Contractor insuranceChecked October 31, 2026
Pennsylvania requires $50,000 in liability coverage from a home improvement contractor, and Conshohocken's registration form asks for at least $100,000
Pennsylvania sets $50,000 minimums for a contractor's injury and property damage coverage. Conshohocken's registration form asks for $100,000 or more.
State registration minimum
$50,000
for personal injury, and again for property damage caused by the work, under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act
Conshohocken registration form
$100,000
no less, each, for property damage, public liability and products liability, and $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires a contractor to show at least $50,000 of liability insurance for personal injury and at least $50,000 for property damage caused by its work before the Attorney General's office will register it. Conshohocken Borough's residential contractor registration form, checked on October 31, 2026, asks for more: no less than $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury and no less than $100,000 each for property damage, public liability and products liability.
Workers' compensation, the insurance that pays an injured worker's medical bills and lost wages, falls under a separate state law, which requires proof of it before a contractor gets a building permit.
Schedule of minimums
The borough form asks $100,000 for injury and property damage and adds three coverages the state law does not list
Pennsylvania minimum Conshohocken form minimum
Section 4 and section 7(a)(11)The state's $50,000 figures go into the registration and into every contract
Section 4 of the act lists the proof of insurance a contractor must file to register, and section 7(a)(11) carries the same $50,000 figures into every home improvement contract. The contract has to say the contractor will keep that coverage and state the amount of coverage in force on the day you sign. A contractor that insures itself can attest to that instead, on forms the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection provides.
Conshohocken's form adds three kinds of coverage the state law does not list. Products liability covers harm caused by something the contractor installed. Completed operations covers harm that shows up after the job is finished, such as a deck rail that gives way months later. The form also asks that each limit apply per occurrence and that the borough be named as the certificate holder, the party the insurer sends the certificate to.
| Coverage | Pennsylvania | Conshohocken form | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal or bodily injury | $50,000 | $100,000 | State: personal injury liability of at least $50,000. Borough form: no less than $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury |
| Property damage | $50,000 | $100,000 | State: property damage caused by the contractor's work, at least $50,000. Borough form: no less than $100,000 |
| Public liability | Not listed | $100,000 | Borough form only |
| Products liability | Not listed | $100,000 | Borough form only |
| Completed operations | Not listed | $50,000 | Borough form only, at least $50,000 |
The borough feeConshohocken waives its $90 fee for contractors registered with the state
The borough form waives its $90 fee for contractors registered with the Attorney General. It does not say whether the borough's insurance figures still apply to them. The Attorney General's FAQ adds that since July 1, 2009, municipalities cannot separately license or register home improvement contractors, apart from trade licensing standards already in effect on that date.
The borough's building permit application asks for the contractor's borough license number and, when there is a written contract, a copy of it.
The Attorney General's FAQ also notes that the required coverage is not related to contractor performance or the quality of work. The act's coverage is for personal injury and for property damage caused by the work. A poorly built job is a contract question, which our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor covers.
Workers' Compensation Act, section 302Section 302 requires proof of workers' compensation before a building permit
Section 302(e) of the Workers' Compensation Act says a municipality must require a contractor to show proof of workers' compensation insurance before it issues a building permit. A contractor with no employees can file an affidavit saying it does not employ anyone and is not required to carry the coverage. A permit issued on that affidavit has to state that the contractor may not employ anyone to do the permitted work. Plymouth Township's residential code package lists a signed contract, workers' compensation and liability insurance among the documents to submit when a contractor does the work.
The Department of Labor and Industry's employer guide says that a sole proprietor or general partners with no other employees are exempt. So is an LLC whose only employees are its members. Every other employer has to insure, the department says, even for part-time workers or family members.
Two more parts of section 302 matter to an owner.
Provisions of section 302
302(e)
Before the permit
A municipality must require a contractor to show proof of workers' compensation insurance before it issues a building permit. A contractor with no employees can file an affidavit instead.
