Guide
Insurance requirements for a roofing subcontractor
Roofing is the trade where the claim usually arrives after the crew has left. That changes which part of the certificate you read first.
Require the usual coverages, then check products-completed operations specifically — roofing's characteristic loss is a leak found months later, and that is the coverage it falls under.
Key takeaways
- Products-completed operations is the roofing line. A leak that shows up after the job is finished is a completed-operations claim, and it is the most common way a roofing job costs somebody money.
- Additional-insured status for ongoing work does not cover you for completed work. They are two different endorsements, and roofing is the trade where the second one earns its keep.
- Ask what the policy says about the roofing operations themselves. Some general-liability policies written for contractors restrict or exclude roofing, hot work, or work above a stated height. The certificate does not show it; the policy does.
- Fall protection is a safety question, not an insurance one — and it is still yours. OSHA's fall-protection trigger for construction is six feet, and an incident on your site is your incident regardless of whose employee it was.
- The limit comes from your contract, not from a guide. Anyone who prints a dollar figure for a trade has not seen your job.
By the Sealinn team · 3 min read · Updated August 2026 · Written for general contractors
Why roofing reads differently from other trades
Most trades produce a claim while the work is happening: somebody is hurt, something is dropped, a wall is damaged. Roofing produces those too, and then produces a second kind that almost nothing else does — a roof that was signed off, paid for and forgotten, which starts letting water into a finished building eight months later. By then the crew is gone, the job is closed, and the argument is about whose insurance responds.
That second kind is a products-completed operations claim. It is a separate aggregate limit on a general-liability policy, it appears as its own line on the ACORD 25, and it is the line a general contractor hiring a roofer should look at before the per-occurrence figure that catches the eye. If you are new to the distinction, products-completed operations explains what it covers and how the aggregate behaves.
The endorsement, and why the usual one is not enough
Being named an additional insured on a roofer's policy for ongoing operations protects you while they are on the roof. It does nothing for you once the job is complete — which, for roofing, is when the problem usually appears. Completed operations is a different endorsement (CG 20 37 is the standard one) and it has to be asked for separately. CG 20 10 vs CG 20 37 sets the two side by side.
The certificate does not prove the endorsement exists
A tick in the ADDL INSD column tells you somebody typed a tick. The endorsement is a separate document, and for a completed-operations claim two years from now it is the document that decides the answer. Ask their agent for a copy of the endorsement itself, not a re-issued certificate.
The exclusions worth asking about
- Roofing operations. Some contractor GL policies restrict or exclude roofing outright, or exclude work above a stated number of stories. A certificate showing a healthy limit tells you nothing about this.
- Hot work. Torch-down and kettle work is excluded or sub-limited on many policies. If the job involves it, ask before the crew arrives rather than after.
- Residential or tract work. Policies written for commercial roofers sometimes exclude residential, and the reverse happens too.
- Subcontracted labor. If your roofer subcontracts the tear-off, their policy may exclude work performed by others — which moves the exposure back to you.
None of the four is visible on an ACORD 25. Each is a question for the issuing agent, and asking your agent for a certificate has wording you can send.
Safety paperwork, which is a separate question
Insurance answers who pays. It does not answer who is responsible for the crew on the roof, and on a multi-employer site that is frequently you. OSHA's construction fall-protection duty starts at six feet, and OSHA 10 or 30 cards are the usual evidence a general contractor collects — they carry no federal expiry, so any renewal window is your own policy rather than a rule.
Other trades on the same job
The line that matters changes with the trade. For plumbing it is water damage; for excavation it is the XCU exclusion; for electrical it is the license. The coverages, limits and paperwork common to all of them are in what to require before a sub starts.
Where this comes from
- ACORD — Certificate of Liability Insurance (form 25)
- ISO — Additional Insured — Owners, Lessees or Contractors, Completed Operations (CG 20 37)
- ISO — Commercial General Liability Coverage Form (CG 00 01 occurrence / CG 00 02 claims-made)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration — Outreach Training Program (OSHA 10 / OSHA 30)
The four jobs, done for you.
Sealinn reads each certificate, checks it against your rules, chases renewals before they lapse, and keeps the record.