Solar Installer Insurance Requirements: By State

Last updated: November 2026

Solar installer insurance requirements come from several places: the contractor’s license, workers’ compensation law, vehicle requirements, and the contracts the business signs. A policy limit that satisfies one requirement may not satisfy the others.

This US-focused guide separates verified state examples from practical coverage questions. It replaces broad national minimums with licensing-specific evidence and gives installers a checklist for comparing policies, reviewing subcontractors, and preparing for larger projects. Premiums require business-specific quotes; this article does not present an unsupported 2026 price range.

SurgePV publishes this post and sells solar design software.

What Insurance Solar Installers Actually Need

Begin with the work the business actually performs. Rooftop installation, electrical work, design advice, vehicle use, storage, and subcontracting create different exposures. Discuss each activity with a licensed broker rather than selecting a package solely because it is labeled contractor insurance.

The California Department of Insurance’s Commercial Insurance Guide distinguishes property and casualty coverage and explains that policy terms determine covered losses. Its overview is a useful starting point for understanding general liability, commercial auto, umbrella, and workers’ compensation. It is not a solar-specific quote or assurance that every policy includes every exposure.

General Liability Insurance

Commercial general liability, or CGL, addresses covered liability for third-party injury and property damage. Products and completed operations are important parts of the discussion when installed equipment remains at a customer’s building after the crew leaves. Coverage still depends on the insuring agreement, exclusions, endorsements, limits, and facts of the claim.

Ask the broker to review rooftop work, residential and commercial work, electrical installation, battery installation, and any restrictions on building height or project type. An endorsement is an addition or change to a policy; there is no universal document called a rooftop-work endorsement that every installer can simply request and assume sufficient.

Do not describe $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate as a national legal minimum. A client might request those limits, another might request more, and a licensing authority may use different amounts. Record which requirement each proposed limit is intended to satisfy.

For completed work, ask how the policy handles resulting property damage, damage to the contractor’s own work, subcontracted work, and the cost of correcting a defective installation. These are different questions. Insurance is not automatically a workmanship warranty, and the obligation to fix work under a contract is not necessarily an insured loss.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation addresses covered work-related employee injuries and illness under the applicable state system. Hiring thresholds, exemptions, classifications, owner treatment, and subcontractor rules differ. A business expanding across state lines needs to examine where its employees will work, not only where its office is registered.

The state examples later in this guide include California’s one-employee rule, Virginia’s treatment of subcontractor employees, and Texas’s government-contract exception. These details are more useful than a blanket statement that coverage is either always required or always optional.

Prepare an accurate payroll and duties description for the broker. Office administration, roof installation, electrical work, and subcontracted operations should be explained as they actually occur. Do not choose a cheaper description that omits the company’s real activities. Ask how payroll audits, overtime treatment, and changes in staffing affect the premium.

Safety records are useful information for an underwriting discussion, but they do not guarantee a discount. Keep training, incident reporting, fall-protection procedures, and subcontractor supervision records because they support the operation of the business as well as the insurance application.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Vehicle coverage should reflect who owns the vehicles and how they are used. Identify company trucks, rented vehicles, trailers, employee-owned vehicles used for work, and anyone authorized to drive them. Ask about hired and non-owned auto liability where those exposures exist.

Do not assume every personal policy excludes every business journey, or that a personal policy is suitable for routine crew and equipment transport. Present the actual use to the insurer. A liability limit for injury or property damage is also different from coverage for damage to the vehicle or the panels and tools it carries.

For each quotation, list vehicles, drivers, operating areas, expected use, deductibles, and requested coverages consistently. If a vehicle is replaced or a new driver joins, update the schedule and confirm when the change takes effect. A renewal spreadsheet is only useful when it matches the fleet on the road.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability, often called errors and omissions or E&O, is a coverage area to evaluate when the business provides design, engineering, assessments, or professional advice. Ask how the proposed policy defines insured professional services and whether it addresses the services the installer actually sells.

A claim about an inaccurate production estimate is not automatically covered merely because the installer buys E&O. Performance guarantees, contractual promises, design defects, and negligent advice can receive different treatment. Have the broker review the proposal language and any promised financial outcome alongside the policy terms.

