An independent insurance broker licensed in Arizona will do it for free. The review is how the broker learns what to place if you win, so send the bid package before the due date and you get back what you carry, what you are missing, what each fix costs, and which items are bonds. Who this is for: Arizona contractors bidding private or public work.
The short version
- A broker licensed in Arizona reviews bid insurance requirements at no charge.
- You usually do not have to buy the insurance before you bid. You need it in place before work starts.
- County, city, town and district bids add bonds on top of insurance: 10% bid security, then performance and payment bonds for the full contract amount. Other public bodies set their own.
- The review should give you a dollar figure for the bid, not just a yes or no.
- Send the bid's insurance pages (often called the insurance exhibit), your policies, and your claims history.
Who reviews Arizona bid insurance requirements for free, and why is it free?
Independent brokers do it free because the review is the first step of placing coverage. If your policies already meet the bid, you owe nothing. Morrow reviews Arizona bids at no charge.
| Who | Cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Independent broker licensed here | Free | Line by line comparison to your policies, a price for each gap, bond items flagged |
| Your current agent | Free | A check against the one insurer you have. May have no market for a larger umbrella. |
| The owner's compliance desk | Free | A pass or fail after you submit a certificate, too late to change your price |
What should the free review tell me?
A useful review answers five questions in writing. If you get a phone call that says "you are fine," ask for the list.
- Which policies and limits the bid asks for, and which ones you already meet.
- Which extra wording you need. The usual three are additional insured (your customer can use your liability policy if they get sued over your work), primary and noncontributory (your policy pays first), and a waiver of subrogation (your insurer will not chase your customer for money it paid).
- What each gap costs and how long it takes, as an illustrative range you can price into the bid.
- Which items are bonds, not insurance. Bonds come from a surety company and are priced differently.
- Whether your insurer itself passes. Most public bids want an insurer rated A- VII or better and admitted here. Specialty (surplus lines) insurers are not admitted, so a specialty umbrella can be bought and then rejected.
Send the insurance pages, your policies with the endorsement pages (the changes added to your policy), and your claims history report. A review then takes a day or two.
What is different about an Arizona public bid?
Public work here layers bonds on top of insurance, and the bonds are set by statute. Bonds are promises to finish the job and pay your subs and suppliers. They come from a surety company, not an insurer, and a broker prices them separately. See how surety bonds work.
| Item in a public bid here | Insurance or bond? | What the law says |
|---|---|---|
| Bid security | Bond or check | 10% of the bid on county, city, town and district work (A.R.S. section 34-201) |
| Performance and payment bonds | Bonds | Each for the full contract amount, from a surety authorized here (A.R.S. section 34-222) |
| General liability naming the agency | Insurance | A.R.S. section 34-226 caps what you can be made to indemnify, but allows this ask |
| Auto naming the agency | Insurance | Also allowed by section 34-226, so expect it every time |
| Workers comp | Insurance | Required by state law from your first employee, bid or no bid |
Using subcontractors? Price their certificates in too. Under A.R.S. section 23-902(B) a contractor that supervises a sub's work stands in as that sub's employer for comp, so an uninsured sub's payroll lands on your policy at audit. If the sub's payroll is unknown, insurers charge a percentage of the contract price, at the sub's own trade rate rather than yours.
Do I need to buy the insurance before I submit my Arizona bid?
Usually no. Most bids ask you to show you can meet the requirements and to deliver a certificate of insurance (a one page summary of your policies, limits, and dates) before work begins. Buying a $5,000,000 umbrella for a job you may not win is wasted money. Price the gaps in and bind when you are awarded. See whether you need the insurance before you win.
One exception: if the bid wants a limit your trade struggles to get, such as a large umbrella for roofing, start the application before the bid date. See who can help you meet an Arizona contract's insurance requirements.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A concrete contractor in Tucson bids $1,400,000 on a city sidewalk project. The package asks for 10% bid security, performance and payment bonds for the full amount, $1,000,000 for one incident and $2,000,000 for the year with the city named, a $2,000,000 umbrella, $1,000,000 auto, and workers comp with a waiver.
What went wrong: He prices the job without a review, assumes his $1,000,000 umbrella is enough, and forgets the bonds. He wins, then learns his umbrella must double and his bond premium was never in the bid.
What it cost: Illustrative numbers: the bid bond costs little, but the performance and payment bonds run about $21,000 for a contractor his size. Doubling the umbrella adds about $1,800 a year. About $23,000 came out of his margin.
The fix: A free review before the bid date would have listed every item with a price. The bonds alone were a third of his profit.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who can review my construction bid's insurance requirements for free in Arizona?
An independent commercial insurance broker licensed in this state. The review is how the broker learns what to place if you win, so it is free and no purchase is required.
Q: Do I need to buy the required insurance before I submit a bid in Arizona?
Usually no. You need it in place before work starts. Price the gaps into your bid and bind when you are awarded. Start early only if your trade struggles to get the limit the bid asks for.
Q: What if I already submitted the bid and only now read the insurance section?
Get the review anyway, today. If you win and the numbers do not work, you will know before you sign. If the gap is only wording or a limit, a broker can usually close it in one to three business days.
Q: Can an Arizona city make me put it on my liability policy?
Yes. It means the city can use your liability policy if it gets sued over your work. A.R.S. section 34-226 limits what a public agency can make you indemnify, but it expressly allows this ask on general liability and on auto.
Q: How long does a free bid review take?
Usually a day or two once the broker has the insurance pages, your policies, and your claims history. A package that arrives the day before the bid is due can often still be turned around.
Q: What if the bid asks for more insurance than I carry?
Ask the broker to price the gap and put that number in your bid. Higher limits, an umbrella, or pollution coverage usually come from specialty markets. Check the bid's insurer rules first: most public bids want an insurer rated A- VII or better and admitted here, and specialty insurers are not.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Reviewing an Arizona bid's insurance section, pricing every gap, and flagging the bond items before the bid date is a review we do at no charge.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.