Updated October 2026

Appliance Repair Business Insurance

You work inside strangers' homes, around water lines and 240-volt circuits, driving a van full of tools. Insurance isn't overhead in this business — it's the license to operate. Here's exactly what you need, what it costs, and when each policy becomes required.

Note: this is business guidance, not insurance advice. Get quotes from two or three commercial agents who understand home-service trades.

The four policies that matter

1. General liability — get this first

General liability (GL) covers third-party bodily injury and property damage from your work: the scratched hardwood floor, the water line you disturbed that floods a kitchen, the customer who trips over your tool bag. Standard limits for a small shop are $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate. Typical cost for a solo operator: $500–$1,500 per year.

This is the policy customers and commercial accounts ask about. Property managers will require a certificate of insurance (COI) naming them as certificate holder before giving you work — no GL, no commercial accounts. Buy it before your first paid job, not after your first incident.

2. Commercial auto — your personal policy doesn't cover you

Personal auto policies exclude business use, and "driving to jobs with tools in the van" is business use. If you're in an accident between calls on a personal policy, the insurer can deny the claim entirely. Commercial auto for a single van typically runs $1,200–$3,000 per year depending on driving record, territory, and limits. It's the most expensive policy on this list and the most commonly skipped — and skipping it is the single riskiest insurance decision in this business.

3. Workers' compensation — required when you hire

Workers' comp covers medical costs and lost wages if an employee is injured on the job. In nearly every state it's legally mandatory the moment you have employees — including part-time. Solo owner-operators are typically exempt (though some states let you opt in). Budget roughly 3–7% of payroll once you hire. The moment you bring on your first tech or helper, this moves from "later" to "before their first day."

4. Tools, equipment, and inland marine

Your meters, hand tools, and parts inventory live in a van that's parked on streets and driveways all day. A tools-and-equipment floater (often called inland marine) covers theft and damage wherever the tools are — typically $200–$500 per year for $10,000–$15,000 of coverage. Given that a fully stocked van carries several thousand dollars in tools, this is cheap peace of mind.

What it costs: the full picture

That total — roughly $160–$420 per month — is the real cost of operating legitimately. (And operating legitimately matters to customers: the FTC's consumer advice at ftc.gov routinely tells homeowners to verify a contractor's insurance before hiring — uninsured operators lose jobs they never hear about.) Operators who "save" by skipping insurance aren't saving; they're self-insuring against five- and six-figure losses with no reserves. One flooded kitchen remodel runs $15,000–$40,000. Do the math on which risk you'd rather carry.

Insurance as a sales tool

Here's what new operators miss: insurance isn't just protection, it's marketing. "We're fully licensed and insured" belongs on your website, your van, your invoices, and your service agreement. Customers choosing between you and an uninsured handyman will pay your professional rates partly because you're insured — it's tangible proof you're a real company. Mention it in your Google Business Profile description too; commercial clients filter for it.

Growing: when coverage needs to grow

• Second truck: add it to the commercial auto policy; revisit GL limits — $2M aggregate starts feeling thin at multi-truck revenue.
• First employee: workers' comp before day one; consider employment practices liability (EPLI) once you have a handful of staff.
• Commercial contracts: large property managers may require $2M/$4M limits and additional-insured endorsements. Price this into your commercial pricing — it's a cost of that revenue.
• Annual review: every year, walk your agent through revenue growth, new services, and new hires. Under-insurance creeps in silently as businesses grow.

The Small Business Administration (sba.gov) maintains plain-English guides to small-business insurance requirements by state — a useful cross-check before you buy.