Louisiana Carpenter Insurance

Essential Insurance for Louisiana Finish Carpenters

Most finish carpenters in St. Tammany Parish need four core pieces of protection: general liability, workers' compensation if they have employees, tool and equipment coverage, and commercial auto for the truck or van hauling it all. Some also add shop property coverage if they run a cabinet or millwork space.

The rules got stricter this year. Effective August 1, 2026, Louisiana's Act 757 requires a minimum of $500,000 in liability insurance for all residential construction and home improvement contractors. That matters for anyone doing trim packages, built-ins, or cabinet installs in homes.

The law also gave the licensing board more teeth. The LSLBC can now suspend licenses when a contractor's insurance doesn't accurately reflect the work they perform. A common mistake we see is a policy classified as "carpentry, interior" for someone who also installs cabinets, builds decks, or does light remodeling. If your class codes don't match your actual jobs, you risk a denied claim and your license.

Trim and Finish Work in Occupied Louisiana Homes

Working in an occupied home means working around everything the family owns. Framers rarely worry about a 75-inch TV. Finish carpenters do.

Here are the claim types that show up most often for trim and finish crews:

• Dust damage: Fine sanding dust and MDF particles can get into gaming consoles, audio receivers, computers, and HVAC returns. A homeowner may claim a dead laptop or a ruined air handler.
• Scratched floors: Dragging a ladder, dropping a chop saw, or kneeling with debris on your pads can gouge hardwood or luxury vinyl plank. Refinishing one room often means refinishing the connected rooms so the color matches.
• Wall and paint damage: Pulling old baseboard can tear drywall paper or crack plaster in older Covington homes.
• Trip and fall injuries: Cords, cutoffs, and nail strips left in a hallway can injure a homeowner or their guest.

General liability typically responds to third-party property damage and bodily injury caused by your work. If a ladder foot cracks a marble threshold, your GL policy may pay to repair it, subject to your deductible and policy terms.

The catch is the "your work" exclusion. GL generally won't pay to redo trim you installed poorly. It covers the damage your work causes to other property, not the cost of fixing your own workmanship. Knowing that distinction before a claim saves a lot of frustration.

Protecting Your Assets: Shop and Tool Coverage

A finish carpenter's tools are the business. Track saws, cabinet saws, dust extractors, and a full set of nailers can easily run into five figures, and replacing them mid-job means lost income on top of the purchase price.

The coverage you need depends on where the equipment lives. Shop property insurance, often written as commercial property, protects a fixed location: the building (if you own it), your stationary machines, lumber inventory, and finished cabinets waiting for delivery. If you run a shop off Highway 190 with a jointer, planer, and wide-belt sander, that's commercial property territory.

Tools that ride in your truck between a Slidell remodel and a Madisonville new build need inland marine coverage, sometimes called a tool floater or contractor's equipment policy. Commercial property usually stops at your shop door. Inland marine typically follows the tools to jobsites, storage units, and your vehicle, though theft from an unattended truck may carry specific conditions.

Inland marine for Louisiana carpenters generally runs between $400 and $1,500 per year, depending on the value of equipment scheduled.

Frequently Asked Questions About Carpenter Insurance

Do I need insurance if I work alone? Yes. You may skip workers' comp without employees, but you still need liability coverage, especially since Act 757 now requires $500,000 in liability for residential contractors in Louisiana.

What does inland marine cover? It typically covers tools and portable equipment against theft, loss, and damage while they move between jobsites, your truck, and storage.

Will general liability pay if I damage a client's hardwood floor? It usually responds to accidental damage you cause to a client's property, subject to your deductible. It generally won't pay to fix your own faulty workmanship.

Does my homeowners policy cover my tools? Usually not once they're used for business. Most homeowners policies limit or exclude business equipment, so a tool floater is the safer route.

How much liability coverage should I carry? Louisiana now sets a $500,000 floor for residential contractors, but many carpenters carry $1 million per occurrence because general contractors and high-end homeowners often ask for it.

Can my insurance affect my contractor license? It can. The licensing board can suspend a license if your policy doesn't reflect the work you actually do.

Making the Right Choice for Your Carpentry Business

Finish carpentry looks low-risk until you add up what's sitting around you on a typical job: furnished rooms, expensive floors, plumbing behind every wall, and tools worth more than some trucks. A solid package pairs general liability that meets Act 757, workers' comp for your crew, inland marine for the tools that travel, and property coverage if you run a shop. The real work is making sure your policies describe what you actually do, so a cabinet install or deck job doesn't fall into a classification gap.

That's where an independent agency earns its keep. Aubert Insurance Agency compares coverage from multiple carriers in one place and walks you through what your policy may and may not cover before you sign. The agency has served Louisiana since 1910 from offices in Covington and Slidell, and knows the jobs St. Tammany carpenters take on.

Ready to see where your coverage stands? Start a Quote with Aubert Insurance Agency today.