Insurance for carpenters and timber frame builders in Germany
A carpentry firm has two workplaces, each with its own dangers: the joinery hall full of wood dust and expensive machines, and the site where a roof structure hangs from the crane. One spark in the hall or one undersized beam, and six-figure sums are at stake. This page explains what your firm should insure and what it costs.
Will the insurer pay if a roof structure starts to sag years later?
Putting right the defective roof structure is a warranty matter and not insured. But if it causes consequential damage, such as cracked walls, a leaking roof and wet rooms, your public liability policy pays for that damage. If you made a calculation error in the sizing that only costs money, you need cover for pure financial loss or design work.
What goes wrong in this trade
01
Fire in the hall
Wood dust, shavings, extraction system and drying kiln: carpentry firms carry a high fire load. A fire destroys the hall, the machines and the timber for the next jobs.
02
Lifting with the crane
A truss slips out of the lifting chain and hits the neighbouring house or a car. Damage during erection and lifting is frequent and costly.
03
Structural mistakes
Undersized beams or poorly made joints only show under snow load. The consequential damage then affects the whole building.
04
Machinery breakdown
When the CNC joinery machine fails, the whole business stalls. Repairs and downtime can easily cost more than a year's profit.
05
Falls
Working on rafters and purlins without a solid surface underneath: carpenters carry one of the highest accident risks in construction.
06
Wood preservatives and chemicals
Wood preservatives can contaminate soil and groundwater. Basic policies cover environmental damage only sparingly.
Pays for injury and property damage during erection, crane work and from faulty timber structures, including environmental risks from wood preservatives.
Lorries, flatbed trucks and trailers can be bundled in one fleet policy.
What it costs: example prices
Liability for a carpentry firm rises sharply with turnover. If you have your own hall, fire cover comes on top, and it costs more than in other trades because of the wood dust hazard.
Insurance
Example
Typical range
Business liability
€50,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover, €250 excess
about €260 to €500 a year
Business liability
€200,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover
about €460 to €820 a year
Business liability
€500,000 turnover, €3 to €5 million cover
about €1,000 to €1,850 a year
Business contents
Machines, timber stock and tools worth €250,000
about €1,000 to €2,500 a year
Machinery breakdown
CNC joinery machine and planer worth €300,000
about €1,200 to €3,000 a year
For comparison: Liability insurance for a carpentry firm with €200,000 turnover costs about as much per year as one cubic metre of structural solid timber.
Guide prices excluding German insurance premium tax, as of September 2026.
The liability examples come from published tariff comparisons;
contents and machinery are guide values from our quoting practice and depend heavily on fire
Six claims as they really happen in carpentry firms, all on a single Friday. Go through the day and see who pays.
Damage so far€535,100
The control unit of the CNC joinery machine fails after a short circuit. Spare parts will take two weeks.
€26,000 · Paid by: Machinery breakdown
A truss swings on the crane and rips off the gutter and a window of the neighbouring house.
€7,200 · Paid by: Business liability
While bonding the vapour barrier, a box of cartridges falls onto the client's new stone floor.
€2,900 · Paid by: Business liability
The newly erected timber frame building is damaged in a storm before handover.
€34,000 · Paid by: Contractors all risks
A customer reports cracked plaster and a leaking roof because last year's purlin was too weak.
€45,000 · Paid by: Business liability
Wood dust ignites in the extraction system. The hall burns out; machines and timber stock are lost.
€420,000 · Paid by: Business contents
Which package would you have had?
Paid by insurance: €0
Out of your own pocket: €535,100
Illustrative amounts before any excess.
What is paid depends on the policy terms.
Practical tips from your broker
Choose at least €5 million combined cover for injury and property damage; for timber house building rather €10 million.
Have damage during loading, unloading and crane lifting expressly included, also to the customer's parts being lifted.
Insure machines and stock at new value and adjust the sum every year to timber prices.
Check whether design and structural calculations your firm does itself are covered as pure financial loss.
Think of business interruption: after a hall fire, rebuilding often takes more than a year.
Clarify the insurer's requirements for extraction, spark detection and extinguishers; they lower the premium and secure the payout.
Why NAMMERT for your business
We compare the whole business
For carpentry firms, hall, machines and liability are closely linked. We obtain quotes from several insurers and look at the sums insured, not just the price.
We know timber and claims
Many of the boats we insure, and whose claims we handle ourselves, are built of wood. We know how surveyors argue about moisture and construction.
Business and family together
Hall insurance, vehicles, income protection and your employees' pensions are handled by one contact person.
No fee for you
Our remuneration is paid by the insurer. You get advice and comparison from a family business that has existed since 1989.
Frequently asked questions
Questions and answers
What insurance does a carpentry firm need?
Essential are public liability and fire cover for the hall, machines and timber stock.
If you run a CNC joinery machine, add machinery and business interruption insurance.
How much does liability insurance cost for carpenters?
Published tariff examples range from about €260 to €500 a year at €50,000 turnover and from about
€1,000 to €1,850 at €500,000 turnover.
Why is fire insurance more expensive for carpentry firms?
Wood dust and shavings burn easily, and extraction systems can ignite.
Insurers therefore put woodworking into higher hazard classes.
Good extraction and spark detection lower the premium.
Is the crane covered by public liability?
For damage to third parties caused by lifting, usually yes.
A registered mobile crane needs its own motor liability policy,
and damage to the crane itself is only covered by machinery insurance.
Who pays if the building shell is damaged by a storm before handover?
Until handover the risk is often yours.
Contract works insurance pays for the repair; liability insurance does not cover it.
Am I as the owner insured with BG BAU?
Only if you insure yourself voluntarily with this statutory accident insurer.
Many master carpenters do, because they work on the roof themselves.
Personal accident insurance helps as an alternative or in addition.
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