Reviewed by licensed advisers at Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver (FSP712931) · Updated 11 November 2026

Carpenter Insurance NZ: Public Liability and the Covers Around It

Carpenter insurance in NZ is public liability for damage or injury your work causes, plus cover for tools and the work vehicle. Carpenters who build or install on site often add contract works, and joiners with a workshop need cover for the premises, machinery and stock. Contracts usually set the public liability limit, so read the insurance clause before you quote.

In short

What head contractors ask carpenters for

  • A certificate of currency before you start
  • A minimum public liability limit, per claim or per year
  • Their name on your certificate
  • Whether you carry contract works or they do

Work in clients' buildings

A cabinet comes loose, or a cut into a wall starts a leak.

Workshop fire

Timber, dust and electrical machinery under one roof.

Liability after handover

The Building Act implies warranties and allows claims for up to 10 years.

Work out what to raise

Tick what applies to you

  • We frame or fit out on site

    Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment, Contract works

  • We work from a workshop

    Timber, dust and machinery sit under one roof.

    Covers to raise: Premises, stock and interruption, Tools and equipment, Public liability

  • We build in the workshop, then install

    Covers to raise: Public liability, Premises, stock and interruption, Tools and equipment

  • We sub to a head contractor

    They often ask for a limit and their name on your certificate.

    Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment

  • We build structures, not only fit out

    Covers to raise: Contract works, Public liability

  • We fix cabinets or joinery to client walls

    A cabinet that comes loose, or a leak after cutting into a wall.

    Covers to raise: Public liability

  • We employ or use apprentices

    Covers to raise: Statutory liability

  • A ute carries our tools and sheet materials

    Covers to raise: Business vehicles, Tools and equipment

What these covers do not pay

  • The cost of redoing your own faulty work.
  • Work outside your licence class or the trade description on the policy.
  • Your own tools under public liability.
  • Wear and tear, and stock damaged by damp in the workshop.
  • Health and safety fines, which can never be insured (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 29).

General information only. Whether a cover responds depends on the policy wording.

Which clause is in your contract?

  • Interested party noted

    The client, head contractor or financier asks to be named on your policy so they are told about changes such as cancellation. Wording varies, and in some contracts it means something different from being an extra insured.

    Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works

    What it does not decide: Being noted does not by itself give that party cover under your policy or a right to claim. That depends on how the insurer words it.

  • Who insures the works

    The contract says who arranges insurance for the job while it is being built: the client, the head contractor or you. It also shows who holds the risk until handover.

    Covers to raise: Contract works, Public liability

    What it does not decide: It does not decide whether the policy that exists covers your part, your materials, or your subcontractors. Check who is insured under it and what it leaves out.

  • Workmanship warranty

    You promise to put right defective work for a set period after completion. On residential building work, the Building Act 2004 also implies warranties that sit alongside the contract.

    Covers to raise: Public liability, Professional indemnity, Contract works

    What it does not decide: It does not decide whether insurance pays to redo your own faulty work. Public liability generally responds to resulting damage to others, not the cost of fixing the work itself.

General information, not legal advice. The full clause and the policy wording decide how it applies.

Check your certificate of currency against the contract

Clients and main contractors in this trade ask for:

  • A certificate of currency before you start.
  • A minimum public liability limit, per claim or per year.
  • Their name on your certificate, and who carries contract works.

Check the insured name, limit and dates match the contract. The policy wording, not the certificate, decides what is covered. How a certificate of currency works

What each cover may pay, and what it usually does not

  • Public liability

    May respond to
    Injury or property damage from your work on site.
    Common trigger
    A leak, a loose fixing or a damaged floor.
    Usually not covered
    Redoing your own faulty work.

  • Tools and equipment

    May respond to
    Portable tools stolen from the van or ute.
    Common trigger
    A break-in on site or at home.
    Usually not covered
    Wear and tear, and gear left in view.

  • Business vehicles

    May respond to
    The ute carrying tools and sheet materials.
    Common trigger
    A crash or theft of the ute.
    Usually not covered
    Contents, unless the policy lists them.

  • Contract works

    May respond to
    The structure you build before handover.
    Common trigger
    Storm, theft or fire on a part-built job.
    Usually not covered
    The cost of redoing faulty workmanship.

  • Premises, stock and interruption

    May respond to
    Workshop machinery and stock, and the cost of restarting.
    Common trigger
    A fire or flood that stops the workshop.
    Usually not covered
    Gradual damage and wear.

If something goes wrong

  • A saw kicks back onto a client's floor

    A cut-off saw kicks and gouges a finished timber floor.

    May respond: Public liability

    Have ready

    • Photos of the floor
    • A flooring quote
    • Your certificate of currency

  • A fixed cabinet comes off the wall

    A cabinet you installed pulls free and damages the bench and floor beneath it.

    May respond: Public liability

    Have ready

    • Photos of the damage and the fixings
    • The job record and install date
    • Written scope from the client

  • A workshop fire

    Dust and an electrical fault start a fire that stops work for weeks.