If a separate engineer prepares the design, record the allocation of responsibilities and the engineer’s insurance obligations. Outsourcing a calculation does not remove every exposure from the installer. The installation contract, consultant agreement, and insurance programme should tell a consistent story about who does what.

Use project shading analysis to document a design input, but do not present software as a substitute for professional review or as a guarantee against insurance claims. Keep the assumptions and limitations visible in the customer proposal.

Umbrella and Excess Liability

Umbrella and excess policies can add liability limits above specified underlying coverage, subject to their own terms. The labels are not enough to establish which policies they follow or whether they cover a particular gap. Check the underlying schedule, attachment conditions, exclusions, and any retained amount.

Do not assume an umbrella automatically extends professional liability, cyber coverage, or every other policy the company holds. Ask for a coverage diagram showing the underlying and excess layers for the actual programme. Review how aggregates and defense costs are treated in each layer.

The amount to buy should follow contractual requirements and a considered loss scenario. Project price alone is a poor measure of the possible damage to a building or its contents. A modest installation on a valuable occupied building can create exposure beyond the installation contract value.

How Solar Installer Insurance Works

A policy is a contract with defined coverage, conditions, limits, and exclusions. The useful question is how those provisions apply to the company’s operations and an actual claim, not whether a certificate contains a familiar headline limit.

The Certificate of Insurance Trap

A certificate of insurance, or COI, provides evidence of insurance. New York’s Department of Financial Services guidance on certificates says certificates should not amend or expand the policy. Treat the certificate as a verification document, then obtain the relevant policy endorsements when a contract requires specific protection.

Being named as a certificate holder is not the same as being an additional insured. Ask the broker for the actual additional-insured provision or endorsement and whether its conditions are met. A sentence typed into a certificate cannot create missing coverage.

A practical verification process records the insured legal entity, policy dates, insurer, limits, required endorsements, and the person who checked the documents. Verify suspicious or incomplete documents through a known broker or insurer contact. Avoid relying solely on contact details embedded in an unverified PDF.

How Claims Are Paid

Notify the appropriate insurer or broker promptly when an incident, demand, or circumstance may trigger the policy’s reporting duties. Preserve relevant records and follow the instructions for handling the matter. Do not promise a customer a particular insurance payment before the insurer has assessed coverage.

Occurrence and claims-made policies use different timing rules. An occurrence policy generally looks to covered injury or damage during its policy period; a claims-made policy also requires attention to when a claim is made or reported and any retroactive date. The exact wording governs.

Completed-operations coverage does not mean a single annual policy guarantees every claim throughout a long equipment warranty. Ask how continuing coverage, prior work, business closure, reporting obligations, and replacement policies affect the exposure. There is no universal one- or two-year completed-operations window established in this guide.

Deductibles and Self-Insured Retention

A deductible or self-insured retention makes part of a covered loss the business’s responsibility, but the mechanics can differ. Ask who controls the defense, when the insurer’s obligations begin, whether defense expenses count toward the retained amount, and how multiple claims are treated.

For a purely illustrative cash-planning example, three separate claims each requiring a $5,000 payment from the business would require $15,000. That arithmetic is not a typical claims forecast or a statement that every policy applies its deductible in the same way.

Choose a retained amount the business can fund while continuing payroll and project work. A lower premium may be attractive, but it should be compared with the cash the business might need quickly after a loss. Put that exposure in the budget alongside the premium, taxes, fees, and any audit adjustment.

State-by-State Insurance Requirements 2026

Insurance and bonding requirements depend on the state, license classification, business entity, employee arrangements, and contract. The following are selected verified examples, not a complete state compliance matrix.

The three checks above follow the licensing, workers’ compensation, and contractual distinctions in the official sources linked below. They are a workflow summary, not a comparison of state risk or premiums.

California: Bonding, Employees, and Business Entity

The CSLB bond requirements specify a $25,000 contractor bond. A bond is not interchangeable with liability insurance. Its purpose and obligations differ, so record it separately in the compliance checklist.

CSLB’s original-license application guidance adds requirements for LLC licensees: a $100,000 employee/worker bond and liability insurance starting at a $1 million aggregate for five or fewer personnel of record. The required liability amount increases by $100,000 per additional personnel of record, up to $5 million.

