool injures a homeowner or damages a car below
A membrane fails eighteen months later, damaging interior finishes
Any one of these can outrun a policy riddled with height and hot-work limits.
Licensing & Safety Context
OSHA requires fall protection in construction at six feet, and its residential fall-protection rules apply in full — with serious violations carrying five-figure penalties and willful or repeat violations far higher. Roofing is typically a specialty contractor classification under state boards, requiring a license and a permit bond, and older roofs bring asbestos-handling rules into play. A documented fall-protection program is both a legal necessity and a meaningful factor in what coverage costs and whether a carrier will write the risk at all.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh your roofing-class payroll and experience modifier, the heights and number of stories you work, residential versus commercial and re-roof versus new construction, the percentage you subcontract and whether those subs carry valid certificates, and your hot-work operations and loss history. An experience modifier above 1.0 can add tens of thousands in premium, and many general contractors won't hire a sub above it. Because roofing lives largely in the excess-and-surplus market, placing it with the right specialty carriers — and matching subcontractor certificates to avoid audit surprises — is what makes coverage both attainable and complete.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure roofers with the specialty and excess-and-surplus markets that actually write high-hazard roofing, and we read the fine print — height limits, hot-work exclusions, completed-operations terms — so you know exactly what you have. We coordinate the workers' compensation, general liability, pollution, umbrella, and bonding a roofing business needs, and help you present your safety program and subcontractor controls the way underwriters reward. We also insure the rest of the trades, including electricians, plumbers, HVAC contractors, and general contractors, and the broader contractor category.
The hardest trade to insure deserves a broker who places it every day — not one who avoids it.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get roofer insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate roofer insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
How are roofer insurance premiums priced?
There is no flat rate. The cost of roofer insurance reflects your industry, your size (payroll and revenue), your claims history, and the limits and deductibles you choose. We market your account to multiple carriers, compare the real quotes side by side, and explain what is driving each number so you can weigh coverage against price with confidence.
Is roofer insurance mandatory?
Whether roofer insurance is strictly required depends on your state, your contracts, and your lenders or clients. Even where it is not mandatory, going without it can leave serious financial gaps. We assess your exposure and any contractual requirements, then structure coverage that meets both.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.