Roofing Certificate of Insurance: How to Verify It in KY

Central Roof Repair · Hiring a contractor

What should a Kentucky homeowner check on a roofer’s certificate of insurance?

Check that workers’ compensation is on it — then verify it independently, because Kentucky keeps a state filing and the permit office checks too.

A certificate of insurance is a document the contractor asks for and hands you. That is its weakness: it tells you what coverage looked like on the day it was issued, from the party with the most reason to want you reassured. Kentucky happens to give a homeowner two verification routes that do not depend on the paper at all, and almost nobody uses them.

Does a Kentucky roofing company have to carry workers’ compensation?

If it has employees, yes. KRS 342.630 makes “any person, other than one engaged solely in agriculture, that has in this state one (1) or more employees subject to this chapter” mandatorily subject to the workers’ compensation chapter. One employee is the threshold — not five, not ten.

And KRS 342.340(1) gives such an employer exactly two lawful ways to satisfy it: insure the liability “in some corporation, association, or organization authorized to transact the business of workers’ compensation insurance in this state,” or furnish the commissioner satisfactory proof of financial ability to pay directly, in which case the commissioner requires a deposit of acceptable security, indemnity or bond. There is no third option and no small-crew exemption by headcount.

Verification route one: the state already has the filing

This is the part that makes the certificate secondary. KRS 342.340(2) requires every employer to file, or have filed on its behalf, evidence of compliance with the department — and puts the duty on the carrier directly: “Any insurance carrier or self-insured group providing workers’ compensation insurance coverage for a Kentucky location shall file on behalf of the employer, with the commissioner, evidence of the employer’s compliance with this chapter.” That filing “shall be made within ten (10) days after the issuance of a policy, endorsement to a policy, or similar documentation of coverage.”

Cancellation runs through the same channel. The employer must immediately notify the department of a cancellation, its date and reasons, and the carrier or self-insured group must likewise notify the commissioner upon “the cancellation, lapse, termination, expiration by reason of termination of policy period, or nonrenewal” of the policy. The statute then adds a detail worth knowing: “Termination of any policy of insurance issued under the provisions of this chapter shall take effect no greater than ten (10) days prior to the receipt of the notification” by the department.

One more line in KRS 342.340(2) is directly useful to a homeowner: “Evidence of compliance filed with the department may include a named additional insured who has been provided proof of workers’ compensation insurance coverage by the employer.” Coverage questions and the current filing status for a specific employer go to the Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims.

Verification route two: the permit office already checked

If your job is being permitted, a check has already happened before you ever saw a certificate. KRS 342.610(6) provides that “Prior to issuing any building permit pursuant to KRS 198B.060(10), every local building official shall require proof of workers’ compensation coverage from the builder before a permit is issued.” A contractor who is exempt under KRS 342.650(2), or otherwise exempt from the chapter, “shall so certify to the local building official, in writing and on a form prescribed by the commissioner, in lieu of providing proof of workers’ compensation coverage.”

So the useful question is not only “may I see your certificate,” but “which office pulled the permit, and what did you file with them.” An exemption certification is a legitimate answer — but it is a different answer from coverage, in writing, on a state form, and you are entitled to know which one applies to the crew on your roof. Permit requirements and the state’s building code authority sit with the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.

What to verify	Where the statute puts it
Coverage required at one or more employees	KRS 342.630(1)
Insure with an authorized carrier, or qualify to self-insure	KRS 342.340(1)
Carrier files evidence within 10 days of issuance	KRS 342.340(2)
Carrier and employer must report cancellation or lapse	KRS 342.340(2)
Permit office requires proof, or a written exemption certification	KRS 342.610(6)
Carrier name and policy number posted at the employer’s office	KRS 342.610(7)

That last row is the simplest check of all and costs nothing. KRS 342.610(7) requires every covered employer, at its principal office and wherever employees report for payroll and personnel matters, to post a notice “stating the name of its workers’ compensation insurance carrier and policy number,” along with how to access medical care and the employee’s obligation to give notice of accidents. The format is set by the commissioner and copies are supplied to the employer by its carrier.

Why subcontracting changes the picture

Kentucky pushes liability up the chain. KRS 342.610(2) states that “a contractor who subcontracts all or any part of a contract and his or her carrier shall be liable for the payment of compensation to the employees of the subcontractor unless the subcontractor primarily liable for the payment of such compensation has secured the payment of compensation as provided for in this chapter,” with a right to recover that amount from the subcontractor. The same subsection deems a person a contractor when the work contracted for is “of a kind which is a regular or recurrent part of the work of the trade, business, occupation, or profession of such person.”

Read plainly, that provision is aimed at businesses that subcontract work of their own trade — which is why a roofing company that uses subcontracted crews carries exposure for those crews when the sub has not secured coverage. Whether and how it reaches any particular homeowner is a legal question that turns on facts, and it is one for a Kentucky attorney, not for a contractor’s website. The practical takeaway is narrower and safe: ask whether the crew doing your roof are employees of the company you signed with or a subcontractor, and if they are a subcontractor, ask for that entity’s coverage too.

What we do on our own jobs

We expect to be asked, and the answer should be checkable without taking our word for it: the name of the carrier, the policy number, the office that pulled the permit. In practice the homeowners who ask these questions get better work from everyone bidding, because the questions sort out who is set up to answer them. Kentucky has no standalone state roofing contractor licence — we wrote up what actually exists in place of one — and that absence is exactly why the insurance and permit records carry the weight here. If your roof damage is headed to a claim, the deadlines matter as much as the coverage: see Kentucky insurance claim deadlines on a roof.

Nothing here is legal advice, and we are not insurance agents. Coverage adequacy, additional-insured status and liability questions belong to a licensed agent and to counsel. What belongs to you as a homeowner is the right to verify, from a source that is not the contractor’s own paperwork.

Is a certificate of insurance the same as being insured?

No. A certificate evidences coverage as of its issue date. Kentucky’s reporting duties exist precisely because coverage can change afterward: under KRS 342.340(2) the carrier must report cancellation, lapse, termination, expiration or nonrenewal to the commissioner, and termination takes effect no more than ten days before the department receives that notification.

What if a roofer says they are exempt from workers’ compensation?

That can be legitimate, and KRS 342.610(6) tells you what it should look like: a contractor exempt under KRS 342.650(2), or otherwise exempt, certifies that to the local building official in writing on a form prescribed by the commissioner, in lieu of providing proof of coverage. Ask which form was filed and with which office.

Does a homeowner need to see general liability as well?

General liability and workers’ compensation answer different questions — damage to your property versus injury to a worker — and only the second is mandated by KRS Chapter 342. Ask for both, and ask your own insurance agent what your homeowners policy does and does not cover while contractors are on site.

Last updated October 25, 2026.

By Central Roof Repair · Call or text (859) 310-1209.