Handyman insurance in Spokane
The broadest job description in the trades, and the one where the gap between what you actually do and what your policy says you do is most likely to open up.
Scope is the whole game
Handyman policies are written against a description of operations, and the description is usually narrower than the work people actually take on. Framing, roofing, electrical and gas work sit outside most handyman classifications — and a claim arising from work outside your described scope can be denied even though the policy was paid up and in force.
The honest version of this conversation is worth having once, properly. Tell us what you genuinely do, including the occasional job you would rather not mention, and we will place it against a classification that actually covers it. A cheaper policy that excludes a third of your work is not cheaper.
Registration still applies
Washington does not have a handyman exemption that lets you skip contractor registration for work above the small-job threshold. If you are advertising and taking on repair and improvement work, L&I expects you registered, bonded at the $15,000 specialty level and carrying general liability. Working unregistered also costs you the legal right to enforce a contract and collect on it.
Tools and the van
Most handyman operations run out of one vehicle with everything in it. Commercial auto covers the vehicle; the tools inside it are not covered by it, and a van broken into outside a Spokane job site overnight is a common claim. A small contractor’s equipment floater handles it for very little, and it is the coverage we add most often when reviewing an existing handyman policy.
Biggest exposures for handyman services
- Doing work outside the scope your registration and policy describe
- Property damage across a wide and varied range of tasks
- Tools stolen from a vehicle overnight
- Client injury from work that was never inspected
Pre-filled for your trade. Two minutes.
Coverage
What handyman services usually carry
General Liability
The baseline policy.
Read moreCommercial Auto
Coverage for the vehicles your business owns, leases, rents or asks employees to drive.
Read moreBusiness Owner's Policy (BOP)
General liability and commercial property bundled into one policy, usually for less than buying them separately.
Read moreWorkers' Compensation
Required in Washington for nearly every employer.
Read moreQuestions
Handyman Services insurance FAQs
If you are taking on repair, remodel or improvement work above the minor-work threshold, yes — registration with L&I, a $15,000 specialty contractor bond and general liability. The exemptions are narrower than most people assume, and working unregistered forfeits your right to collect on a contract.
Typically framing and structural work, roofing, electrical, gas and anything requiring a separate trade licence. The exact line depends on the classification you are written under, which is why describing your work accurately at application matters more here than in any other trade.
It is one of the more affordable trade classes, because individual job values are small and severity is low. The thing that costs handymen money is not the premium — it is a denied claim arising from work outside the described scope.
Other trades
We write these too
General Contractors
Registration, a bond, liability and workers’ comp — general contractors carry more moving parts than any trade we write, and the most contract-driven requirements.
Read moreRoofers
The hardest trade in construction to insure, and the one where carrier appetite narrows fastest.
Read moreElectricians
Low claim frequency, high claim severity.
Read morePlumbers
Every job you touch carries water, and water finds its way into places that cost far more to repair than the work you were paid for.
Read moreStart with your trade. We will take it from there.
Tell us what the business does and we will pre-select the coverage it normally needs, then compare carriers for you. About two minutes, no obligation.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (509) 944-0847.