Vendor setup · Insurance
Insurance, explained
What four common coverages cover, which ones the platform asks for, and how the limits on a certificate work.
The four coverages
General liability
Required
It is one of the documents that approve a company on the platform.
General liability explainedWorkers’ compensation
Optional to join
Before you can propose, the current rulebook asks for it in every trade.
Workers’ compensation explainedCommercial auto
Optional to join
Before you can propose in landscaping, the current rulebook asks for it.
Commercial auto explainedProfessional liability
Optional to join
Professional liability explained
What “limits” mean
There’s no single standard amount. Each community sets the limits it wants.
Each community sets its own insurance requirement when it writes an RFP, and your documents are checked against it before a proposal goes in.
Ask your agent for a certificate that shows your actual limits.
- A policy’s limits are the most it will pay. NAIC, as of
- An occurrence is an accident, including exposure to conditions, that causes bodily injury or property damage neither expected nor intended from the standpoint of the insured, during the policy period. NAIC, as of
- An aggregate limit is the most a policy will pay for one loss or for several losses combined during the policy period, or on a single project. NAIC, as of
- The current ACORD 25 warns that the limits shown may be only the amounts the certificate holder asked for, not the full policy limits. ACORD, as of
Commonly requested by managers and boards
Community associations’ own guidance names the coverage types below. It gives no single amount.
- CAI guidance for association maintenance and remodeling projects says a contractor's insurance should likely include construction, property and liability, workers' compensation and professional liability coverage. Community Associations Institute (CAI Foundation), as of
- CAI advises hiring a contractor or inspector who carries general liability without a homeowners association exclusion, plus errors and omissions where they act as a consultant. Community Associations Institute (CAI Foundation), as of
- CAI tells boards to get certificates of insurance for the contractor and, in some cases, additional insured endorsements naming the association, after consulting counsel. Community Associations Institute (CAI Foundation), as of
- CAI says to weigh the pros and cons of having the association named on the contractor's insurance. Community Associations Institute (CAI Foundation), as of
Sources
- Glossary of Insurance Terms National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). As of .
- ACORD Forms Notification, December 2025 Bulletin ACORD. As of .
- Community Association Maintenance (best practices) Community Associations Institute (CAI Foundation). As of .
Official pages change. Each line shows the day we last read it.