Independent reference
Business insurance for small trades, explained by the job you actually do.
Someone just asked you for a certificate of insurance and you are not sure what they want. Every page here answers that kind of question from published policy forms and government sources, names the date it read them, and says plainly what the coverage does not do.
We do not sell insurance, quote policies, or rank providers.
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- Pressure Washing LicensesWhich states license pressure washing as contractor work, the dollar thresholds that trigger it, and the water discharge rules nobody mentions.
- Detailing LicensesDetailing is not a licensed trade in the US. What applies instead comes from three other places, and the one that catches mobile operators is not about licensing at all.
- Handyman LicensesThe dollar threshold everyone quotes decides fewer handyman jobs than it looks: four conditions void it at any price, and they fire on exactly the work a handyman gets called for.
- Lawn Care LicensingMowing is generally unlicensed, so the obvious search returns nothing. The regulated activity is applying product, and the federal rule most operators check is narrower than the state one that reaches them.
- Food Truck PermitsThe health permit is the expected part. The commissary is the one that decides whether the business is possible, because the code says the truck cannot simply live in your driveway.
- Junk Removal LicensingThe only trade on this site where the rule is not a dollar threshold. Waste transportation is regulated by category, so a small job can carry the same requirement as a large one.
- Cleaning and BondingCleaning is rarely licensed, so the real requirement is the phrase clients use. A bond protects the customer and the business indemnifies the surety, which is the opposite of a policy.
- Certificate of InsuranceThe standard certificate states its own limits in capital letters, and those sentences explain why being the certificate holder is not the same as being covered.
- Vehicles and LiabilityThe liability form excludes autos but carves out mobile equipment, and a California court read a food truck as the second one. What the vehicle is for decides the category.
- Tools and EquipmentThere is no exclusion to find: your own tools were never inside a liability policy to begin with. The category that reaches them is named after ships, and it also covers a customer's property in your care.
- Policy FormsTwo policies with identical limits can answer the same claim differently. One form asks when the harm happened, the other asks when the claim arrived.
- Liability LimitsThe trade repeats one million as if it were universal. One city's own documents show two different tiers, and the aggregate is the number that quietly runs out.
Who this is for
Owner-operators running a business that fits in a truck, or that walks into other people's houses and job sites. One to three people. For a lot of them it is the first business they have owned.
The trades this site covers: pressure washing, food trucks, mobile detailing, handyman work, junk removal, lawn care and cleaning. Coverage for each trade is being published progressively.
What this is not
- Not an insurance agency, broker, or carrier.
- No quotes, no prices, no calculator.
- No star ratings, no rankings, no “best for you.”
- No advice about your specific policy or situation.
- No email required to read anything.
How this site works
Everything is dated
Claims here are scoped to the documents that were read and the day they were read. That is a deliberate choice: a statement about what a form said on a date stays true, while a statement about what a rule requires today quietly goes stale. How sourcing works.
The gaps get named
Every page has a section for what the coverage does not do. It is the part carrier marketing pages leave out, and it is the reason this site exists. Editorial policy.
The money is disclosed
When referral links go live, this site earns a flat fee per referral, never a share of your premium and never more if you buy. No links are live today. How we make money.
Last updated July 26, 2026. Written by Luciano Canziani.