What Georgia HVAC Contractors Need
You install systems, you run service calls, and you work on roofs. Your insurance has to follow you to every one of those places.
Most conditioned air contractors in Georgia carry four policies:
- General Liability (GL) for damage and injury you cause at a customer’s property.
- Workers Compensation (WC) for employee injuries.
- Commercial Auto for your service vehicles.
- Inland Marine for tools, equipment, and installation materials.
One of those four is not optional in a way most contractors realize. We cover that next.
Your License Depends on Your Insurance
Georgia licenses HVAC contractors through the State Construction Industry Licensing Board. The Board issues two license classes.
Class I is restricted to systems that do not exceed 175,000 BTU of heating and 60,000 BTU of cooling. That covers residential and light commercial work.
Class II is unrestricted. It covers systems above those thresholds, including commercial and industrial installations.
Both classes require general liability insurance before the Board issues the license. Both require Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Section 608 Type II certification or higher for refrigerant handling.
A lapse in your general liability policy is not only a coverage problem. It is a licensing problem. Confirm your renewal date and your license renewal date do not create a gap.
Certificate Limits Your Customers Will Demand
Before a general contractor or property manager lets your crew on site, they request a certificate of insurance. The certificate must show limits at or above their contract requirement.
Georgia general contractors and property managers commonly require:
| Coverage | Typical required limit |
|---|---|
| General Liability | $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate |
| Workers Compensation | $500,000 / $500,000 / $500,000 employers liability |
| Commercial Auto | $300,000 combined single limit (CSL) or higher |
Hospital systems, government facilities, and larger commercial projects require higher limits and an umbrella policy above them. Read the contract before you bid.
Height and Building Type Change Your Rate
Underwriters price HVAC contractors on where the work happens, not only on what the work is.
Work above three stories. Rooftop units on low-rise buildings price differently than rooftop work on taller structures. Fall exposure rises, and so does the cost of a claim. Tell your agent the maximum height your crews work at.
Hospitals and medical facilities. Work in an occupied medical building carries business interruption exposure a strip center does not. A failure that shuts down an operating suite produces a claim far larger than the equipment involved.
Government and public contracts. These projects carry their own insurance requirements, prevailing wage rules, and contract terms. Some carriers restrict or decline this work.
None of these exposures makes you uninsurable. Each one changes which carrier fits your operation. We ask about all three before we quote.
Refrigerant and the Pollution Exclusion
Most standard general liability policies contain a pollution exclusion. Refrigerant can fall inside that exclusion.
A release during a recovery, a charge, or a line repair may not be covered by your general liability policy. Contractors pollution liability coverage closes that gap.
We review this on every HVAC account. Ask us what your expiring policy does with a refrigerant release before you need to find out during a claim.
Hot Work and Brazing
Brazing and torch work create fire exposure. Carriers price for it, and some commercial property owners require a hot work permit program before your crew starts.
If you braze on site, tell your agent. A carrier that learns about torch work at claim time will ask why the application did not disclose it.
The Coverage Gap We Find on Most Expiring Policies
Your general liability policy does not cover your tools. Your commercial auto policy does not automatically cover the condenser in the back of your truck. A business owners policy covers property at your shop, not always property at a job site without special endorsements.
Two coverages close that gap:
Contractors equipment coverage insures tools, gauges, recovery machines, and vacuum pumps.
Installation floater coverage insures equipment you have purchased and are installing, until the customer accepts the work. A stolen rooftop unit staged for a Monday install is an installation floater claim.
This gap appears on most HVAC policies we review. It is the single most common finding across every trade we write.
What Drives Your Premium
- Payroll. Workers compensation rates apply per $100 of payroll. Payroll is the largest driver on most HVAC accounts.
- Work mix. Residential service, commercial service, and new construction each price differently. Give your agent the split.
- Height and building type. See above.
- Vehicle count and operating radius. Local service work prices differently than long-radius or multi-county travel.
- Claims history. Your experience modification factor and your general liability loss runs both affect the rate.
Coverages Larger HVAC Operations Require
As crew count and contract size grow, requirements grow with them.
Blanket additional insured endorsement. Naming each general contractor individually creates delay and endorsement cost. A blanket endorsement covers every party your written contract requires you to name.
Blanket waiver of subrogation. Many commercial contracts require you to waive your carrier’s right to recover from the other party.
Commercial umbrella. Hospital work, public projects, and larger general contractors commonly require $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 above your primary limits.
Hired and non-owned auto liability. Technicians who run parts in their own vehicles create exposure your commercial auto policy excludes without this endorsement.
We write conditioned air contractors across the full range, from owner-operators to multi-crew operations.
Georgia Workers Compensation for HVAC Contractors
Georgia law requires workers compensation coverage once a business employs three or more people. The count includes part-time employees.
Uninsured subcontractors count as your employees. If you use a subcontractor with no workers compensation policy, your carrier can charge you premium for that subcontractor’s payroll at audit. Collect a certificate from every subcontractor before work starts.
Your experience modification affects the work you can win. Many general contractors refuse to hire a subcontractor with a modification factor above 1.00.
Get a Quote
Call 678-569-0113 or request a quote online.
Have these ready and we can quote in one call:
- Annual payroll and employee count
- License class, Class I or Class II
- Number of vehicles and their use
- Work mix across residential service, commercial service, and new construction
- Maximum height your crews work at
- Certificate limits your customers require
We are an independent agency serving Georgia HVAC contractors from Woodstock, Canton, and Warner Robins.