Tennessee contractors with crews
Contractor insurance for Tennessee trades with a crew
Plumbers, HVAC and electrical contractors, painters, drywall, carpentry, flooring, remodelers and landscapers. Liability, workers' comp and the work truck, set up to fit together and shopped across multiple carriers, for contractors anywhere in Tennessee.
Our office is at 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B in The Factory at Franklin, by appointment. Most reviews happen by phone and email, wherever you work in Tennessee.
Send us what you have nowOr call (615) 378-7187. Franklin office, serving all of Tennessee.
Workers' compensation for construction
In construction, the line is one employee
Most Tennessee businesses don't need workers' compensation until they have five employees. Construction is different: a construction employer with one or more employees must carry it.
That includes part-time, seasonal and as-needed workers, and family members who work for you. Paying someone on a 1099 doesn't settle it either. The state looks at who controls the work.
Owners of construction businesses must cover themselves too, unless they qualify for and hold an exemption. An exemption covers only the person named on it, never the crew.
Bidding $25,000 or more
Tennessee requires a contractor's license before you bid or contract a project of $25,000 or more. The license application asks for a certificate of insurance showing general liability, plus workers' compensation if you have employees.
The general contractors and property managers you work for will ask for the same certificate, often with additional insured and waiver of subrogation. Send us the contract and we'll set the policy to match it.
What we place for Tennessee contractors
The coverage a crew usually needs
Not every contractor needs all of these. We start with your trade, your crew, your trucks and the contracts you sign, then build only what fits.
General liability
Injury and property damage from the work you do, including finished work. The coverage every contract and license application asks to see.
Workers' compensation
Required in Tennessee construction from the first employee, and on the owner unless exempt. Written to the classes your crew actually works.
Commercial auto
The trucks and vans titled to the business or used mainly for it. A personal auto policy often limits business use.
Tools and equipment
The tools and equipment that ride in the truck and sit on job sites, covered away from your shop.
Umbrella or excess
Higher liability limits when a contract asks for more than the base policy carries.
Certificates on request
Certificates of insurance for the general contractors, property managers and owners you work for, with the endorsements their contracts ask for.
Questions
What Tennessee owners ask
Do I need workers' comp if I only have one employee?
In Tennessee construction, yes. Construction employers with one or more employees must carry workers' compensation, counting part-time, seasonal and as-needed workers and family members who work for you. Most other businesses don't reach the requirement until five employees.
Does workers' comp have to cover me as the owner?
Under the state's rules, owners of construction businesses must carry coverage on themselves unless they qualify for and hold an exemption. The exemption covers only the person named on it. It never covers your employees.
My helpers are paid on a 1099. Are they still employees?
They can be. Tennessee decides by the working relationship, not the tax form, and gives the most weight to who controls the work. If you set the hours, supply the tools and direct the job, assume they may count.
What insurance do I need for a Tennessee contractor's license?
A license is required before bidding or contracting a project of $25,000 or more. The application asks for a certificate of insurance showing general liability, with the minimum tied to your license's monetary limit, and workers' compensation if you have employees.
Does my personal truck policy cover my work truck?
Often not, if the truck is titled to the business or used mainly for work. Personal auto policies commonly limit business use. A truck carrying tools, materials or a company name on the door should be looked at.
What do you need from me?
Your trade, how many people work for you and what they do, payroll and revenue in round numbers, your trucks, the contracts that set insurance requirements, any claims in the last few years, and your current declarations pages or certificate if you have coverage now.
Also for Tennessee owners and investors: landlord and rental portfolio insurance, short-term rental insurance in Nashville, apartment building insurance (5+ units), vacant building insurance, small business insurance in Tennessee, and Sullivan James Tennessee.
Start here
Send us what you have now
Upload your current declarations page or certificate, or tell us about your trade and crew if you're starting out. A contract's insurance requirements are worth attaching too.
A licensed Tennessee agent reads it and shops it across multiple carriers. No obligation to switch, and nothing changes on your current policy unless you ask.
Sullivan James Tennessee · 230 Franklin Rd, Building 2B, Franklin, TN 37064 · by appointment
(615) 378-7187 · tn@sullivanjames.com
General information, not legal or tax advice, and it creates no agent-client relationship. Whether and on what terms a carrier will offer coverage depends on its own underwriting, and policy wording varies by company. The workers' compensation rules described are from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development's construction employer page on tn.gov, and the license threshold and insurance proof from the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors' license application instructions, both checked November 2, 2026. Sullivan James is an independent insurance agency licensed for property and casualty insurance, not an insurance company; for questions about how property is titled or held, talk to your attorney.