For workers’ compensation, the CSLB guidance states the one-employee rule and lists classifications that need coverage even without employees, including roofing. Check all classifications held by the business and any valid exemption rather than assuming that a solar label settles the issue.

Texas: Electrical Licensing Is Not a No-Insurance Exception

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation sets the electrical-contractor liability limits shown in the table. The application also requires workers’ compensation evidence, approved self-insurance evidence, or the specified election not to obtain coverage and associated notice.

The Texas workers’ compensation guide says most private employers are not required to carry coverage, but private employers contracting with government entities must cover employees working on the project. Contracts can also require subcontractor coverage. Treat licensing and workers’ compensation as separate questions.

Virginia: Count Relevant Subcontractor Employees

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission explains that employers regularly employing more than two full- or part-time employees must carry coverage. Relevant subcontractor employees count toward that threshold, even if the subcontractor has its own policy.

A small direct payroll therefore does not settle the answer for a contractor that relies on subcontractors. Give the broker the actual subcontracting arrangements, including who performs the same trade or fulfills the company’s contracts. Retain proof of coverage for audit and verification.

Florida: A Solar Contractor Classification Exists

Florida’s Certified Solar Contractor application checklist requires an attestation of public liability and property damage insurance in the amounts set by Board rule. It also states the workers’ compensation or exemption step for applicants.

The checklist should be used with the relevant application and rules for the exact license. This guide does not invent a universal Florida bond amount or claim that Florida has no solar-specific contractor classification.

Other States and Local Requirements

For Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, Hawaii, Connecticut, and other markets, obtain the applicable licensing and workers’ compensation guidance before quoting a requirement. The previous blanket yes/no entries are not reliable enough to retain as verified law.

Keep a jurisdiction worksheet containing the trade license, legal entity, employee rules, local permits, vehicle obligations, and contract requirements. Assign an owner and review date. A requirement checked for one city or license may not transfer to the next project.

When the work involves unusual access, multi-employer sites, public procurement, or substantial subcontracting, obtain legal and insurance advice for that scope. Avoid converting a complex liability law into a one-line promise that an insurer will pay every injury claim.

What Solar Contractor Insurance Costs in 2026

A defensible premium estimate requires a quote based on the business. This guide does not retain unsupported small-installer averages, state price rankings, or fixed percentage surcharges.

Cost Breakdown by Coverage Type

Request separate line items so quotations can be compared on equal terms. A package total can hide a different deductible, an omitted coverage, or a limitation that materially changes the protection offered.

Include premium taxes and fees where applicable, payment-plan charges, and any minimum or deposit premium. Ask whether the initial amount can change after a revenue or payroll audit. A quote based on a lower exposure estimate is not necessarily cheaper when both policies are reconciled to actual operations.

What Drives Premium Variation

Business activities, territory, payroll or sales, limits, deductibles, underwriting appetite, and claims information can affect the offer. Give each broker the same accurate exposure summary. Otherwise, apparently competing quotations may describe different businesses.

A clean claims history is useful information, but one claim does not imply a fixed percentage increase or automatic inability to buy insurance. Ask the broker what changed in the actual renewal: rate, exposure, coverage scope, deductible, insurer, or underwriting assumptions.

New operations should be disclosed before they start. Battery installation, a new state, a larger commercial project, or in-house design can change the coverage discussion. Waiting until renewal can leave the company working under assumptions that no longer match its activities.

The NABCEP Certification Discount

Do not budget a guaranteed insurance discount for NABCEP certification without a written offer from the insurer or programme administrator. A historical partnership announcement is not enough to establish a live 2026 discount, its percentage, or its eligibility rules.

Include staff qualifications and training in the underwriting submission. Ask whether the insurer recognizes them, how any credit is applied, and what evidence is needed. Treat the answer as quote-specific rather than promising that certification pays for itself through premium savings.

Bundling and Deductible Choices

Ask for package and separate-policy options where available. A combined programme can simplify administration, but it is not automatically cheaper or broader. Compare exclusions and claims handling as carefully as the premium total.

A useful decision table shows the annual premium, retained amount, material exclusions, contract compliance, and unresolved questions for each option. Leave unavailable figures blank until quoted. Do not fill them with an internet average that refers to a different trade or business size.

What Most Installers Get Wrong About Coverage

The following are review questions, not findings from a claimed audit of hundreds of policies. Each should be answered against the company’s actual wording and contracts.

