An independent commercial insurance broker licensed in New York will review your bid's insurance requirements for free, and Morrow does exactly that. Send the bid package and a broker marks up the insurance section in plain English, then tells you what to build into your number before you submit. Who this is for: New York contractors pricing a bid for a general contractor, owner, school district, or agency.
The short version
- Brokers review bids for free. It is how they learn what coverage to place.
- You do not buy the insurance before you bid. You price it, then put it in place before work starts.
- New York bids ask for higher liability limits than other states because a state law makes owners and general contractors pay for a worker's fall.
- On big public jobs New York makes the owner hire the plumbing, heating, and electrical contractors directly instead of through the general contractor. That can make you a prime contractor with your own insurance and bond to file.
- Your workers comp and disability proof must be on New York state forms, not a standard certificate.
Who reviews a bid's insurance section for free, and why?
The insurance section of a bid is a shopping list for a broker. It shows exactly what you might need to buy, so most independent brokers read it at no charge. The national guide is here. In New York the gaps are bigger and the fixes take longer.
| Who | Reviews the bid for free? | Can they price and place the gaps? |
|---|---|---|
| Independent broker licensed in New York | Yes | Yes, across many insurers and specialty markets |
| Your current agent | Usually | Only with the company they represent |
What is different about a New York bid?
Three things. First, New York has a law that makes owners and general contractors fully responsible when a worker falls from a height or is hit by a falling object, even if the worker was careless. It is called the Scaffold Law (Labor Law 240). So New York bids ask for higher liability limits, an umbrella (a second layer above your other liability policies), and wording that makes your policy pay first if the general contractor is sued.
Second, public work has its own rules. A New York town, county, or school district must competitively bid public work costing more than $35,000 (General Municipal Law 103). The agency requires a payment bond, a promise that your workers and suppliers get paid, though it may be waived under $100,000 (State Finance Law 137). On larger public jobs New York makes the owner hire the plumbing, heating, and electrical trades directly. The size that triggers it depends on where you are.
| Where the job is | Job size that triggers separate prime contracts |
|---|---|
| New York City (the five counties) | $3,000,000 |
| Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester | $1,500,000 |
| Every other county | $500,000 |
Third, the proof is different. Every New York agency issuing a permit, license, or contract must see proof of workers comp and disability coverage first, and an ACORD certificate is not accepted. You need state form C-105.2 (or NYSIF's U-26.3) and DB-120.1.
What does a broker look for in a New York bid?
| Item in the bid | What the broker checks | Common New York gap |
|---|---|---|
| General liability limits | Per occurrence (the most paid for one incident) and the yearly total | Bid wants $2,000,000, you carry $1,000,000 |
| Exclusions | "Action over," "injury to employees of contractors," or "New York Labor Law" wording | A cheap policy has one. Most general contractors reject it. |
| Umbrella | The limit required and whether it follows your other policies | Bid wants $5,000,000, you have $1,000,000 or none |
| Additional insured wording | Your customer can use your policy if sued over your work, during and after the job | After-the-job wording is missing |
| Workers comp and disability | Cover from your first employee, a waiver, and the DB-120.1 | Proof on the wrong form, or disability never bought |
| Commercial auto | Usually $1,000,000 combined single limit | Trucks at the state minimum of $25,000 per person |
How much should I add to my New York bid for insurance?
There is no honest published price for this in New York. Cover here is priced job by job, so two contractors in the same trade get very different numbers. Here is what moves the price and how long each fix takes.
| Gap in the bid | What the price depends on | How long it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Raise general liability to $2,000,000 per occurrence | Quoted case by case on your trade, payroll, sales, and claims history. Some New York insurers will not go up at all. | One to three business days |
| $2,000,000 or $5,000,000 umbrella | Priced case by case: your trade, how high your crews work, your payroll, your claims, and the limits under it. Big limits are built in layers through specialty markets, which adds a 3.6 percent state premium tax and a small filing fee. | One to three weeks. Get a written quote before the bid date. |
| Waiver so your insurer will not chase the agency for money it paid | A small charge worked out from the premium for that job | One to three business days |
| Raise auto to $1,000,000 combined single limit | How many vehicles, what they are, and who drives them | One to three business days |
How do you put a yearly premium into one bid? Spread it across the jobs you expect to win, or charge it all here if this bid is the only reason you are buying.
Have your policy pages, your payroll by trade, and your last five years of claims ready and the quotes come back faster. See also who can help you meet a contract's insurance requirements in New York and commercial umbrella insurance in New York.
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: An electrical contractor in Yonkers bids a $1,400,000 electrical prime contract on a public school in Westchester County. The bid calls for $2,000,000 general liability, a $5,000,000 umbrella, $1,000,000 auto, a payment bond, and workers comp and disability proof on state forms.
What went wrong: He carries $1,000,000 per occurrence general liability, a $1,000,000 umbrella, and auto at $500,000. He was about to submit with nothing added for insurance.
What it cost: The broker sent back a written quote for each gap: the higher general liability limit, a specialty market price for the $5,000,000 umbrella with the state premium tax and filing fee shown separately, and the cost of raising three vans. The quote took eleven days.
The fix: He put the quoted total into his number and still came in low bidder. Without the review it would have come out of his profit.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who can review my construction bid's insurance requirements for free in New York?
An independent commercial insurance broker licensed in New York. The review is free because it tells the broker what coverage you might need. Morrow marks up the insurance section of any New York bid at no charge.
Q: Do I need to buy the insurance before I win the bid?
No. You need it in place before you start work. Get a written price for each gap before you bid, then buy the coverage after award.
Q: Why do New York bids ask for such high liability limits?
Because New York's Scaffold Law makes owners and general contractors responsible for a worker's fall, even a careless worker. They pass that risk down through higher limits, umbrella requirements, and additional insured wording.
Q: Is a bid bond the same as insurance?
No. A bid bond is a promise to the owner that you will sign the contract if you win. Insurance pays for injuries and damage. Many New York public bids need both, plus a payment bond.
Q: What if the bid asks for a limit no insurer will give me?
Ask the agency or general contractor before the due date whether they will take a lower limit built up with an umbrella layer. A broker can stack layers through specialty markets, but that takes one to three weeks in New York.
Q: How long does it take to get the insurance after I win a New York bid?
Endorsements take one to three business days. Higher limits or a new umbrella can take one to three weeks, because fewer insurers write New York construction. Tell your broker the day you are notified.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Reviewing New York bid packages before the due date, pricing every insurance gap, and placing the coverage after award is a core part of what we do for contractors.
- 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.