302
Notice of a lapse
When a municipality is named as certificate holder, the insurer has to notify it within three working days if the policy is cancelled or expires.
302
Stop-work order
Once the municipality learns that a contractor's coverage was cancelled, it has to issue a stop-work order until coverage is restored.
302(a) and 302(d)
Subcontractors
A contractor that hires a subcontractor is liable for compensation to the subcontractor's workers unless the subcontractor has its own coverage, and section 302(d) bars subcontracting to a firm that has not shown proof of insurance.
Paraphrased from section 302 of the Workers' Compensation Act, as posted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, checked October 31, 2026.
A worked exampleOn the example certificate, workers' compensation ends about four weeks before the $40,000 job does
This example uses round numbers and an invented contractor, and it is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner in a Conshohocken twin signs a $40,000 bathroom remodel set to start November 16, 2026 and finish January 29, 2027. The contractor has two employees and hands over a certificate of insurance, a one-page summary from its insurer.
Certificate of liability insurance
Worked example. Invented contractor
| Line on the certificate | Example entry | Checked against | What the check shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liability limit per occurrence | $1,000,000 | State minimums of $50,000 each and the borough form's $100,000 figures | Above every minimum |
| Liability policy period | March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027 | Contract dates of November 16, 2026 to January 29, 2027 | Covers the whole job |
| Workers' compensation policy period | January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 | Contract dates of November 16, 2026 to January 29, 2027 | Ends about four weeks before the completion date |
| Certificate holder | Borough of Conshohocken | Section 302(e)(3) of the Workers' Compensation Act and the borough's registration form | Matches what the law and the form ask for |
| Insured name | Example Remodeling LLC | Name on the contract and on the state registration | Should match on all three |
Limit of liability
The example's $1,000,000 limit per occurrence clears every minimum in the table
The liability limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence clears every figure in the table above, and the liability policy runs past the completion date.
Policy periods
Workers' compensation on the certificate stops December 31, 2026, and the job runs to January 29, 2027
The workers' compensation policy ends December 31, 2026, about four weeks before the job is due to finish. The certificate in hand shows workers' compensation coverage only through December.
A reasonable step is to ask for the renewal certificate when it is issued, before the final payment.
What to check before you sign
Check the certificate against the contract, the state registration and the insurer
The certificate and the contract
Compare the certificate with the contract. The insured name should match the business on the contract and on the state registration, and the coverage amounts should match what section 7(a)(11) has the contract state. Check the policy dates against the start and completion dates.
The state registration
Look up the contractor's registration on the Attorney General's contractor search, which shows active registrations with their expiration dates, or call the toll-free line, 1-888-520-6680. Registrations last two years. The search results list no insurance details, so the certificate is where you see coverage. The act requires a contractor to update its registration information, including insurance, within 30 days of a change.
Workers' compensation
For workers' compensation, Labor and Industry's insurance search looks up policy coverage by company name. The department says the results come from databases kept by the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau, an organization outside state government, and that the bureau is not responsible for errors in them. To report an employer you believe is uninsured, the department's Compliance Section is at 717-787-3567.
The source of the certificate
If you get the certificate from the insurer or the agent named on it, rather than from the contractor, you know the insurer issued it. Our guide to permits and inspections in Conshohocken covers the permit side, and Conshy Roofers covers hiring a roofer.
Caveats
This is general information. Whether a contractor's policy would pay a particular claim, and how your homeowners policy would respond to an injury at your house, are questions for your insurance agent. A dispute over a contract term is a question for a lawyer.
The borough's registration form carries no revision date, and how Licenses and Inspections applies it to contractors who hold a state registration could not be verified from the form alone. West Conshohocken, Plymouth and Whitemarsh may ask for different documents with a permit application. Their offices can say what they need. The state minimums are those in the act as posted by the General Assembly on October 31, 2026. The act's information page that day listed HB 1148, HB 1928, HB 2016, SB 540 and SB 1324 among the bills that would amend it.