You can start building your carpenter insurance policy for about $116 a month, according to Insureon. A policy can cover different types of carpentry mishaps, like accidentally damaging your client’s furniture, stolen equipment, lawsuits from accidental injuries and lost income. And you can build out your policy as necessary to cover other types of risks, like auto accidents and employee injuries.
Think of carpentry insurance as your trusty tool kit to fix all sorts of problems.
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Who Needs Carpenter Insurance?
Carpenter insurance is good for folks working in the trade industry who undertake a variety of tasks, such as:
- Installing windows, fixtures or other structures.
- Replacing damaged frameworks like walls or floors.
- Shaping, measuring or cutting materials like wood, glass or plastic.
- Working at elevated heights.
- Using specialized equipment such as saws, nail guns and other power tools.
Working as a carpenter exposes you to numerous problems, including flammable materials, heavy objects that can potentially injure you if you have to move them and tools that can cause injuries. Given the risks involved in this trade, we recommend carpenter insurance.
What Does Carpenter Insurance Cover?
Carpenter insurance combines several types of small business insurance to cover a wide variety of problems like medical bills for workplace injuries and illnesses, damage and theft of your tools and lawsuits.
A business owners policy (BOP) bundles three foundational coverage types and it’s usually cheaper than buying each coverage separately. Here’s what a BOP includes:
Other Types of Insurance for Carpenters
While a BOP provides a base of essential insurance types, you may need to add extra coverage to ensure your business is covered against its unique risks.
Here are some other coverages worth considering:
What’s Not Covered by Carpenters Insurance?
Carpenters insurance doesn’t cover certain types of issues, such as:
- Deliberate or dishonest acts.
- Earthquakes (you’ll need to buy a separate earthquake insurance policy).
- Floods (you’ll need to buy a separate flood insurance policy).
- Government seizures.
- Infectious diseases.
- Radioactive fallout.
- War.
- Wrongful termination (you will need employment practices liability insurance).
How Much Does Carpenter Insurance Cost?
Carpenter insurance costs an average of $116 per month for a business owners policy, according to Insureon. That’s for a policy with $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate of liability insurance and a $1,000 deductible.
Insurance companies use several factors to determine how much you’ll pay for coverage, including:
- Business equipment and property. The value of your company’s assets, like tools and machinery, affects how much you pay for insurance.
- Business size, location and revenue. Your business’s size, where it’s located and how much money it makes all affect how much insurance costs.
- Policy limits and deductibles. The coverage and deductible amount you select will impact your business insurance cost.
- Types of carpentry work. The kind of carpentry jobs you do, like residential or commercial projects, can impact your rate.
- Types of insurance. Choosing different types of insurance, like adding builder’s risk or workers’ compensation to your BOP, will increase your business insurance cost.
Here’s an example of the cost of carpenter insurance, based on the type of coverage you choose.
| Coverage type | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| $1,020 | |
| $3,388 | |
| $1,915 | |
| $169 | |
| $886 | |
| $999 | |
| $1,000 | |
| $100 |
Examples of Carpenter Insurance Claims
Here are a few claims scenarios and the corresponding coverage offered by carpenter insurance.
| Claim | Coverage type |
|---|---|
| Your employee runs a red light and hits another vehicle. | Commercial auto insurance |
| A client trips over a power tool and sprains their wrist. | General liability insurance |
| An employee cuts their hand while working and needs stitches. | Worker’s compensation insurance |
| Severe wind damages your office. | Commercial property insurance |
| A fire damages your workshop, halting all business operations. | Business interruption insurance |
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Carpenter Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does a BOP for carpenters insurance cover?
A business owners policy (BOP) for carpenters insurance covers a range of problems, including accidental injuries and property damage to others, stolen and damaged business equipment, and lost income if you have to temporarily close your carpenter business due to a problem covered by your policy (like a fire).
While a BOP is a solid start for your carpentry business insurance plan, it won’t cover problems like work-related car accidents, injuries to employees, and lawsuits against your business for incomplete or shoddy work. We recommend adding more coverage to your BOP to cover these types of problems, such as commercial auto insurance, workers’ comp insurance and professional liability insurance.
How do I get carpenter insurance?
You can get free quotes online, choose a policy, pay for it and download your certificate. You can also call an independent insurance agent to help you buy a policy. But first, we suggest you assess your carpentry business risks to determine what type of coverage you need.
You can start with a business owners policy (BOP) since it covers a wide variety of problems, like lawsuits, stolen business property and lost income. But a BOP is unlikely to cover every problem your carpentry business encounters, like car accidents in your work vehicle. We suggest adding additional coverage types as necessary, such as commercial auto insurance.
Once you’ve determined the coverage types your carpentry business needs, the next step we recommend is to compare business insurance quotes. After you purchase a policy, make sure you review your coverage annually to assess any additional risks. For example, if you recently purchased new tools, you may want to consider adding tools and equipment insurance.
Is it required for carpenters to have insurance?
If your carpentry business has employees, most states will require you to have workers’ compensation insurance. Your client might require you to have other types of business insurance, such as general liability insurance and/or a surety bond.
Even if you work alone and your client does not require you to have insurance, we still recommend small business insurance for carpenters. It covers problems like lawsuits, stolen tools, lost income and injuries to employees. We suggest starting with a BOP and adding other coverage types as necessary.