Mistake 1: Assuming General Liability Covers Everything

Separate injury and property-damage claims from design advice, performance promises, vehicle incidents, employee injuries, and damage to the installer’s own tools. Ask the broker to map each scenario to a policy or identify where no suitable coverage is in place.

For an illustrative design-error scenario, suppose a production estimate omitted a nearby obstruction. The customer seeks compensation for lower savings. The claim may involve professional services, contractual promises, and other facts. Do not promise that either CGL or E&O will respond without reviewing those details.

Mistake 2: Confusing Completed Operations With a Warranty

A workmanship warranty is the installer’s contractual promise. Completed-operations insurance concerns certain liability arising from completed work under the policy. The periods, triggers, exclusions, and obligations are not identical.

Ask how the business will address allegations after a policy changes or the company closes. Review prior-work limitations and reporting provisions. Preserve old policy documents, because the relevant coverage may depend on the timing of injury or damage and the policy form.

Mistake 3: Treating Subcontractor Certificates as Full Protection

A subcontractor’s certificate helps verify insurance, but it does not replace reviewing the subcontract and relevant endorsements. Additional-insured status, completed operations, workers’ compensation, and contractual risk allocation are separate questions.

Do not assume that the primary contractor’s policy always excludes subcontracted work or that the subcontractor’s policy will necessarily pay first. The policies, facts, contract, and law determine the result. Ask the broker to review how the programme handles the subcontracting actually planned.

Mistake 4: Comparing Premium Without Coverage

A low premium can reflect lower limits, a higher retention, a different scope, or an exclusion. It can also be a competitive price for suitable protection. The comparison should identify the reason, rather than assume expensive policies are automatically better.

Request an explanation of material differences between options. If one proposal excludes a core activity, resolve that issue before considering its price attractive. If two offers are equivalent for the business, cost and service can then be compared more fairly.

The Tradeoff Between Limits and Project Opportunity

Insurance requirements should be reviewed before committing to a bid. A larger limit may help meet a contract, but it does not automatically qualify the business for every commercial project. Endorsements, insurer acceptability, deductibles, and proof of coverage can also matter.

For an illustrative procurement scenario, a contractor discovers late in bidding that the required excess coverage is unavailable on the proposed terms. The practical lesson is to send the insurance schedule to the broker early and price the actual requirement. No lost contract value or competitor outcome is claimed here.

Avoid labeling a residential business overinsured solely because it carries higher limits. The possible severity of loss, available budget, contracts, and risk tolerance all deserve consideration. Equally, meeting a statutory floor does not prove the programme adequately protects the operation.

How to Choose the Right Coverage for Your Business

Build a documented comparison using the actual operating plan and project pipeline. The following steps create a useful brief for a licensed broker and a record of the decisions made.

Step 1: Map Your Exposure

Start with an honest inventory of what you do. Do you design systems or install from someone else’s plans? Do you work on residential roofs, commercial flat roofs, or ground-mounted arrays? Do you employ crews directly or subcontract? Do you store customer data or use drones for site surveys?

List planned activities as well as current ones. Distinguish equipment ownership, the party responsible for design, and the party responsible for roof modifications. Include service calls and removal work if they are part of the business. A narrow description of new installation alone can omit meaningful work.

Step 2: Match Limits to the Exposure and Contract

Do not use installation price as the sole limit-setting formula. Discuss the building, occupancy, neighboring property, workforce, access, and possible business interruption. The owner may have a contractual requirement that differs from the installer’s initial preference.

Request options where a higher limit or broader coverage is available. Record the cost and the remaining gaps rather than deciding from a single premium number. If a requirement cannot be met, resolve it with the contracting party before the business signs or mobilizes.

Step 3: Choose a Broker Who Understands the Work

Ask prospective brokers how they would assess roof work, solar design, batteries, subcontractors, and completed operations. Request an explanation of their service process, insurer access, claims support, and renewal review. Verify the broker’s licensing through the relevant regulator.

A solar-focused label can be useful, but it is not a substitute for a clear coverage explanation. This article does not rank brokers or claim that a named firm has access to exclusive markets. Select based on the actual advice, available programme, and ability to address the company’s operations.

