Carpentry produces fewer catastrophic claims than roofing or gas and more everyday ones than almost any other trade. Doors and floors are damaged, a fitted kitchen goes in against the wrong wall, a nail finds a pipe, dust and offcuts are left where somebody trips. A carpenter's liability policy is bought for those, and the section that gets used most often is usually the one covering the tools rather than the one covering the public.
What the liability section actually answers for
Injury to other people and damage to their property arising from the work: the client, the client's family, other trades on site and the neighbours. First and second fix carpentry mostly happens inside somebody's house, so the exposure is to finished surfaces, services buried in walls and the people living there. The limit is normally one or two million pounds for domestic work and five million on managed sites.
Tools are the claim carpenters actually make
A carpenter's tools are worth more and travel more than most trades', and van theft is the routine loss. Tools sections carry a total sum insured and a single item limit, and a tracked saw, a planer thicknesser or a nail gun set can breach the single item limit alone. The conditions about locked vans, overnight parking and where the van may be left are where these claims are decided, and they are worth reading before the first night away from home.
Dust, noise and the health claim nobody expects
Wood dust is a respiratory hazard and hardwood dust is a recognised cause of occupational disease. That belongs to employers' liability rather than public liability, and it is a long tail: a claim can arrive years after the exposure, which is why employers' liability insurers require records to be kept for many years. A carpenter taking on an apprentice should think about extraction and masks as an insurance matter as well as a health one.
Working as a subcontractor on site
Carpenters commonly work as subcontractors for builders and main contractors, which brings two requirements: the certificate in the name of the entity that contracted, and the limit the principal contractor specifies. Where you are labour only, the contractor's employers' liability may reach you; where you are a bona fide subcontractor, yours must reach your own people. Establishing which you are is the first question at quote.
Questions people ask about carpenter public liability insurance
How much public liability insurance does a carpenter need?
One or two million pounds for domestic first and second fix work, and five million where a main contractor, housing association or local authority specifies it. The contract usually names the figure.
Are a carpenter's tools covered by public liability?
No. Liability answers for other people's property. Your own tools need a tools section with its own sum insured and single item limit, and its own conditions about locked vans and overnight parking.
What happens if I damage a customer's floor?
That is third party property damage and is what the liability section is for, subject to any exclusion for property in your care, custody or control. Where you are working on the item itself, check for a specific extension rather than assuming the main limit reaches it.
Do I need employers' liability for an apprentice?
Yes. An apprentice is an employee for these purposes and employers' liability becomes compulsory. It also matters for the long tail: dust related claims can arrive years later and are answered by the policy in force when the exposure happened.