What insurance does a carpenter need?
There's no one-size answer. The right mix depends on how you work, who you work for, and what your contracts ask for. These are the coverages a carpenter typically looks at first:
General liability
Covers third-party injuries and property damage on the job, including completed operations, with the $1,000,000 per-occurrence limit GCs typically request before a sub is cleared for a site.
Business property
Table saws, nail guns, and hand tools are expensive to replace, and this is designed to help cover them against theft and damage, whether they're at a shop or staged in a job trailer.
Workers' compensation
Cuts, kickbacks, and falls from ladders are common on a job site, and workers comp is built to cover a crew member's injury once you have employees.
Commercial auto
A truck hauling lumber, tools, and a trailer between sites is a work vehicle, and personal auto coverage typically excludes that use.
Coverage always depends on your specific situation. The fastest way to see what fits is to get a quote and review your options.
Running the whole job instead of one trade? See our guide to contractor insurance.
What does it protect against?
The risks that matter aren't abstract. They're the everyday accidents of the work. A few scenarios that turn into real claims:
A table saw kickback hurts a bystander
A board catches on a table saw blade and kicks back while a client is walking through the space to check progress. Injuries from tools and equipment you're operating on someone else's property are a textbook general liability claim.
A cut goes through a wall you shouldn't have touched
A framer cuts into a stud bay to run a header and nicks wiring or plumbing that wasn't on the plans. The resulting repair, and any water or electrical damage that follows, becomes a property damage claim against the crew that made the cut.
Sawdust and scrap catch fire
A pile of sawdust and cutoffs near a heat source or a spark from a grinder ignites, and a small fire spreads faster than anyone expects in a construction zone full of dry lumber. Fire damage to a client's property is one of the more expensive claims a trade can face.
A built-in fails after the job is done
A custom shelving unit or a staircase you installed comes loose weeks later and someone is hurt, or the piece itself falls and damages the floor. Claims tied to finished work are completed operations claims, and they're a standard part of general liability.
Certificates of insurance
Carpenters get asked for a certificate of insurance whenever they work as a sub. General contractors collect one from every trade before clearing them for a site, and many homeowners and property managers ask for the same before a large remodel or built-in project. The request is usually general liability at a stated limit, with a workers comp line once you run a crew. Olli's general liability policies include instant certificates, so proof is ready the moment your policy is.
New to certificates? Start with our guide to the certificate of insurance: what's on one, who asks for it, and how to provide yours.