Subcontractor Carpenter Insurance

"They're Insured" Doesn't Mean You Are

Plenty of carpenters work steadily as a sub for a GC or a larger carpentry contractor and assume the company they're subbing for has them covered. It doesn't work that way. A GC's or prime contractor's general liability policy protects their own business — being on their job site as a 1099 sub doesn't extend their coverage to you personally. If your work causes a problem, you're the one whose business is exposed unless you're carrying your own policy.

W-2 vs. 1099: What Actually Changes About Your Coverage

As a W-2 employee, workers compensation and your employer's liability structure generally cover you while you're on the clock. As a 1099 subcontractor, none of that applies — you're operating as your own business, which means you need your own general liability policy, and if you bring on any help of your own, your own workers compensation too. This is the single biggest thing carpenters miss when they move from employee to sub status, sometimes without fully registering that the shift happened. The switch often happens gradually — a former employer starts sending you work as an independent sub instead of adding you back to payroll — which makes it easy to keep operating for months without realizing your coverage picture changed along with your tax status.

What a GC's Additional Insured Request Does and Doesn't Cover You For

When a GC asks to be named as additional insured on your policy, that protects them from claims arising out of your work — it doesn't create coverage for you. It's a one-way arrangement by design. Some subs mistakenly believe that because they're named on someone else's certificate paperwork, they're personally covered; in practice, you still need your own active policy for the additional insured request to mean anything at all.

Carrying Your Own GL as a Sub

Solo subs and small crews working under other contractors generally carry lighter GL limits than the GC they're subbing for, but "lighter" doesn't mean optional. Most GCs won't put you on a job at all without proof of your own active policy, regardless of how small or informal the arrangement feels. Building your own coverage in from the start also means your premium reflects your actual sub work, not a policy built around a different kind of carpentry business.

Getting Approved Onto a GC's Sub List

Getting cleared to work under a new GC almost always starts with the same request: a certificate of insurance showing your GL limits, with them named as additional insured and a waiver of subrogation in place. Once you're bound with us, that certificate is ready the same day, so a new relationship with a GC doesn't stall out waiting on paperwork you don't already have on hand. Working several GCs at once is normal for a sub, and each one may want slightly different language on the certificate — we can issue a fresh one for each relationship without slowing down your start date on any of them.

What Happens If You Get Hurt Working as a Sub

If you're injured on someone else's job site as a 1099 sub, the GC's workers compensation typically doesn't apply to you the way it would to their own employees — you're generally responsible for your own coverage in that scenario too. This is worth thinking through honestly if you're subbing regularly rather than running your own crew, since the coverage gaps here are easy to miss until the moment they matter.