Step 4: Review the Full Policy at Renewal and When Work Changes

Schedule the review early enough to resolve questions before expiry. Compare the expiring and proposed forms, endorsements, limits, retentions, and reporting conditions. A renewal with the same premium can still contain important coverage changes.

Do not wait for renewal if the business adds employees, enters a new state, changes entity, acquires vehicles, or accepts a different scope. Ask when changes must be reported and what evidence will show that the insurer accepted the updated exposure.

Step 5: Document the Decision and the Work

Keep the exposure submission, quotations, broker explanations, accepted terms, policies, endorsements, and certificates. Store them under the correct legal entity and policy year. A clear record helps distinguish what was requested from what was actually purchased.

Project documentation should include scope, approved drawings, changes, equipment records, inspection results, and handover information. Use a solar punch-list process to track unresolved work. Good records can support a claim investigation, but they do not guarantee payment or turn an excluded event into a covered one.

Insurance Requirements for Commercial vs. Residential Projects

Project type changes the questions to ask, but neither residential nor commercial work has one universal insurance package. Review the site and contract before deciding what limits and endorsements are necessary.

Residential Solar Insurance

For residential work, explain how the installer’s insurance and the homeowner’s property insurance address different interests. Do not state that homeowners insurance never covers contractor-related damage. The homeowner should ask their insurer about the planned installation, covered causes of loss, exclusions, ownership, and any changes needed to the policy.

The installer should provide accurate evidence of its own coverage and avoid promising the homeowner that a particular claim will be paid. If damage occurs, the parties should follow their reporting duties and preserve evidence. Fault, coverage, and recovery between parties require their own assessment.

Financed or leased projects can add installer-network and ownership requirements. Obtain the actual programme insurance schedule instead of attributing a generic national limit to all finance providers. Check who owns the equipment before and after installation and who insures it during each stage.

Commercial Solar Insurance

Commercial contracts may involve a building owner, tenant, lender, general contractor, and other parties. Identify each party requesting insurance protection and the scope of that request. A named party on the contract is not automatically insured under the installer’s policy.

Review the insurance schedule with the broker before bidding. Ask about additional insureds, completed operations, waiver of subrogation, primary and noncontributory wording, limits, permitted deductibles, and any project-specific requirements. Availability and meaning depend on the actual policy and contract.

A waiver of subrogation concerns the insurer’s recovery rights under specified conditions; it should not be described as an unrestricted promise never to sue anyone connected with the project. Similarly, a requirement for completed-operations coverage should be reviewed for its duration and scope rather than assumed to follow the roof warranty automatically.

Maintain a contract-compliance tracker for each project. Record required documents, acceptance by the customer, expiration dates, and renewal duties. If work or the contract changes, check whether the insurance requirements changed too. The administrative task continues beyond the date a certificate is first issued.

The Subcontractor Problem

Subcontractor verification should begin before site access and remain active during the job. Obtain the legal entity, license information, scope, insurance evidence, and any required endorsements. Record expiry dates and a process for replacement documents if a policy renews during the project.

An injury to a subcontractor’s employee can raise workers’ compensation, employer liability, third-party liability, and contractual questions. The appropriate programme depends on the arrangement and jurisdiction. Virginia’s employee-counting rule, described above, shows why a small primary contractor should not assume its direct headcount settles the issue.

If a subcontractor claims an exemption, verify whether it applies to that business and work. A client or primary contractor may still require coverage contractually. Resolve the difference before work starts rather than assuming that a lawful exemption automatically satisfies the project contract.

Additional Coverage Types to Consider

Additional coverage should follow a specific exposure. Ask the broker to identify what the existing programme covers before adding a new policy or assuming that a gap exists.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Solar businesses may hold utility bills, contact details, payment information, and access credentials. Inventory the information collected, where it is stored, and which vendors can access it. Then discuss incident response, privacy liability, business interruption, and any contractual security requirements with the broker.

Do not assume every fine, notification expense, or fraudulent payment is covered. Ask about exclusions, conditions, limits, retention, and the required response process. Insurance should accompany appropriate access controls and staff procedures, not replace them.

Inland Marine and Tools Coverage

Identify tools and equipment at the office, in vehicles, in transit, and at job sites. Ask about owned, rented, and borrowed equipment, per-item limits, valuation, and theft conditions. A policy’s title alone does not prove it covers every location or item.

