Excess Liability Insurance: Streamlined with ContractorNerd

With ContractorNerd, you can get quotes and secure excess liability insurance in just a few days instead of waiting weeks. Our digital platform streamlines the process, and our licensed brokers are available to assist you via chat or phone, ensuring your coverage aligns with your business needs. This combination of streamlined quoting and specialist broker advice provides you with both convenience and peace of mind.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How excess liability sits on top of your primary policies to extend coverage
• Why excess costs less per million than primary coverage
• The 3-day process to get quotes, bind coverage, and issue COIs

Buying Excess Liability with a Traditional Agent vs. ContractorNerd

Application Process	Multiple PDFs per carrier	Single digital smart form
Initial Quote	5-7 business days	Less than 24 hours
Quote Advisory	After Initial Quote	Same Day as Quote(s)
Subjectivities Completion	Days of back-and-forth	Less than 24 hours
Payment Methods	Paper checks or wire transfers	Digital (ACH/Credit Card)
Payment Processing	2-3 days to clear	Less than 24 hours
Total Time with Forms	4 hours+	Minutes
Total Time to Bind	3 weeks	3 days

What Is Excess Liability Insurance for Contractors?

Excess liability (often called umbrella insurance in commercial contexts) provides additional liability coverage above your primary liability policies’ limits. Think of it as a safety net that catches claims that exceed your:

• General Liability limits
• Auto Liability limits
• Employer’s Liability limits (the liability portion of Workers’ Comp)

Key Point: Excess liability follows the same terms as your underlying policies—it doesn’t broaden coverage, but extends the dollar amount available for covered claims.

How Does Excess Liability Insurance Work for Construction Companies?

Excess Liability “Sits” Over Your Primary Policies. The Two Main Structures

1. Following Form Excess (Single Policy). This type follows one specific underlying policy, typically general liability. It’s like adding extra floors to a single building.

2. True Umbrella/Blanket Excess (Multiple Policies). This sits over multiple primary policies like a true umbrella, providing excess coverage over GL, Auto, and Employers Liability (Workers Comp) simultaneously.

The Schedule of Underlying Insurance

Your excess/umbrella policy includes a schedule listing all underlying policies it sits over:

Schedule of Underlying Coverages:

• General Liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate
• Commercial Auto: $1,000,000 combined single limit
• Employers Liability: $1,000,000 each accident / disease policy limit / disease each employee

Critical Point: Your excess carrier requires you to maintain these exact limits. If you reduce them or let them lapse, you create a gap in coverage.

How Much Does Excess Liability Insurance Cost for Contractors?

Insurance pricing works like an upside-down pyramid: the first dollar of coverage costs the most, and each extra dollar costs less. Your excess rates depend mostly on your main liability limits, your type of work and risk, claims history, and your yearly revenue and payroll. Other things like how long you’ve been in business, safety programs, where you work, and your insurance company’s preferences also affect the price. Knowing these factors can help you set up your coverage and get better rates.

Real Pricing Example

For a typical mid-size contractor:

Limit	Premium	Premium per $1M
$0-$1M (Primary GL)	$7,000	$7,000
$1M-$2M (1st Excess)	$2,500	$2,500
$2M-$3M	$1,000	$1,000
$3M-$4M	$1,000	$1,000
$4M-$5M	$800	$800
$5M-$10M (5M layer)	$4,000	$800
Total for $10M:	$16,300	Avg: $1,630/M

Notice the dramatic decrease:

• Primary: $7,000 per million
• First excess: $2,500 per million (64% cheaper than primary!)
• By the 5th million: $800 per million (89% cheaper than primary!)

What This Means for Your Business

If you’re currently buying $2M primary GL for $14,000, you could instead structure:

• $1M primary GL: $7,000
• $1M-$5M excess: $4,500
• Result: $11,500 for $5M coverage vs. $14,000 for $2M

Bottom Line: 150% more coverage for $2,500 LESS annually

Strategic Buying Implications

The math often favors buying more because it’s so cheap:

• $5M total limit: $12,300
• $10M total limit: $16,300
• Double the coverage for just 33% more premium!

