When you design it as well as build it.
Professional liability for contractors who take on design, design-build or construction management, the part of the job a general liability policy is written to leave out.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed October 2026 · How this page is researched
Building is covered. Designing is a separate question.
General liability is casualty insurance: it responds when your negligence causes bodily injury or property damage to someone else. A design mistake often does neither. It costs money in redesign, delay and rework. And many contractors’ policies carry a professional liability exclusion. One version, CG 22 79, excludes professional services but keeps coverage for construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures. Another, CG 22 80, is intended for design-build contractors and excludes professional services only for construction you didn’t perform or have performed for you. Which one is on your policy changes the answer.
Contractors professional liability is a specialized policy for a contractor’s liability for design errors or omissions. It’s often combined with contractors pollution liability, and it can be written each year for all your operations or for a single project. Design work turns up in ordinary trade jobs too: in California, a licensed contractor may design electrical or mechanical systems for work it will install and supervise. I read the endorsements on your general liability first, then shop the professional coverage to fit what you actually do.
- What it coversClaims over design errors or omissions in services you provide.
- Common pairingOften combined with contractors pollution liability in one form.
- Practice or projectWritten annually for all operations, or for one project.
- The gap it fillsProfessional services exclusions on a contractor’s general liability.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Services: design, design-build, delegated design, construction management or value engineering.
- Revenue: construction revenue and professional fees, separately.
- Designers: licensed staff in-house, or architects and engineers you hire.
- Contracts: a sample contract with its indemnity and insurance sections.
- Current policy: general liability declarations and the list of endorsements.
- History: any design-related claims or disputes.
Contractors professional liability, answered
Doesn’t my general liability cover design mistakes?
Often not. General liability is built for bodily injury and property damage to others, and a design error that only costs money falls outside that. Many contractors’ policies also carry a professional liability exclusion, so I read yours before we talk about anything else.
What’s the difference between CG 22 79 and CG 22 80?
Both exclude professional services. CG 22 79 keeps coverage for construction means, methods, techniques, sequences and procedures. CG 22 80 is intended for design-build contractors and excludes professional services only for construction you didn’t perform or have performed on your behalf, so design that’s part of your own construction work isn’t excluded.
Can the coverage be written for one project?
Yes. Contractors professional liability can be written on an annual basis for all of a contractor’s operations, or on a project-specific basis for the design exposure on one job.
Can a California contractor design the systems it installs?
Under Business and Professions Code 6737.3, a licensed contractor may design electrical or mechanical systems for work it will install and supervise within its license classification, and may prepare shop and field drawings for work it has contracted to do. It doesn’t authorize designing work that someone else will install.
Is this the same as an architect’s or engineer’s policy?
No. Contractors professional liability is built for a contractor’s design errors and omissions. Architects and engineers you hire carry their own professional liability, and its limits belong to them.
Do you offer contractors professional liability insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in 48 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. In Florida and Washington, where Sam's licenses are still being issued, a partner agency in your state helps in the meantime. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Tell me what you design. I’ll shop the coverage.
Your services, revenue split and current general liability declarations are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.
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