Vermont works a small and widely spread market — Burlington and South Burlington, Essex Junction, Montpelier and Barre, down to Rutland — where the one registration the state does run reaches residential construction, and the rules that reach an excavator, a forklift and a dozer come from three entirely separate places.
Because the rules that reach a machine differ by machine, we give each one its own Vermont page rather than pretending a single state page could cover all five honestly. Choose the machine you run and the page will take the Vermont specifics from there.
Choose your machine
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Skid Steer insurance in Vermont
Untitled iron, and a UCC-1 filed in Montpelier
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Excavator insurance in Vermont
Premark the ground before you call: 30 V.S.A. § 7004
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Backhoe insurance in Vermont
Special mobile equipment, and where incidental use ends
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Forklift insurance in Vermont
A full state plan that reaches private crews, not federal OSHA
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Dozer insurance in Vermont
General Permit 3-9020 at an acre, with Act 250 possible over it
Running something else? We also write trenchers, motor graders, articulated haulers, track loaders, compactors, pile drivers and directional drills — see all equipment we cover.
Who licenses Vermont equipment contractors
No general contractor license, but residential contractors must register with the OPR before contracting for residential construction exceeding the statutory threshold (10,000 dollars, labor plus materials).
That registration is a residential requirement, and commercial site work sits outside it — which is why the questions that shape a commercial schedule here are machine questions instead. Each of the pages above answers one of them.
How coverage is placed
Every machine above sits on the same core lines, and only the first is a condition of writing you: the equipment floater for the machines you own, rented and leased equipment for the ones you do not, general liability for damage the work does to others, commercial auto for the trucks and trailers, and workers compensation for the crews. We place them monoline — no package required.
Primary sources
- Residential Contractors — Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation
The statute, permit and safety-authority sources behind each machine sit on that machine’s Vermont page above, where the rule actually applies.
Vermont equipment insurance FAQs
Do you write equipment coverage for contractors across Vermont?
Yes — Equipment Guard Insurance places heavy equipment and contractors equipment coverage statewide, from Burlington, South Burlington and Essex Junction through Montpelier and Barre down to Rutland. The equipment goes on its own policy; nothing else has to be bundled with it.
Which machines do you write in Vermont?
Skid steers, excavators from mini to full size, backhoes, telehandlers and rough-terrain forklifts, and dozers, together with trenchers, motor graders, articulated haulers, track loaders, compactors, pile drivers and directional drills. Each of the five has a Vermont page of its own, because a Vermont rule written for one machine rarely reaches another.
Does Vermont license general contractors?
Not for commercial work — there is no statewide general contractor license. What the state does run is a Residential Contractor registration through the Office of Professional Regulation, required before contracting for residential construction above the statutory threshold. Commercial site work sits outside that registration entirely.
What makes a Vermont dig notice different from its neighbors?
Premarking. Under 30 V.S.A. § 7004 the proposed excavation area has to be marked out before the call goes to Dig Safe, and the notice then runs at least seventy-two hours ahead — Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays excluded — and no more than thirty days ahead. The excavator page walks the sequence in order.
Is a Vermont forklift crew under federal OSHA?
No. Vermont operates its own OSHA-approved state plan covering private-sector employers, so powered-industrial-truck operator training, evaluation and enforcement all run through the state program instead of federal OSHA directly. The forklift page covers what the state program expects to see.
Do I need to move my other policies to insure Vermont iron with you?
No. Equipment-only is what we do. Keep the general liability or business owner’s policy you already hold; we will schedule the machines beside it and leave the rest of your program untouched.