General Contractor Insurance Policy?

[Michael Elfant]

Hi All,

Would appreciate some input on this issue.  

If one was to GC a new construction or a flip project (in NJ) would you need to take out a general contractor insurance policy or does the builders risk insurance policy on each property as well as hiring fully insured sub-contractors suffice?  

I don't intend on hiring any full-time employees and therefore am wondering if I can get away with not having contractors insurance by doing it the way described above.

Thank you in advance,

Mike

[Account Closed]

It sounds to me like you would be an Owner-Builder, which wouldn't require a GC license or any specific insurance other than the Course of Construction and General Liability policies an owner would generally carry. You would also need to be very careful to only hire licensed and insured subcontractors and gather a COI from each one of them you hire. My jurisdiction has us sign a declaration stating we understand the risks associated with acting as Owner Builder:
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/development-services/pdf/industry/forms/ds3042.pdf