HANDYMAN CONNECTION

For Handyman Connection, the 2026 franchise disclosure document, Item 8, requires general liability at $1,000,000 per occurrence with $2,000,000 products and completed operations aggregate and $2,000,000 general aggregate; commercial auto at $1,000,000 combined single limit; workers' compensation with employers liability at $1,000,000 limits; an Employee Dishonesty Bond of at least $5,000; and an umbrella of at least $1,000,000. The franchisor must be named additional insured on ISO form CG 2029 with a waiver of subrogation on ISO form CG 2404, and coverage must be primary and non-contributory. Cyber and EPLI are recommended.

For Handyman Connection, the additional insured is Trident Investment Partners, Inc. d/b/a Handyman Connection. The FDD names the exact forms: ISO CG 2029 for the additional insured endorsement and ISO CG 2404 for the waiver of subrogation. Your own legal business entity is the named insured. A certificate that omits the franchisor, names the wrong entity, or uses the wrong forms is non-compliant.

Your coverage likely applies at a commercial site the same way it does at a home. The obstacle is usually the certificate, not the coverage. Commercial clients often require $2,000,000 per occurrence, the client named as additional insured, a waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory language. Build the policy to produce those certificates before you bid commercial work.

If a tech performs work that legally required a licensed trade your business did not hold, the carrier can argue the loss arose from unlicensed work and limit or deny the claim. Route licensed plumbing and electrical work to a licensed subcontractor, pull required permits, and confirm your general liability does not exclude unlicensed or unpermitted work.

Accidental water damage to the customer's other property is generally covered by general liability. Two gaps: the "your work" exclusion removes the cost of redoing the failed connection itself, and a mold and fungus exclusion can block mold remediation if moisture sits before it is caught. Ask whether a limited mold endorsement is available.

General liability excludes employee theft. The FDD requires only a $5,000 Employee Dishonesty Bond, which often pays only after a conviction and may seek reimbursement from you. The stronger protection is a third-party commercial crime policy at $250,000 on a Loss Discovered form — it pays without a conviction and does not claw the money back.

If the only issue is that the repair failed and must be redone, that is a workmanship dispute, and general liability's "your work" exclusion removes the cost of fixing your own work. GL responds when the failed repair causes new, resulting damage to other property. Contractors Errors & Omissions can cover the faulty-workmanship side that GL leaves out.

Standard professional liability is not the right product for trade work. The correct vehicle is Contractors Errors & Omissions, which covers faulty workmanship that GL's "your work" exclusion removes and judgment errors that cause financial loss. For light remodeling and repeat repairs, it is worth reviewing as your project sizes grow.

Commercial accounts typically require higher certificate limits — often $2,000,000 per occurrence — plus the client named as additional insured and a waiver of subrogation. They also increase your revenue, which is an audit base for general liability. Confirm your carrier can produce the certificates these clients require before you commit to the work.

A surety bond is different from the Employee Dishonesty Bond the FDD requires. License and permit bonds are required by states or cities to hold a contractor license; performance bonds are required by project owners on specific jobs. You carry those when an outside party demands them. The dishonesty bond covers employee theft — and a third-party crime policy is the stronger version of that protection.