For an illustrative inventory exercise, a thermal camera might need individual scheduling while ordinary tools are grouped. Use actual replacement values and records of ownership. Check how unattended-vehicle theft, wear, and accidental damage are treated rather than assuming every loss receives the same response.

Installation Floater

Materials can change location and ownership before a system is handed over. Map delivery, temporary storage, installation, commissioning, and customer acceptance. Identify the party bearing the risk at each stage and the policy intended to cover it.

Ask whether an installation floater or other project property cover addresses those stages, including transit and stored materials. Coordinate with any owner’s or general contractor’s project policy. Two parties assuming the other insured the equipment can leave a gap; overlapping policies can also require coordination.

Drone Liability Insurance

If drones are used for surveys, disclose who operates them, where they fly, and whether the service is in-house or subcontracted. Ask about liability, physical damage, operators, and exclusions in the existing programme. Do not assume ordinary general liability automatically covers aviation exposure.

If a specialist surveyor performs the work, document responsibilities and insurance evidence. A drone image delivered to the installer does not resolve liability for the flight itself or for professional conclusions drawn from the survey.

Pollution and Environmental Liability

Removal, storage, transport, and disposal work can create exposures different from new installation. Describe the materials and activities accurately to the broker and obtain guidance on any relevant environmental coverage or exclusions.

Avoid treating every solar component as having the same disposal classification or every environmental penalty as insurable. The actual material, jurisdiction, activity, and policy matter. Use qualified disposal providers and retain the records required for the work being performed.

Tools & Further Reading

Use the official state sources above as the starting point for legal requirements, then ask a licensed broker to match the business’s activities and contracts to actual coverage. Keep the resulting decisions with the policy documents and renewal calendar.

SurgePV can support layouts, shading assessments, equipment information, and proposals. Explore the project documentation workflow to make the installation scope and design assumptions easier to communicate. These tools do not certify insurance compliance, interpret policies, or guarantee a reduction in claims.

Conclusion

Solar installer insurance is a combination of legal requirements, contractual obligations, and decisions about the business’s exposures. Start with the actual license, workforce, project scope, and policy wording. Do not rely on a national minimum, an internet premium average, or a certificate alone.

Before the next project, give the broker the proposed scope and insurance schedule, resolve material exclusions, and verify subcontractor documentation. At renewal, compare the policy terms as well as the price. A written record of those decisions is more useful than an unsupported promise that a standard package covers everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

What insurance does a solar installation company need?

The required insurance depends on its license, employees, vehicles, operations, and project contracts. Evaluate general liability, workers’ compensation, auto, professional liability, and excess coverage against those facts. A licensed broker should identify both applicable requirements and remaining gaps.

Is $1 million general liability a legal minimum for all solar installers?

No, there is no single national liability minimum used in this guide. For example, Texas electrical-contractor licensing specifies different limits, while California LLC requirements depend on personnel of record. Customer contracts can impose additional requirements.

Does Texas require solar electrical contractors to carry liability insurance?

Texas electrical contractors must maintain the liability limits specified by TDLR. Its guidance lists $300,000 per occurrence, $600,000 aggregate, and $300,000 products/completed-operations aggregate. Workers’ compensation is a separate question with its own rules and exceptions.

How much does solar contractor insurance cost in 2026?

A reliable price requires a quote for the actual business. Provide consistent payroll, revenue, operations, vehicles, claims information, limits, and deductibles when comparing offers. This guide does not claim an unsupported national premium range.

Does a certificate make a contractor an additional insured?

A certificate alone does not create additional-insured coverage. Obtain the relevant policy provision or endorsement and check that its conditions are satisfied. A certificate holder and an additional insured are different roles.

Does completed-operations insurance cover the entire solar warranty?

Completed-operations insurance is not automatically a guarantee for the full warranty period. Coverage depends on policy timing, wording, exclusions, and the facts of the loss. Ask the broker how ongoing operations, prior work, renewal changes, and business closure affect protection.

Can homeowners insurance cover damage connected with solar installation?

Coverage depends on the homeowner’s policy and the cause and circumstances of the damage. Homeowners should discuss the installation with their insurer and verify the contractor’s insurance separately. Neither party should promise a claim outcome before the relevant insurers assess it.