Insurance for Toronto Carpenters
Carpenter insurance financially protects your carpentry business or your carpentry work as an independent contractor. As a Toronto carpenter you need enough business liability insurance to protect yourself from lawsuits.
Whether you have your own shop doing customized woodwork or you work on residential or commercial projects, business liability insurance is the foundation of your commercial insurance policy as a carpenter.
Western Financial Group, a 100% Canadian company, can help you navigate your car, home, and business insurance during this period of economic uncertainty.
Wherever your small business is located in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), or elsewhere in Ontario, a Western Financial Group business insurance broker will get you commercial coverage that uniquely protects what you do.
Western is a trusted, national insurance brokerage that has partnered with Canada’s top insurance companies to provide commercial insurance. We work with our insurance partners to find the best business coverage rates for your business.
We make the process easy by getting insurance quotes for you to choose from and giving you policy coverage options that suit your Toronto business’s specific needs.
Why do I need carpenter’s insurance?
As a Toronto carpenter, you should have enough business liability insurance to protect yourself from third-party injuries and property damage involving customers or suppliers.
Who needs carpenter’s insurance?
- Residential and commercial carpenter
- Cabinet maker
- Framer or joister
- Trim carpenter
- Customized work carpenter
Carpenter insurance can help protect you from these common claims:
- A client comes to your Toronto shop to look at kitchen cabinets you are making and trips over wood that wasn’t moved out of the way. The client hurts her back and breaks her wrist and has sued you. Commercial general liability insurance helps pay for legal costs and judgement and any medical costs.
- Your carpentry business’s computer system was hacked and your clients’ credit card information and personal information was stolen. Cyber liability insurance will help cover the cost of restoring your system and can help pay for notification expenses to inform your affected customers.
Liability insurance is a key part of your carpenter insurance package. Here are the liability coverages that you need to help protect your Toronto carpentry business from lawsuits.
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance
Without CGL insurance, you will pay costs related to third-party (customer/supplier) injuries or damage to their property out of your own pocket.
If you were sued, commercial general liability insurance would cover the legal costs to defend the claim against your Toronto carpentry business in court, as well as costs to cover damages to compensate third parties whether you win or lose your court case.
What kind of risks does commercial general liability insurance cover?
- Injury to a third party who is not your employee
- Damage to someone’s property
- Damage to rented property
- Medical bills if someone is injured
- Legal costs and settlement costs of liability lawsuits filed against you
- Liability lawsuits related to slander and libel
It would not be unusual to have $2 million or more in CGL coverage, depending on the size of your Toronto carpentry or woodworking business.
Pollution liability insurance
This type of insurance protects your carpentry business against pollution risks while carrying out work tasks. Pollution liability insurance may provide financial coverage for clean-up costs, assessments, and civil penalties.
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omission (E&0) insurance.
If you are faced with a lawsuit as a Toronto carpenter or woodworker, professional liability insurance can help protect you against loss in the event of a lawsuit due to a negligent act, or an error or omission in the course of your services.
Cyber liability insurance
If your Toronto carpentry business stores your customers’ names, addresses, and payment information and your computer system is hacked, cybercriminals can steal this information.
Without cyber insurance, you will have to cover the cost of restoring your system.
What other types of insurance do Toronto carpenters need?
Tools and equipment insurance
It replaces, or repairs damaged, stolen, or lost equipment and tools, accessories, or other property that you use in your work as a Toronto carpenter.
Anything valued at less than $1,500 is considered a tool and anything above that limit is considered equipment.
This type of insurance is also called equipment floater insurance.
Commercial auto insurance
You need commercial auto coverage as part of your carpenter insurance package. Your personal car policy will not cover you should you get into an accident while travelling to work in the Toronto area.
Mobile property insurance
If you regularly move equipment across different locations, mobile property insurance provides coverage for property that you don't store at a fixed location, or for equipment routinely taken offsite.
Commercial property insurance
Commercial property insurance provides financial support to replace or cover repairs to your Toronto business if it is damaged by a flood, fire, or severe weather. It also covers vandalism and theft.
Commercial property insurance also covers the firm’s contents such as computers, furniture, tools, equipment, and inventory. Commercial property coverage also extends to protect others’ property that is under your care.
Business interruption insurance
This type of insurance supports you when your Toronto carpentry business can’t operate due to a covered loss.
There are a number of losses that can force your carpentry business to shut down. Some examples are:
- Damage to your equipment from fire or vandalism
- A major reduction in revenue due to a client/supplier facing losses of their own
- A disruption in your supply chain
Business interruption insurance can help with these expenses:
- Payroll
- Rent
- Utilities
- Property taxes
- Alarm monitoring
- Relocation of your business
How much does carpenter insurance cost?
There isn’t a set price because each carpenter or woodworking business is different. Usually, the size of your business and location, number of employees, annual revenue, services provided, and any past claims are factors that determine the price of your carpenter insurance.
What do I do if I have a claim against my Toronto carpenter’s business?
Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Here’s an insurance checklist:
- Do you have the best Toronto business insurance rate that suits your work?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for you?
- Are you or your employees using personal vehicles for work?
Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get you the right insurance coverage as a Toronto carpenter. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect your Toronto business.
Why Western?
Get the best business insurance in Toronto
We’ll help you save
Insuring Canadians for over 100 years!
Talk to an Insurance Expert
Call Us Now 888-595-3104