The job is done, the punch list closed, the final check cashed. From a liability standpoint, though, every project you've ever finished is still live — leaks, failures, and injuries traced to completed work generate claims for years after demobilization. Completed operations coverage is the part of your GL built for that long tail, and it's worth understanding before a job from 2022 calls.

How the tail works

Your GL's products-completed operations coverage responds to bodily injury and property damage occurring after your work is done — the deck that fails in year three, the water line fitting that lets go in year five. Missouri and Kansas statutes of repose put outer limits on construction claims (generally around ten years), which is why sophisticated contracts require you to maintain completed operations coverage for years after completion, and why letting coverage lapse when you slow down or retire leaves your busiest years unprotected exactly when their claims mature.

What determines whether the old claim is covered

  • Occurrence-based GL (standard for contractors) responds based on when the damage happens — the policy in force when the pipe bursts answers, which is why continuous coverage matters more than any single year's limits
  • Your-work exclusions still apply: redoing your own faulty work isn't covered; the damage it causes to other property is the covered piece
  • Completed operations additional insured endorsements: the GC from that 2023 project may still have rights under your policy — as required by the contract you signed
  • Records: contracts, subs' certificates, photos, and closeout documents from finished jobs are your defense file — keep them at least through the repose period

Slowing down, selling, or retiring? Plan the tail

Contractors winding down sometimes drop coverage the day the last job ends — and stand naked in front of a decade of finished work. Options exist: maintaining a smaller policy, tail arrangements, structuring a sale so coverage continues. It's one of the most important conversations in a contractor's exit planning, and almost nobody has it unprompted. Consider yourself prompted.

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This material is for general information only. Coverage depends on the actual policy language, and availability varies by carrier.

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