Carpenters' insurance Carpenters' insurance

Protect your carpentry business, including your tools, against mistakes and accidents with customisable insurance from £5.94 a month.

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Carpenters' insurance quote

From£
5.94
per month

What does carpenters' insurance cover?

Whether you work with large-scale frames and joists, or work on intricate designs of cabinets and stylish furniture, there are a bunch of risks that could affect your carpentry business.

10% of carpenters paid £5.94 a month or less for their Superscript business insurance between January and March 2023.

At Superscript, we offer liability insurance and equipment cover for carpenters and joiners that is specifically tailored to your business, so you'll be protected from the risks that could affect you the most. These covers include, but are not limited to:

  • Public liability
  • Employers' liability
  • Tools and equipment
  • Personal accident
  • Professional indemnity
  • Hired-in plant and machinery
  • Contract works
  • Business stock

Be quote confident

We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.

So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.

As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.

What insurance does a carpenter need?

Public liability insurance

From clients to passers-by, the nature of your job means you're interacting with the public on a regular basis. If you injure someone or damage their property, you could be liable for the legal fees and compensation if they made a claim against you. Carpenters public liability insurance can help to cover those costs, so you don't have to.

Employers' liability insurance

Whether you have an extra pair of hands helping out with a project or a dedicated team, if you hire anyone – regardless of whether they're full-time, part-time or temporary – employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for businesses in the UK.

It's designed to cover your business from legal and compensation costs if an employee makes a claim against you due to injury.

Professional indemnity insurance

From accidentally giving bad advice on how to restore a wooden frame, to errors in interpreting blueprints, if you make a mistake in your work or a client is unhappy with a finished project, they could make a claim against your business. If this happens, professional indemnity insurance is designed to covers the costs associated with the claim, including settlements and rewards.

Accident and sickness cover

Carpentry is a hands-on job that involves a lot of lifting, building and wielding of tools — and an accident can mean anything from a few days to a prolonged period off of work. Accident and sickness insurance comes in three parts to cover workers aged between 16-69.

Firstly, it’s designed to provide financial support for up to 50 weeks if you or an employee goes on long-term sick leave. It can also provide financial assistance for up to 180 nights if you, or an employee, were hospitalised.

And finally, a lump sum benefit of up to £50,000 can be paid out if you or an employee suffers a serious injury or up to £25,000 in the unfortunate event that an insured person dies.

Portable tools and equipment

As a carpenter, your tools are vital to your business, but what would you do if they were damaged or stolen? This covers accidental damage, loss and theft of handheld portable tools and business equipment (including electronic equipment such as phones and laptops) belonging to you or your employees anywhere in the UK or temporarily worldwide up to a maximum of £1,000 per item.

Plant and machinery

Superscript's plant and machinery cover protects against accidental damage to your construction plant, machinery, trailers, site huts or caravans, whether the machinery is your own, or hired.

Business stock

This covers accidental damage to your stock-in-trade while at your premises, or in transit or locked storage anywhere in the UK.

Contract works

This covers accidental damage that you, or your employees, may cause to permanent or temporary works when performing any contract or development.

Professional indemnity insurance

We all make mistakes, but when you’re surveying, designing or measuring, mistakes could have real life consequences. Tradesperson professional indemnity insurance may help to cover the associated legal costs if a third party accuses you of professional negligence.

Read our guide to tradesperson professional indemnity insurance for more information.

Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.

Real Superscript insurance quotes by real carpenters

These real-life examples are to give you an indication of the sort of the cover options Superscript customers are looking for, and how much they were quoted. These customers' names have been changed.

£5.94/MONTH

Ainsley, a carpenter from Durham, with an annual turnover of under £50,000.

Quoted £5.94 a month in October 2022:

  • Public liability insurance (£1m limit)

£12.62/MONTH

Max, a self-employed gardener from Accrington, with an annual turnover of under £50,000.

