What Insurance Do B.C. Fence and Deck Contractors Need?

April 22, 2025

If you have a lawsuit against you and you are held legally responsible and do not have deck and fence liability insurance, you would be responsible for paying the legal costs on your own.

Deck and fence contractors in British Columbia need liability insurance to protect themselves against injuries, mishaps, and legal claims involving clients and suppliers and for any damage to their property.

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What is insurance for B.C. deck and fence contractors?

Insurance for deck and fence contractors helps protect your business against the risks that you face, such as bodily injury, property damage, and reputational harm.

How can deck and fence insurance protect you?

1. Cyber liability insurance helps protect you financially in the case of a cyber-attack. Depending on the size of the cyber attack and the information that was taken, the customers who are affected can hold your British Columbia deck and fence business liable and sue for damages.

2. A client trips over wood you’ve left along the side of her house. He breaks his ankle and hurts his back and then sues you. Commercial general liability insurance (CGL) can help cover your legal expenses and any awards ordered by a court and uninsured medical expenses.

How much CGL do you need as a B.C. deck and fence contractor? You can expect to have at least $2 million in coverage, but that will depend on the size of your decking and fencing business and its services.

3. You left some tools and equipment at a job site and they have been stolen. Tools and equipment insurance will help cover the cost to replace them. Any item valued at less than $1,500 is considered a tool and anything valued above $1,500 is considered equipment.

How much is deck and fence contractors’ insurance?

The cost will depend on the size of your B.C. deck and fence business and the work that you do. It also will depend on the number of employees you have, annual revenue, and any past claims.

Commercial liability insurance for deck and fence businesses:

Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance

It’s necessary liability insurance for deck and fence contractors. Without CGL, you will pay costs related to third-party injuries or damage on your own.

In the case of a lawsuit, CGL insurance would cover the legal costs to defend the claim against your deck and fence business in court, as well as costs to cover damages to compensate third parties.

What kind of risks does CGL 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

You should also make sure that any subcontractors have their own commercial general liability insurance. If a subcontractor damages property or causes a third-party injury at a job, your deck and fence business could be held liable.

Professional liability insurance

Professional liability insurance is also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance.

If you are faced with a lawsuit as a deck and fence contractor, 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 business stores your customers’ names, addresses, and payment information and your computer system is hacked, cybercriminals can steal this information.

Without cyber liability insurance, you will have to cover the cost of restoring your system.

What other types of insurance do B.C. deck and fence builders need?

Commercial property insurance

Commercial property insurance is necessary for B.C. deck and fence contractors. It can provide financial coverage in the case of a fire that destroys or damages your shop and its contents.

It also protects your shop, office or place of business and its contents from damage or loss related to severe weather, theft, and vandalism.

Tools and equipment insurance

It provides financial protection for any transportable tools or equipment that your fence or deck business uses to do work.

Tools and equipment Insurance can provide reimbursement to repair or replace tools if they are lost, damaged, or stolen. Insured events apply to tools and equipment that are vandalized, stolen, lost, or damaged by fire or flood.

Mobile property insurance

If you regularly move equipment to different work locations as part of your deck and fence business, mobile property insurance provides coverage for property that you don't store at a fixed location, or for equipment routinely taken off site.

Mobile property insurance also covers theft that could happen due to property not being stored in a secure location, as opposed to commercial property insurance that covers property generally expected to be in a designated location.

Business interruption insurance

This coverage supports you when your deck and fence company 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 include:

• 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

It can help with expenses such as:

• Payroll
• Rent
• Utilities
• Property taxes
• Alarm monitoring
• Relocation of your business

Commercial vehicle insurance

When you or your employees are on the road travelling to a Prince George job site and anywhere in-between, commercial vehicle insurance may cover your vehicles in the case of an accident. Your personal vehicle insurance will not cover you in the case of an accident if the work is related to your deck and fence business.

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