Insurance is something that we all need at some point or other, especially while conducting commercial business. Keeping this in mind, there are literally thousands of different insurances for virtually any profession, item, or need that you could possibly imagine. For those in a specific trade like wood working,
carpenters insurance or woodworkers insurance is a must.
What is Woodworker’s Insurance?
Insurance for those that are in the business of wood working or carpentry is a type of general liability insurance that covers all the specific and unique issues that someone in the field might come up against. Put as simply as possible, this insurance is a business insurance that helps to protect the business owner and woodworker from any liability or damages that might be brought against them. This type of insurance can be for carpentry services, finish and trim carpentry, or even for interior carpentry. Though they are all similar and fall into the larger category of woodworking insurance, they are all different in their own right.
What is Carpentry Services Group Insurance?
This type of insurance is in place to help protect those carpenters that do more general work like repairing interior and exterior wood like window frames, door frames, or even floors. This is a very general range but because they are doing far more extensive work, this line of work might need a larger insurance policy than someone that simply puts in trim.
Basically, this type of insurance is going to cover the work of any general carpenters that do repair work in homes or that do basic installation and maintenance tasks. It is its own separate category because carpentry services can take place either inside a building or on the exterior. Generally, this type of work does require special skills and laborers that know what they are doing in order to complete the job correctly and to make sure that the wood and the home or business are taken proper care of.
What is Finish and Trim Carpentry Insurance?
This type of insurance covers the work of finish and trim carpenters. Finish and trim carpenters work to install things like base boards, wall trims, and more and are generally not going to need to do any major work inside a home. As such, their liability risk is going to be much lower than someone that builds and installs cabinets or someone that repairs wood on a home. This type of insurance is going to carry a much smaller liability umbrella as there is not as much damage that can be done to a home when installing trim as can be done when removing or replacing floors or installing new window frames.
In most cases, finish carpenters are not going to be a separate entity unto themselves, unless they are a specialty business that does work on special projects like historic homes. In many cases, your general carpenters are going to have finish carpenters on the payroll that can help with finishing tasks. There are some companies however that specialize in finish carpentry and that only do finishing tasks.
What is Interior Carpentry Insurance?
Interior carpentry is services like larger projects that take place inside a building. This could be things such as hanging doors, installing windows, putting up shelving, working on floors or even installing or building cabinets. This has a larger liability than finish carpentry for the simple fact that much more damage can be done with this type of carpentry than can be done with other sorts of carpentry.
This is the group of carpenters that are going to have the most liability in many cases because they work in fabrication as well as repair and finishing. They are the carpenters that are putting up framing for walls, the ones that are building cabinets from scratch, and the ones that are working on the carpentry projects that are required to bear weight and to bear everyday use.
What Does Carpentry Insurance Cover?
Since there are a few different types of insurance in this range, it is helpful to look at each different aspect. For those finish carpenters it may cover things like damage to walls and flooring when trim is installed improperly, it could also cover damage the trim itself, or unsatisfactory work as well.
For carpentry services insurance might cover things like damage to the home, things like door frames swelling and causing damage, and event issues like damages to the home while work is being done. This is going to be in place to help protect the homeowner and the business owner. The last thing that carpentry insurance is going to cover in terms of interior carpentry are items like damage to the home or issues that might pop up after the work has been completed. Say that the cabinets are hung and they are in use for a week or so then they fall and are damaged and cause other damage. Your insurance policy is going to help cover the damage.
Who Needs Carpentry Insurance?
This is a not all rectangles are squares but all squares are rectangles sort of situation. If your company does woodwork but also does other general contracting task or other task that are associated with the home, odds are your general contractors insurance is going to cover any possible issue that you may have. If you are a company that only does carpentry and woodworking, it may be beneficial to take out a policy that is specific to that line of work.
