Carpenters Insurance
Cover for chippies, sorted online in a couple of minutes. Your Certificate of Currency lands in your inbox the moment you buy, and paying monthly costs you nothing extra.
Why do carpenters need insurance?
Carpentry work puts you inside other people's property all day. A screw into a hidden cable or timber left where someone can trip can cost more than the job ever paid. A Viz public & products liability insurance policy is designed to cover your business for third-party injury and property damage claims arising from your business activities.
Insurance is also what gets you through the gate. Builders and head contractors will usually ask for a Certificate of Currency before you start on site.
What can you get covered for as a carpenter?
Viz is built for how chippies actually work.
Pay Monthly at no Extra Cost
Cashflow matters. No fees or interest for paying monthly.
One Policy. Multiple Occupations.
Put multiple occupations under one policy and one premium.
Get your Viz Tradie Pass
A Certificate of Currency & insurance hub in your phone's digital wallet.
Pay Monthly at no Extra Cost
Cashflow matters. No fees or interest for paying monthly.
One Policy. Multiple Occupations.
Put multiple occupations under one policy and one premium.
Get your Viz Tradie Pass
A Certificate of Currency & insurance hub in your phone's digital wallet.
What can carpenters insurance cover?
Third party property damage
Third party property damage
Damage that your covered business activities do to a third party's property (for instance, a client's house or a new build) can be covered under public liability insurance, up to $5, $10, or $20 million. For a carpenter that might mean drilling into a cable hidden behind a wall while you're fixing shelving, or a dropped tool cracking a client's tiled floor.
Theft of your tools
Theft of your tools
Tools of Trade cover is an optional add-on. With it, up to $50,000 of your gear can be insured against theft, provided it was locked up in a building or vehicle.
Injuries to third parties
Injuries to third parties
Where someone is hurt as a result of your work, public liability insurance can cover what you're liable to pay. For a chippy that could be an offcut coming off a first-floor frame onto someone below, or a client tripping on timber left across a walkway.
Damage to your tools
Damage to your tools
Tools of Trade cover responds to damage as well as theft. Fire, flood, explosion, and the vehicle carrying your gear rolling or being hit on the on the road are all insured events under the tools section.
Legal costs
Legal costs
If a third party makes a claim against your business, public & products liability insurance can help cover the cost of defending the claim, as well as any compensation you’re legally required to pay.
Loading and unloading vehicles
Loading and unloading vehicles
Viz’s Public Liability insurance can cover loss or damage to a third party’s property that happens while you’re loading or unloading a vehicle in the course of your business activities. For example, if materials you’re unloading accidentally damage someone else’s property, this is the type of situation where this cover could apply.
What can't carpenters insurance cover?
Every insurance policy has exclusions - they keep premiums fair and help reserve cover for genuine, unexpected events. We've listed some of the exclusions that every insured carpenter should be aware of.
Faulty workmanship
Faulty workmanship
Where your work is faulty, the damage it causes to other property can be covered, but the cost of redoing the work itself isn't. If a wall cabinet you hung lets go, re-fixing it sits with you. The benchtop and appliances it landed on can be covered.
Tools theft from open air
Tools theft from open air
Gear taken off an open site, out of an unlocked ute or off the back of an open tray isn't covered. Theft is covered where the gear was locked in a building or vehicle and there's damage showing forced entry. Insuring open-air theft would push every policyholder's premium up to pay for the few who leave gear out, we left it outside the policy's coverage.
Injury to your employees
Injury to your employees
Public liability covers damage and injury to third parties - not injury to your own employees.
If you employ workers, you’ll generally need workers compensation insurance, which is designed to provide support if they’re injured or become ill because of their work. The requirements vary between states and territories, so check the rules that apply to your business.
Work other than carpentry
Work other than carpentry
A Viz policy is designed to cover the work reasonably expected of a carpenter. Anything outside that needs to be added before it's covered.
A Viz policy can carry multiple occupations, so carpentry and shopfitting, or carpentry and handyman work, can sit on the one policy for one premium.
Asbestos and silica
Asbestos and silica
Asbestos and silica can cause serious illness, sometimes many years after exposure. If you come across these materials, the safest approach is to leave the work to appropriately qualified specialists with appropriate insurance cover.
The above is not a complete list of the exclusions in your policy. Refer to the policy wording for the full details of your cover.
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Take on work outside of carpentry?
A Viz policy can carry multiple occupations. If your carpentry business also does:
- ● Handyman work
- ● Kitchen installations
- ● Cabinet making
- ● Renovations
- ● Shopfitting
Put them on the one policy and you'll pay a single premium, based on the highest priced occupation category.
What goes into a carpenters insurance policy?
Three covers to choose from. Public & products liability is included, tools and tax audit are optional.
Public & Products Liability Insurance
Why you might need it
Public & products liability insurance is the part of your policy designed to respond when your work injures someone or damages their property. For a carpenter that can mean a screw through a water pipe behind a kitchen wall sheet, or a window damaged during a fit-out.
It's also a condition of getting onto most sites. Head contractors will often ask for a Certificate of Currency before you pick up a tool.
How it works
Public and products liability insurance is included in every Viz policy. You can choose from $5m, $10m or $20m of cover. This is the most you can be paid out for claims within a policy period.