    May respond: Premises, stock and interruption

    Have ready

    • The fire brigade report
    • A stock and machinery list with invoices
    • Wage and rent records for the stoppage

  • A leak after cutting into a wall

    A cut into a wall catches a pipe, and the leak is found after you leave.

    May respond: Public liability

    Have ready

    • Photos and a plumber's report
    • The job diary
    • Your policy wording

Typical examples, not real claims. ACC deals with most injuries, so an injury claim is mostly about property and legal costs. Whether a claim is paid depends on the policy wording and the facts.

Licence versus insurance

A licence is not insurance.

What the licence or register says

  • Carpentry is one of seven LBP licence classes.
  • Carrying out restricted building work without the right licence or supervision is an offence under the Building Act 2004, s 85.

Source: Licensed Building Practitioners scheme

Two kinds of carpenter, two sets of risks

A site carpenter frames, fits out and renovates in other people's buildings, often alongside other trades. A joiner or cabinet maker works in a workshop with expensive machinery, timber stock and a fire risk, then installs on site. Insurers ask which you are, because the claims look different.

Cover The question it answers Where it matters most
Public liability Who pays if my work injures someone or damages their property? Site carpenters and installers
Tools and equipment What if the van is broken into and the tools are gone? Anyone carrying tools between sites
Business vehicle What if the ute is written off? Anyone driving to jobs with tools and materials
Contract works Who pays if a build is damaged before handover? Builders, renovators, fit-out carpenters
Workshop property What if a fire destroys the machinery and stock? Joiners and cabinet makers
Business interruption How do the bills get paid while the workshop is out of action? Workshops that depend on a few machines

Price depends on your work, turnover, tool value and claims history. An adviser needs a short call first, so there is no instant online price.

Public liability for carpenters

Public liability pays when your work injures someone else or damages their property. Realistic claims are ordinary: a cut-off saw kicks and damages a client's floor, a cabinet fixed to a wall comes loose, or a leak starts after you cut into a wall. ACC covers most injury (Accident Compensation Act 2001, s 317), so property damage and legal costs make up most of the claims.

The limit is usually set by whoever hires you. A limit you cannot meet can cost you the job, so read the clause first. For the wording main contractors use, see NZS 3910 insurance requirements.

Subcontracting for a head contractor

Running the whole build as head contractor? See builders insurance. As a subcontractor you will normally be asked for a certificate of currency before you start. Worth checking in a subcontract:

Employ apprentices or use your own subcontractors? Read the statutory liability page, and for the wider picture insurance for contractors.

Why liability follows you after handover

Three rules in the Building Act 2004 explain the long tail.

Insurance does not make a defective job right, and the cost of redoing your own faulty work is a common exclusion. Carpentry is one of seven LBP licence classes, and under section 85, carrying out restricted building work without the right licence or supervision is an offence with a fine of up to $50,000. Licensing decides who may do the work. Insurance decides who pays when it goes wrong.

Tools, the workshop and contract works

The usual tool loss is theft from a van or ute, and many policies set storage conditions and a different limit for tools in transit. A bench saw, edge bander or CNC router in a workshop is usually property cover, not portable tool cover, and its value can be well above a tool bag. See tool insurance.

For joiners, timber, finishes, dust and electrical machinery make the workshop a real fire risk. Customers' partly finished work in your care is not your property, so ask whether goods in your custody are covered.

Contract works covers a build under way, such as storm damage to a half-framed house. The contract decides who arranges it, the owner or the contractor, so do not assume. See contract works insurance.

What is usually excluded

Your own income

ACC covers injury, not illness. See ACC for contractors, income protection for tradies and business protection. For all the covers, start from the business insurance hub or tradie insurance.

How we help

A Smiths adviser will phone you to talk through which covers to look at. Some business covers we refer to another licensed Financial Advice Provider, and we will tell you who, and how they are paid, before your details go to that firm. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy. Cover and price depend on insurer underwriting and the policy wording. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do carpenters need public liability insurance in NZ?

No law requires it. In practice head contractors, developers and property managers often write it into the subcontract, so check the clause before you quote.

What public liability limit will a main contractor ask for?

It varies by project and is set in the contract. Read the insurance clause before you quote.

Does public liability pay to fix my own faulty work?

Usually not. Policies commonly exclude the cost of correcting your own defective work, though resulting damage to other property may be covered. Check the wording.

Does a joiner need different insurance from a site carpenter?

Often yes. A workshop adds property, machinery, stock and fire risk, and customers' goods in your care need separate thought.

References

Related industries

Protect the people behind the business

Liability cover protects the business from claims. If you or a business partner could not work, or died, key person and shareholder cover can help keep the business, and your family, going.

  • Key person cover, if the business relies on you
  • Shareholder cover, so partners can buy each other out
  • Income protection for owners and the self-employed

Quote the job with your cover sorted

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you and asks whether you work on site or in a workshop, what you carry in the van and what the subcontract says. If we refer you to another licensed firm, we tell you who first. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy.

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you. If we refer you to another licensed firm we tell you who first and how they are paid.

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