What that certificate is actually for

Arizona only requires workers’ comp if you have employees. You don’t — but the GC still wants a certificate, so you bought a ghost policy. Somewhere between $700 and $1,800 a year, most commonly around $750 to $1,200.

That policy exists to cover employees. You are not one of them. It’s not a technicality or an oversight; a ghost policy is defined by the fact that the owner is excluded. If you fall off a ladder tomorrow, the medical bills and the lost income are entirely yours.

You’ve already accepted that insurance is a cost of doing business here. The question is just whether any of what you’re paying for actually protects the person doing the work.

Eight weeks. That’s the median.

A tradesman who gets hurt badly enough to miss work misses a median of 8 days. Fall off something, it’s 13. Blow your back out lifting, it’s 14. Those are the middle. The tail is what wrecks people — a torn rotator cuff, a shattered wrist, a herniated disc, and you’re out for months.

Run your own number. What do you clear in a month? Now double it. That’s a broken wrist.

And it isn’t just the falls. Musculoskeletal problems and injuries are 37% of all long-term disability claims. Twenty-five years of kneeling on concrete and hauling material up ladders doesn’t announce itself. One morning your shoulder just doesn’t work anymore.

Social Security isn’t the backstop you think it is. Roughly 30% of applications get approved, the average benefit is about $1,630 a month, and the wait runs months.

Disability insurance covers the guy the comp policy leaves out

It’s simple. You get hurt or sick and can’t work your trade, a check shows up every month. Paid directly to you — not to a hospital, not to a lawyer, not through anybody. You spend it on the mortgage, the truck note, groceries, whatever you need.

Unlike comp, it doesn’t care whether you got hurt on the job or falling off your own roof on a Saturday. And unlike an occupational accident policy, it covers illness and the wear-and-tear injuries that take most tradesmen out — not just accidents.

What it runs

• 40-year-old journeyman electrician, $60k — about $40/month for $1,200/month in benefit
• 44-year-old GC, $80k — about $35/month for $1,500/month, or $74 for $2,900
• 37-year-old bricklayer, $32k — about $30/month for $700/month

Illustrative examples based on published carrier figures. Your rate depends on your trade, age, health, income and the waiting period you pick.

Rule of thumb: it costs 1–3% of what you make to protect the rest of it. Most guys in the trades land between $30 and $60 a month.

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The questions everybody asks

“I’ve got savings.”

For how long? Most guys have a month, maybe two, and that’s before the truck payment and the tools you’re still financing. Almost 40% of American adults can’t cover a surprise $400 without borrowing.

“I’m careful. I’ve never been hurt.”

Construction has the most workplace deaths of any private industry in the country and 3.4× the all-industry rate of falls to a lower level. Framing contractors run about double the construction average on injuries. Careful helps. It isn’t a plan.

“Isn’t this expensive?”

You’re probably already paying $800–$1,500 a year for a policy that pays you zero. This is $30–$60 a month for one that pays you directly. If money’s tight, take a longer waiting period — going from a 30-day wait to a 90-day wait cuts the premium roughly in half.

“My trade’s too risky to qualify.”

Maybe, maybe not — it depends on the trade and the carrier. Electricians and plumbers price well. Roofers, framers and heavy equipment operators can still get covered but with lower caps. A few specialties — crane operating, structural steel, tunnel work, asbestos — most carriers won’t touch. Sixty seconds tells you which bucket you’re in, and it costs nothing to find out.

“I write everything off, so my income looks low.”

That’s the real conversation, and you should have it before you apply. Carriers underwrite off your Schedule C net profit, so heavy write-offs shrink what you can qualify for. Worth a phone call so you’re not surprised.

Find your state

The rules are different everywhere, and in some states the gap is bigger than you’d think.

• All states
• Florida
• Tennessee
• California
• Texas
• Washington
• Oregon
• Idaho

Who you’re dealing with

ContractorsDI is a licensed insurance agency, not a lead broker. Coverage is underwritten by Assurity Life Insurance Company — one of the few carriers that will actually write the trades, with occupation classes that cover carpenters, electricians, plumbers, roofers and truck drivers rather than excluding them.

You can verify any of those with your state’s Department of Insurance before you tell me anything about yourself.

Sixty seconds tells you where you stand

Your trade, your rough income, your age. No medical exam, no obligation, nobody shows up at your house. You’ll see a real number and you can decide from there.

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Prefer to talk it through? Phone/Text 888-389-0055

This page describes general Arizona requirements and is not legal advice. Product availability, rates and eligibility vary by state, carrier, occupation and underwriting. Rate examples are illustrative and are not an offer of coverage.