Depending on the work you take on, you may need a minimum level of cover - many builders and commercial sites require $10 million or $20 million before you can start. With Viz, your Certificate of Currency is emailed to you instantly after you take out a policy, so you can provide your docs straight away.
With Viz, your Certificate of Currency is emailed the moment you take out a policy, so you can send it through the same day.
Tools & Equipment Insurance
Why you might need it
Your gear is how the work gets done and how you get paid. A stolen drop saw and nail gun can stop a job dead.
Tools of Trade cover is an optional add-on that can respond when your gear is stolen or damaged by an insured event, so you can repair or replace it and get back on the tools.
How it works
Tools of Trade cover is an optional cover that you can add to your tradies insurance policy.
Pick $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000 of cover for unspecified items, capped at $2,500 per item. That could cover most of what lives in the ute - circular saws, drop saws, nail guns, impact driver and drill kits, multi-tools, planers, routers, levels, clamps and hand tools.
If you want items covered for more than $2,500 each, you can list them as a specified items, with the description and value listed on the policy. You may choose to list your track saws, laser levels, compressors, generators and your trailer on your policy. Trailers must be listed as a specified item to be covered.
Up to $30,000 of Specified items can be added, covering up to a total of $50,000. Gear can be added or taken off once the policy is going by a quick email or phone call to our Australian team.
Tax Audit Insurance
Why you might need it
The ATO can audit any business at its discretion, carpentry businesses included, whether or not anything has gone wrong. Some are picked at random, others off the back of lodgements.
An audit means accountants' time and professional fees while you are still trying to work. If you choose to include tax audit cover, those fees can be covered and your cashflow takes less of a hit.
How it works
Tax audit cover is optional and can go on or come off the policy at any time. Selected, it provides $50,000, and you pick the excess that suits you.
What might a carpenter's claim look like?
Daniel, from Reilly Carpentry & Construction
A stone benchtop was cracked during a kitchen job Dan was working on. Replacing it came to $9,500, which was covered under his public liability insurance.
Josh, from Fenwick Building Services
Josh was replacing doors on a job when he accidentally swung a door into a tenant's car parked alongside. The repair came to about $2,000, which was covered under his public liability insurance.
Angus, from Ridgeline Construction Pty Ltd
Angus's trailer was broken into overnight and his tools were taken. The stolen gear came to almost $20,000, which was covered under his tools of trade insurance.
The names and businesses above have been changed for privacy. Every claim is different and assessed on its individual circumstances and policy coverage.
What might a carpenter's claim process look like?
When you lodge a claim there is usually a builder or a homeowner waiting on the answer.
Sedgwick, our specialist claims partner, handles Viz claims from lodgement through to decision, and works to get you back to where you were before the loss with as little disruption as possible.
1.
Lodge your claim
Either fill out the claim form, give the claims team a call on 1300 850 491, or send all the details through to vizclaims@au.sedgwick.com. You will then receive confirmation that your information has been received.
2.
A representative will get in touch
A representative from Sedgwick will be in touch - likely to gather more details about your claim. This can include details like police reports, proof of ownership, a detailed account of the events leading to the claim (who, where, how), and more.
3.
Claim assessment
Once the claims team has the all the information they need from you, they aim to make a decision within 1 to 10 business days, depending on the complexity of the claim.
Measure twice, insure once, with Viz Insurance.
Rather speak to someone? Call us on 1300 216 226.
Frequently asked questions
Carpenter cover with Viz starts at around $29 a month for a $5 million limit, and around $35 a month for $10 million. What you pay depends on the limit you choose, how many workers are in the business, and which state you are in. Paying monthly costs no more than paying annually - no fees, no interest. The full breakdown, including a worked example, is on our carpenters insurance cost page.
While is it not mandated by law, most Australian building sites won't let a carpenter start without it. Builders and principal contractors almost always want to see current public liability insurance from their subcontractors first. Viz covers carpenters up to $20 million.
Your Certificate of Currency and the rest of your documents are emailed within seconds of taking out a policy. You can also sign up for the Viz Tradie Pass, which keeps a current copy in your phone's digital wallet.
Carpentry work at height sits within the covered business activities of a carpenter, and the policy carries no general height limit on work reasonably expected of the trade. The policy does carry exclusions for demolition work over 3.5m in height, and tree lopping over 3.5m in height.
Work reasonably expected of a carpenter sits within your covered business activities, and that takes in decking, fit-outs and carpentry carried out as part of a renovation. Where a job goes beyond carpentry, that work needs to be on the policy before it is covered. Check an activity with the Trade Activity Checker or call 1300 216 226.
No. Public liability is designed to respond to injury and damage caused to third parties, not to the cost of redoing your own work. Where faulty work damages other property, that damage can be covered.
Policies commencing from 1 July 2025 are underwritten by Ivory Insurance Pty Limited. Viz Insurance Pty Ltd (AFSL 494857) binds and manages the policy, and claims are managed by Sedgwick.
Things to know
Monthly Payments vary by state due to state-based stamp duty charges. Viz charge an annual $49.50 Policy Fee payable in addition to your premium. The prices shown are based on selecting a $500 excess and are an indication only. Your premium will be calculated based on the information you provide to us during the insurance application process.
You can add up to two occupation categories on to your quote online. Some of these categories contain two different trades, e.g. 'Landscaping and renovations'. If you need additional business activities covered or have any questions about our policies, give us a call on 1300 216 226 or email us at hello@vizinsurance.com.au.