Quoted £12.62 a month in August 2022:

  • Public liability insurance (£1m limit)
  • Legal expenses cover (£100,000 limit)
  • Personal accident cover

£38.27/MONTH

Carys, a carpentry business owner from Ruthin, North Wales, with an annual turnover of under £50,000.

Quoted £38.27 a month in June 2022:

  • Public liability insurance (£5m limit)
  • Employers' liability insurance (£10m limit)
  • Portable hand tools cover (£5,000 limit)
  • Personal accident cover

Just need to insure your tools and equipment?

At Superscript, we offer special cover for just the tools and equipment of your trade. You won't be tied into taking out any other covers in your policy so you only pay for what you need.

As a carpenter, you can get cover for vital tools and items of business equipment such as:

  • Circular saw
  • Power drill
  • Nail gun
  • Laser level
  • Chisels
  • Plane
  • Laptops and phones

Read more about our tools-only cover.

Claims examples

Business insurance claims are different for every carpenter or joiner out there, but here are a few examples of real claims that carpenters have had to make.

The stolen saw

One of a self-employed carpenter’s power tools was stored overnight in a locked van outside their house. Unfortunately thieves broke into the van overnight and stole the vehicle. Although it was found by the police the next day, the carpenter’s circular saw had been stolen.

Because they had included ‘theft from a vehicle overnight’ in their portable tools cover, the carpenter was covered for the cost of replacing their saw.

The bandsaw accident

Three employees of a carpentry business were working in their timber workshop building a staircase for a customer. While trimming some wood on a bandsaw, one of the carpenters slipped and hurt their fingers, despite the relevant safety guards being in place. The staff member’s solicitor pursued the business for damages.

The carpentry business’ employers’ liability insurance covered the legal and compensation costs of the claim.

The timber damage

As a delivery of timber beams arrived at a workshop, the employees unloading the wood from the truck accidentally clipped a member of the public’s car in the process, causing significant damage to the windscreen. The car’s owner made a claim for the cost of replacing the damaged car part.

The business’ public liability insurance covered the cost of replacing the car’s windshield.

How do insurance claims work for carpenters?

The below is a good guide to the process and timescales you can expect when you need to make a claim under your policy.

If you’re ever unsure whether you can or should claim, it’s best to get in touch and we can let you know.

1

Notify us of the claim

Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.

Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.

A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there’s an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.

2

We'll get on the case

We’ll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you’ll receive email confirmation of your Superscript claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.

We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.

We’ll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.

3

A decision is made

We’ll let you know if your claim is successful or not. At Superscript, if your claim isn’t covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.

Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.

If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.

Carpenters' insurance FAQs

What is carpenters' insurance?

Carpentry insurance is a type of business insurance that caters to sole trader carpenters and joiners or those who own a carpentry business.

When you start a quote with us, you can build the cover you need to suit the type of work you do, the business you have and the number of people you employ, if any. If your business grows and you need to change your level of cover, you can do so easily at no extra cost.

Do carpenters need insurance?

If you or your carpentry business employs people, the only insurance that's legally required in the UK is employers' liability insurance. All other covers, while not legally required, can come in handy and save you a hefty amount in legal and compensation fees if a claim is made against you.

Do you offer business insurance for carpentry work in both residential and commercial properties?

Yes, our policy covers both residential and commercial properties. In terms of non-residential properties, we can cover locations such as schools, hospitals, office spaces, museums, restaurants and cafes.

Will my power tools be covered?

Yes, your tools and equipment cover will protect your power tools such as circular saws, drills, jigsaws, routers and nail guns against accidental and malicious damage, loss and theft.

Is my carpenters' business insurance tax deductible?

In short, yes. Your business insurance premium is labeled by HMRC as an 'allowable expense' and the cost of your premium can be written off against your taxable profit for the year. Be sure to keep records of your expenses for your self-assessment or corporation tax return.

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Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).

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If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.