Hey Laura,
Hope y’all are doing well and beginning to defrost! The last job we had itinerants for was a commercial job and the contractor required all subs to carry workman’s comp. Since we determined that any “ghost policy” was not worth the paper it was written on, to comply, we put the itinerants under our workman’s comp policy. We pay a certain rate for hours worked on our yard and a much higher rate for hour worked on site.
So the itinerants were covered under our worker’s comp policy. The next time it is an issue for you, ask the one you are working for if you can adjust your rate and be listed under their policy for the duration of the job.
Of course, if there had been a claim, our rates would have gone up, but that is the nature of the business and the risk involved. After spending hours researching, talking to four insurance agents and dozens of phonecalls, we determined that any policy the itinerants could buy was bogus and shady, and to be covered, our only legitimate option was to cover them ourselves.

As far as getting work, have you considererd marketing your servives to owner-builders? I know some would never hire a professional-anything, but others might see the benefit of hiring a couple of pros for a couple of weeks and getting the benefit of their expertise, and a huge headstart on their project. Not to mention making some new friends in the TF community.
Whit