Skip to content
CoverMatch
STATE REQUIREMENTS · CONTRACTORS & TRADES

Contractors & trades insurance in Nevada

QUICK ANSWER

Contractors & trades in Nevada usually carry general liability, workers' compensation and commercial auto. Nevada itself requires workers' compensation from the first employee, sets minimum auto liability for the vehicles the work puts on the road, ties contractor registration or licensing to proof of insurance. The state's rules with their sources, what contractors carry, who asks for proof and how to keep it all current are below.

Reviewed by CoverMatch licensed agents, Licensed property & casualty agents · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated
Coverage scoreA contractor with the right wallet
General LiabilityRenews in 47d
Workers' CompensationLive cert ✓
Commercial AutoCan switch
CoverMatch I read your General Liability — one thing on this checklist is missing. Want quotes?
Nevada rules with sources
TopicThe rule in NevadaSource
Workers' compensation: when it appliesEvery employer with one or more employees must provide workers' compensation, including for part-time, seasonal and family employees.NRS 616B.633, 616D.200; Nevada Division of Industrial Relations — Workers' Compensation Section: employers
Workers' compensation (industrial insurance)Where an employer has any employee under a contract of hire, the industrial insurance chapters are compulsory on both employer and employee, so coverage is required from the first employee unless a statutory exclusion applies; subcontractors and independent contractors in the same trade, business or occupation as the hiring business are treated as its employees.NRS 616B.633 and NRS 616A.210; Nevada Division of Industrial Relations — Workers' Compensation Section, Employer information
Ways to comply and penaltiesAn employer complies with a policy from a private carrier, a certificate of self-insurance or membership in a self-insured association, or by showing it is outside the chapters, for example with no employees and no contractors; uninsured employers face administrative fines, premium penalties and possible closure by the Division.NRS 616B.633, 616B.300 and 616D.120; Nevada Division of Industrial Relations — Affirmation of compliance
Auto liability minimumsBodily injury $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident and property damage $20,000, in force since July 1, 2018 under Senate Bill 308 of 2017, which replaced 15/30/10; uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is offered but not mandated.NRS 485.185; Nevada Division of Insurance — Higher minimum vehicle liability requirements
Licensed contractorsContractors must hold a State Contractors Board license; the Board sets a surety bond for each license, requires proof of industrial insurance or an exemption affidavit for a business with no employees, and residential contractors register with the Residential Recovery Fund.NRS 624.256 and NRS 624.270; Nevada State Contractors Board — Licensing requirements

Rules change. Each row links to the agency or statute it came from; the review date above is when a licensed agent last checked them.

What Nevada asks of contractors

Nevada's rules that reach a contractor are in the table above, each with its official source: workers' compensation: when it applies, workers' compensation (industrial insurance), ways to comply and penalties, auto liability minimums, licensed contractors. Everything else a contractor carries in Nevada comes from leases, contracts, platforms and clients rather than from statute, which is why the next two sections matter as much as the first.

What contractors in Nevada carry

Coverage Who usually asks Why it matters
General liability with completed operations · expected Every general contractor, most permits, most clients Covers injury and property damage from your work — including after the job is finished, which is where contractor claims usually come from.
Workers' compensation · expected Your state once you have employees; GCs ask even from one-person subs Falls, cuts and strains are the trade's claims. Without it, the GC's policy may be charged for your people, which is why GCs insist.
Commercial auto · expected Anyone whose site you drive to; your lender if the truck is financed A personal auto policy will usually not respond to a work truck carrying tools and materials to a job.
Inland marine (tools and equipment) Nobody requires it; a stolen trailer teaches it Property policies cover things at your address. Tools live in trucks and on sites; inland marine follows them.
Umbrella / excess liability GCs and municipalities on larger jobs Contracts often ask for more than a primary policy carries. An umbrella adds a layer above GL, auto and employers' liability at once.
Contractors pollution liability GCs on commercial jobs, some municipalities General liability excludes most pollution claims — fuel spills, dust, mold from a water event — so commercial contracts increasingly ask for a separate form.
Employment practices liability Prudent once you have a crew Wage-and-hour and misclassification claims are common in the trades and are not covered by general liability.

Who will ask a Nevada contractor for proof

  • General contractors — general liability and workers' compensation with a waiver of subrogation, often primary and non-contributory wording and commercial auto (what they require)
  • Cities, counties & permits — general liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract (what they require)
  • Property managers & HOAs — general liability with the manager and owner as additional insureds, and workers' compensation (what they require)

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

Workers' comp the day a Nevada contractor hires

In Nevada workers' compensation is required from the first employee, so the policy belongs in place before the first shift that crosses the line. CoverMatch quotes workers' compensation from the first employee, and asks every carrier that offers pay-as-you-go to bill through your payroll company, so premium follows each payroll run instead of a large deposit against an estimate.

Bring it, control it, get matched in Nevada

Bring your policies here. Upload what you already have. If the carrier is one we are appointed with in Nevada, one signed letter moves the policy to CoverMatch with no change to carrier, coverage or price; if not, we quote a replacement now or before the renewal. The wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

Control them here. Renewal dates, documents, the roster of locations, vehicles and staff, and a live certificate for every landlord, contractor, platform or client in the list above, all in one place and current on their own.

Let us match you. When a contractor in Nevada needs general liability, workers' compensation, commercial auto, we compare quotes from the carriers we are appointed with on coverage first and price second, and a licensed agent is one tap away at every step.

Sources

Questions people actually ask

Does Nevada require a contractor to carry workers' compensation?

Every employer with one or more employees must provide workers' compensation, including for part-time, seasonal and family employees. Whether a worker is an employee is decided by Nevada's own test of control and independence, not by the form you file, and workers who fail it are added at audit.

What insurance does a Nevada contractor need to sign a lease or win a contract?

Usually general liability, workers' compensation, commercial auto; General contractors typically ask for general liability and workers' compensation with a waiver of subrogation, often primary and non-contributory wording and commercial auto. A live certificate from the wallet answers each request without a new call to the agent, and changes to the policy update it on their own.

What auto coverage does Nevada require for a contractor's vehicles?

The state minimum limits: Bodily injury $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident and property damage $20,000, in force since July 1, 2018 under Senate Bill 308 of 2017, which replaced 15/30/10; uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is offered but not mandated. Business policies are written above those limits because leases, platforms and clients ask for more, and hired and non-owned auto covers staff who use their own cars for the work.

Can CoverMatch take over the policies a Nevada contractor already has?

When the carrier is one we are appointed with in Nevada, one signed broker-of-record letter moves the policy into the wallet with no change to carrier, coverage or price, and the live certificate and renewal shopping switch on. For any other carrier we quote a replacement now or before the renewal; the wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

Why does the general contractor want to be an additional insured?

So that if your work injures someone or damages property, the GC can be defended under your policy for claims arising from that work. It is granted by an endorsement on your general liability policy, not by listing the GC on a certificate.

I am a one-person operation. Do I still need workers' compensation?

State rules vary on sole proprietors, but most GCs require it anyway, because a sub without it can be charged to the GC's own policy at audit. Many carriers write a policy with the owner excluded that satisfies the contract.

What is a waiver of subrogation and why is it on every GC contract?

It stops your insurer from pursuing the GC after paying your claim. GCs ask for it on general liability and workers' compensation so a job-site loss does not become a lawsuit between the parties.

MANAGE IT IN THE APP

Every policy, renewal and live certificate in one wallet.

Scan a dec page and the card appears. Share a live certificate link that updates itself. Get matched when a renewal comes around.

Contractors & trades insurance in other states

Keep reading