In many cases a general liability policy is going to cover any potential issues that might arise as a result of the work that you have done. As such, it is not likely that you are going to need to take out any special policies to cover the costs associated with any damage that might happen as a result of your work. If you own a wood working company you may also want to look into a guarantee for your work so that customers will be more likely to hire you for projects.
Why pay for Carpenter’s Insurance?
It’s simple risk management - no one can predict what is going to happen from day to day. You might go to work on a 200 year old house and complete all your tasks without making one scratch on the historic parquet floor. Then again, you might be having an off day and drop a nail gun or other heavy object leaving a gouge that is going to cost hundreds of dollars to repair. You may go to work and have a fantastic day and get all your tasks done perfectly only to have a homeowner call back a few days later to tell you that the floor you laid down is coming up. There is simply no way to predict how the world is going to play out and having a good insurance policy is the best offense against anything that might happen.
Another reason is that a good insurance policy is going to show your customers that you are serious about what you do and that you are serious about your business and protecting both your customers and what you have built. Furthermore, you can take all the caution in the world to hire workers that are going to do wonders and do just what you need them to do, but you might also hire someone that is crummy at their job and ends up costing you a great deal of money. A great insurance policy can help to prevent you having to come out of pocket to fix someone else’s mistake.
Lastly, when you own any sort of business or partake in any sort of skilled trade you need to make sure you protect what you have worked so hard to build. A good insurance policy is going to help you to protect your business and make the most of what you have so that you can continue to grow and evolve the
business that you have worked so hard to build.
Special Considerations for Carpenters Insurance
For those that are thinking of taking out a policy or that need to take out a policy there are a few different things that you need to consider. For starters, you should think about the type of carpentry that you are doing when you take out your policy. If you only do finish carpentry your policy is going ot be much smaller than someone that builds framing for walls or that puts up expensive cabinets. If you are working on smaller projects along with your carpentry you may be able to take out a general contractor policy instead that covers a wider range of things.
When determining what coverage you need you should think about what task you are performing and the potential issues that these tasks could come up against. Taking the time to seriously consider the policy that you need to take out can make a huge difference in how successful your policy is overall and how much it covers.
Should You Get an Insurance Agent?
With any sort of policy that does involve someone’s home and the potential for serious damages that could easily end up being in the thousands, it is important to make sure you have a policy that is going to cover a wide range of instances.
If you have no idea how to make your own policy, you should certainly take the time to talk with an agent. Agents know what you need to stay legal and to stay safe in the long run. It is important to take the time to talk with an agent for a few different reasons. The first reason is that many states have specific requirements in order for you to be a legal operating company. Though it might seem like it is not necessary to have a special insurance policy, many states require that you have special insurance in order to be legally operating as you have to have some sort of liability in order to protect your clients.
Getting Started
The first place to start is of course to find out what your state requires. Some states have specific requirements as far as insurance and liability coverage are concerned. Some states may have higher liability requirements than others. It is important to understand that since each state is different, you should take the time to find out what is required of your particular state.
The next step is of course to take the time to really look at how you are running your business. If you are running it all year long because you live in a warm area where work is possible all year you should certainly take the time to get a large enough policy to cover all eventualities. If you are running a business a few months out of the year, you may only need coverage during the months that you are open and operating.
Another tip is to take the time to figure out how much coverage you really need. The real issue with this however is that you need to take the time to talk with an agent to help you find the right coverage for your particular situation. You might think that a small general contracting policy or a small general liability policy is
enough but without the right coverage you can lose everything if something does happen and a homeowner decides to sue. A good agent can help you figure out how much coverage you need right out of the gate so that you can get the policy that is going to protect you no matter what.
With the right policy anyone can have a booming carpentry business that is going to work for them all the way around and that is going to have good returns even in the event that something happens. With the right policy you can be sure that you are not going to have to pay huge legal fees and that you are not going to ever have to worry about any homeowners suing or losing your business because of one misstep.
Contact a local
insurance agent that can help you get the right insurance coverage for your woodworking and carpentry practice.