Most Louisiana contractors pay a few hundred to several thousand dollars a year for general liability, depending on trade, crew size, and revenue. Solo operators typically start around $700 to $1,300 annually, while crews of 6 to 15 may pay $3,800 to $10,000. Aubert Insurance Agency has helped Covington and Slidell businesses compare these numbers since 1910.

A painter in Mandeville and a roofer in Slidell can both ask for the same $1,000,000 policy and get quotes that look like they came from different planets. That gap confuses a lot of contractors, and it often leads to bad decisions, like buying on price alone or underreporting payroll to shave a few dollars off the deposit. Once you understand what a carrier is actually measuring, the quotes start making sense.

General Liability Costs for Louisiana Contractors

General liability covers claims that your work caused bodily injury or property damage to someone else. Think of a homeowner tripping over a cord on your job site, or a water line you nicked flooding a kitchen two weeks after you left. It does not cover your own employees' injuries (that's workers' comp) or your tools and equipment.

Here's how annual premiums typically break down by business size in our market:

• Solo operators: roughly $700 to $1,300, depending on the trade
• Small crews (2 to 5 employees): generally $1,300 to $3,800
• Mid-size operations (6 to 15 employees): typically $3,800 to $10,000

Those ranges are wide for a reason. A one-person handyman doing interior trim sits at the low end, while a five-person crew doing exterior structural work may land near the top of its bracket.

The broader market matters too. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said in late 2026 that Louisiana's market is showing "encouraging momentum" and "signs of stability" following the 2025 legislative reforms. He also cautioned that the state's claim frequency, fueled by its legal environment, must fall before rates fully come down. In plain terms: things are improving, but Louisiana contractors shouldn't expect dramatic price drops overnight.

Pricing by Trade: How Risk Profiles Impact Rates

Carriers assign every contractor a classification code based on the work performed. That code carries a rate, and the rate reflects how often that type of work produces claims and how expensive those claims tend to be. Your trade is the single biggest lever on what you pay for liability coverage in Louisiana.

The logic is pretty intuitive once you see it from the underwriter's side. A drywall finisher rarely causes a lawsuit worth six figures. A roofer, on the other hand, works at height, deals with water intrusion that may not show up for months, and operates in a trade where one bad storm season can generate a wave of claims. Plumbers fall somewhere in the middle: the work is mostly indoors, but water damage claims can get expensive fast.

One mistake we see often is a contractor describing their business too broadly. If you list yourself as a "general contractor" when 90% of your work is interior painting, you may be rated in a higher class than necessary. The reverse is worse: describing yourself as a painter when you regularly take on roof repairs can leave you with a claim denial.

Comparison of Common Contractor Trade Costs

The table below shows how carriers typically view common trades. Actual pricing depends on your carrier, location, claims history, and revenue, so treat this as a relative guide rather than a quote.

A plumber and a roofer with identical revenue may see very different numbers. The roofer's rate reflects both height-related injuries and delayed water damage claims, which Louisiana weather tends to expose.

Understanding Payroll and Sales Bases in Premium Audits

Your quote is really an estimate. Louisiana carriers multiply your class rate by an exposure base, and that base is usually either payroll or gross sales. At the end of the policy term, the carrier audits your actual numbers and adjusts the premium up or down.

Artisan contractors, meaning trade specialists like electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs, are typically rated on payroll. The carrier applies a rate per $100 of payroll, on the theory that more labor hours mean more opportunities for something to go wrong. If you projected $150,000 in payroll and actually paid out $220,000 because you added two helpers mid-year, expect an additional premium bill after the audit.

General contractors are more often rated on gross sales, typically priced per $1,000 of revenue. That's because a GC's own payroll may be small while the total volume of work, much of it subbed out, drives the real exposure. Subcontracted costs can also come into play here, and this is where many audits go sideways.

A few habits that keep audits from turning into surprises:

1. Collect certificates of insurance from every sub. If a subcontractor can't prove they carried their own liability coverage, the carrier may add their pay to your exposure base.
2. Report growth during the year. A quick call to your agent when you land a big contract beats a large bill twelve months later.
3. Keep payroll records separated by job type. Clerical staff are usually rated far lower than field workers, but only if your records show the split.

The audit is not a penalty. It's the carrier squaring estimates with reality, and clean records make it painless.

Minimum Premiums and Policy Limits in Louisiana

Every carrier sets a minimum premium, which is the floor they'll charge regardless of how small your exposure is. For solo operators, that floor typically lands between $700 and $1,300 a year depending on the trade. So even if you only did $30,000 in work last year, you'll still pay at least the minimum.

Many minimum premiums are also "fully earned," which means if you cancel midterm, you may not get any of it back. Ask about this before you sign, especially if you're testing a new business or planning a career change.

Limits are the other big variable. Most policies are written with a per-occurrence limit and an aggregate limit, and the two most common structures look like this:

• $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate: the standard for most residential trades and many commercial jobs
• $2,000,000 per occurrence / $4,000,000 aggregate: often required for larger commercial projects, municipal work, or general contractors

Doubling the limit does not double the price. The first million carries most of the cost because that's where most claims settle, so moving up to $2,000,000 typically adds a smaller percentage on top. Some contractors find an umbrella policy offers higher limits more efficiently than raising the base GL limit, so it's worth pricing both ways.

There's also a newer regulatory angle. Under Act 757, Louisiana now requires that general liability policies carry no exclusions for the specific scopes of work for which the contractor is licensed. A cut-rate policy that excludes roofing for a licensed roofer won't satisfy the rule, so the low quote that looked appealing may not actually be compliant.

Common Questions About Louisiana Contractor Insurance

Do I need general liability insurance to get licensed in Louisiana? Many contractor license types require proof of liability coverage, and Act 757 adds rules about what that coverage must include. Check your specific license class with the licensing board before you shop.

Why did my premium go up after my audit? Your actual payroll or sales likely came in higher than the estimate on your policy. The carrier recalculated using the real numbers and billed the difference.

Can I pay monthly instead of all at once? Many carriers typically offer monthly or quarterly installments, though some require a larger down payment. Paying in full may lower your total cost with certain companies.

Does general liability cover my mistakes in workmanship? Generally, no. It may cover damage your faulty work causes to other property, but the cost of redoing the work itself is usually excluded.

Will one claim raise my rates? It may, depending on the size and type of claim. A single small claim often has less impact than a pattern of frequent claims.

What's the difference between per occurrence and aggregate limits? Per occurrence is the most the policy pays for one incident. Aggregate is the most it pays for all incidents combined during the policy term.

Making the Right Choice for Your Local Business

The number on your quote comes down to three things: what trade you're classified in, how big your payroll or sales base is, and which limits you choose. Get the classification right, keep clean records for the audit, and buy limits that match the jobs you actually want to win. Contractors who treat their policy as a once-a-year chore tend to be the ones hit with audit bills and denied claims.

Louisiana's market is stabilizing, but carriers still price very differently from one another, especially for higher-risk trades like roofing. That's why comparing several carriers side by side matters more here than in many other states. As an independent agency, we shop multiple companies at once and walk you through what each policy may or may not cover, so you understand the contract before you sign it.

If you're a contractor in St. Tammany Parish ready to see real numbers for your trade, Start a Quote with Kyle Beerbohm at our Covington or Slidell office. A short conversation now can save you from an expensive surprise at audit time.