Which Contractors Need Excess Liability Insurance?

Project Requirements Drive Coverage Needs

Commercial projects typically require $5-10 million in total liability, public works demand $10-25 million, and high-rise or infrastructure projects may require $50 million or more. Your specific needs depend on project values, contract sizes, number of employees and vehicles, and geographic location.

High-Risk Trades

Excess liability is essential for General Contractors managing multiple subs, Concrete and Masonry contractors with long-tail structural exposure, Roofing and Siding facing weather-related systematic claims, Electrical and Plumbing with hidden system risks, HVAC and Mechanical vulnerable to cascade failures, Earthmoving and Grading with adjacent property exposure, and Commercial Builders and Remodelers handling high-value properties.

The Smart Coverage Choice

If you have fleet vehicles and several employees, choosing a true umbrella policy that covers general liability, auto, and employers liability usually costs just $500 to $1,000 more than a general liability-only excess policy. But it gives you full protection for all your work. If you use subcontractors or handle complex projects, excess liability is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a must for your business.

Common Mistakes That Cost Contractors Thousands

Five Costly Errors to Avoid:

• Waiting until the last minute – Project requirements surface late, but excess takes 2-3 days to underwrite, not hours
• Creating dangerous coverage gaps – Your excess must attach exactly where your primary ends (no gaps, no overlaps)
• Ignoring aggregate limits – Your per-occurrence might be fine, but your aggregate could be exhausted mid-year
• Not understanding defense costs – Legal fees can eat into your limits if defense is “inside” rather than “outside”
• Overpaying for primary limits – $5M primary costs $50,000 when $1M primary + $4M excess only costs $20,000

Traditional vs Modern Excess Liability Insurance for Contractors

The Old Way: 3-4 Weeks of Frustration

Traditional brokers often need several meetings, separate PDF applications for each insurance company, weeks of back-and-forth on pricing and paperwork, different ways to pay, and slow certificate issuance. You know how frustrating and time-consuming this can be when you need coverage quickly.

The ContractorNerd Way: 2-3 Days to Coverage

We’ve rebuilt the entire process with technology:

One Application, Multiple Quotes – Our single smart form replaces multiple PDFs and gets you quotes from a panel of leading carriers in under 24 hours.

Streamlined Binding – We handle subjectivities in days (not weeks), collect payment digitally (ACH or credit card), so you receive a binder from the insurer and the policy within 2-3 days.

Instant COIs: Create as many certificates as you need, each showing how your excess coverage fits with your other policies. You no longer have to wait 24 to 48 hours for each request.

The bottom line: You can finish your application in under 30 minutes, get quotes from several insurers for the best price, and receive bindable quotes in less than 24 hours. We explain everything in plain English, and you can manage it all from one online dashboard. With ContractorNerd, excess liability becomes a tool that helps you win more jobs, not just a box to check.

Get Excess Liability Insurance for Your Construction Business Today

If you want to grow your business and protect it, excess liability insurance is more than just another cost. It’s a smart investment that can help you get better projects and give you peace of mind.

ContractorNerd stands out because we combine technology with real expertise. Our digital platform makes it easy to get instant quotes and bind coverage, while our licensed brokers offer the support you need for coverage that fits your business. They look at your trade and projects to recommend the right limits and endorsements, explain common claim situations so you know what’s covered, and help you manage costs with smart deductible and carrier choices. This way, you get coverage that’s not just fast, but right for your business.

Start Your 3-Day Journey to Coverage:

Step 1: Submit Your Application (Today)

• Visit ContractorNerd.com/quotes
• Complete our 15-minute smart application.
• Receive quotes in under 24 hours.

Step 2: Review Quotes (Tomorrow)

• Compare quotes side-by-side
• Review terms with our excess specialists.
• Select your coverage and pay digitally.

Step 3: Bind & Build (Day 3)

• Satisfy subjectivities in hours.
• Pay digitally and receive your binder immediately.
• Start issuing unlimited COIs.

With ContractorNerd’s technology and expert broker support, you can do all of this faster than a traditional insurance meeting and get better results.