Sometimes — but you shouldn't rely on it. Your GL can respond to third-party bodily injury or property damage caused by a subcontractor working for you — you're vicariously liable, and your policy defends you. But it will NOT pay to redo the sub's defective work (your-work exclusion), it may exclude sub-caused losses entirely if your policy carries a subcontractor exclusion or warranty endorsement, and your carrier will price your renewal on the claim. The right structure: require every sub to carry their own GL naming you as Additional Insured, with a waiver of subrogation — so their policy pays first.
When your GL does respond
If your 1099 splice crew damages a customer's ceiling or their trench work floods a neighbor's yard, the injured party can claim against you as the contracting party. Your GL generally defends and pays covered third-party claims arising from work performed on your behalf — including by subcontractors. That's the good news, and it's why primes hold YOU responsible for your subs on their COI requirements.
The three traps
First: the your-work exclusion. If the sub's splice is simply defective and must be redone, that's not covered — it's a warranty cost, not a liability claim. Second: subcontractor exclusions and warranties. Many small-contractor GL policies include endorsements that exclude claims arising from subcontracted work entirely, or void coverage unless every sub carried specified insurance and signed an indemnity agreement. Contractors discover these at claim time. Third: cost. Even a paid sub-caused claim lands on YOUR loss history and prices YOUR renewal for 3–5 years.
The structure that actually protects you
Run subs the way primes run you: written subcontract with indemnity language, certificate of insurance collected before mobilization, your company named as Additional Insured on the sub's GL (CG 20 10 + CG 20 37), waiver of subrogation, and minimum limits matching your prime's requirements. Then a sub-caused loss hits the sub's policy first, and yours sits excess. Also verify your own GL has no subcontractor exclusion — and if you use subs regularly, tell your underwriter; misrepresenting sub usage is a coverage-voiding event.
Get Coverage Without the Gaps
We build fiber contractor programs where the GL, pollution, auto, and equipment coverage actually line up — no fatal exclusions, no surprises at claim time.
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