Last updated: August 2026
TL;DR: Framing contractors buy general liability at carpentry class pricing on the marketplaces and at framing class pricing from specialty programs, and the gap is wide. Insureon publishes an average of $94 per month for carpenters, while Farmer Brown, which runs a framing program, prices framing at 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent of annual revenue with a $3,000 minimum. Framing prices above almost every other trade because the work happens at height, holds the building up, and carries some of the steepest carpentry payroll rates in construction. General contractors almost always demand $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate. California requires a C-5 license for framing work; Texas has no state framing license at all. ContractorsInsured.net is a licensed brokerage in California and Texas (CA #6015321, TX #3305690): we quote framing general liability the same business day and issue your COI right after binding.
Why framing contractors pay more than almost any other trade
In brief: Framing carries four risks at once that most trades carry one or two of: crews working at height, structural liability for the part of the building that holds everything else up, a claims tail that can run a decade under California law, and payroll rates that sit near the top of the carpentry classifications. Insurers price that stack, and a framer pays multiples of what a painter pays for the identical $1 million policy.
1. The work happens at height
OSHA is blunt about this. Its fall prevention campaign states that “FALLS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN CONSTRUCTION. In 2024, there were 389 fatal falls to a lower level out of 1,034 construction fatalities (BLS data)” (OSHA, Stop Falls). Framing crews spend their day on walls, joists, and roof decks, which is exactly the exposure behind that number. Underwriters read a framing application as a height application first and a carpentry application second.
2. Your work holds the building up
A trim carpenter’s mistake is a punch-list item. A framer’s mistake is a structural claim. When a wall is out of plumb, a header is undersized, or shear nailing is wrong, the damage does not stay inside the framing scope. It reaches finishes, mechanicals, roofing, and sometimes the occupants, which is why a framing loss tends to be a large loss.
3. The claims tail is long
Framing defects are usually latent, meaning nobody sees them at final walkthrough. California gives claimants a long runway to find them: Code of Civil Procedure section 337.15 bars actions for latent deficiencies in the construction of an improvement to real property “more than 10 years after the substantial completion” of the work (California Legislative Information). That is why completed operations coverage is non-negotiable on a framing policy. The claim can arrive years after the check cleared.
4. Payroll rates near the top of the carpentry classes
Workers’ compensation is priced per $100 of payroll by classification code, and California splits carpentry into more than one class with wage-based tiers inside them. The carpentry dual wage threshold moves from $41.00 to $46.00 per hour for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026 (as summarized by Rancho Mesa Insurance Services from the WCIRB filing). Crews paid below the threshold land in the lower-wage carpentry class, which is rated materially higher per $100 of payroll. Two framers with identical revenue and identical safety records can pay very different comp premiums purely because of where their crew wages fall.
5. Carrier appetite is thinner than it looks
The instant-quote marketplaces publish carpentry pricing, not framing pricing. Insureon, TechInsurance, Thimble, and biBERK all market to carpenters; none publishes a framing-specific number. The specialty programs that do underwrite framing say why the rate is different. Farmer Brown states that “Roofing and framing carry higher rates because falls from height produce serious injuries and the claims that follow are expensive” (Farmer Brown). When a framer buys a carpentry-class policy online and the class code does not match the work, the problem surfaces at audit or at claim time, the two worst moments to find it.
“Most framing quotes I fix were never wrong on price. They were wrong on class. A framer buys a carpentry policy because it was the cheapest button on the screen, then a GC’s insurance exhibit or a carrier audit reclassifies the work and the real number shows up. Price the class you actually perform and there are no surprises.” Pascal Burke, Licensed Insurance Broker, ContractorsInsured.net
What insurance does a framing contractor actually need?
In brief: A working framing contractor needs general liability with completed operations, workers’ compensation for the crew, commercial auto for the trucks, and inland marine for tools and staged lumber. Umbrella coverage gets added when a general contractor’s subcontract demands more than $2 million. No state makes general liability itself mandatory for framers, but general contractors, builders, and lenders make it mandatory in practice.
General liability with completed operations
This is the core policy. It responds to third-party bodily injury and third-party property damage arising from your operations, and, critically for framing, to damage that shows up after the job is finished. Completed operations is the part of general liability coverage that matters most on structural work, because framing claims are usually discovered later. A policy that quietly excludes or sublimits completed operations is not a framing policy.
Workers’ compensation
Framing is a crew trade. Solo framers exist, but the typical shop runs three to eight people, and comp is usually the largest single line on the insurance bill. It is also the line that is regulated most differently in California than in Texas, which we cover below.
Commercial auto, inland marine, and umbrella
Framing runs on trucks and trailers hauling lumber packages, compressors, saws, and staging, and a personal auto policy generally will not respond while the vehicle is in business use. Inland marine covers the tools and the lumber sitting on an open pad overnight, which general liability does not do. Umbrella coverage gets added when a production builder or commercial general contractor asks for combined limits above the standard $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, and it is normally cheaper than raising each underlying limit separately.
One honest note on the legal picture: no state statute orders a framing contractor to carry general liability. What actually forces it is the contract. A general contractor will not let a framing crew on the pad without a certificate that satisfies the subcontract, and lenders and builders write the same requirement into their documents. In practice the coverage is mandatory; it is just mandatory through the contract rather than through a licensing statute.
How much does framing contractor insurance cost in 2026?
In brief: Published carpentry-class general liability averages run roughly $85 to $94 per month for a $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate policy, while the specialty framing market prices on revenue instead, at 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent of annual revenue with a $3,000 minimum. Both numbers are real. The first is what a carpentry class buys; the second is what framing risk actually costs when a carrier underwrites it as framing.
Here is what the major providers publish, with the class label they actually use. We have flagged every carpentry-class figure so you are not comparing framing to trim work by accident.
| Provider | Published figure | Class the figure describes |
|---|---|---|
| Insureon | General liability average $94 per month ($1,124 per year); limits $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, $500 deductible. Workers’ comp average $201 per month ($2,411 per year). | Carpenter class, not framing specific |
| TechInsurance | General liability average $85 per month ($1,020 per year); limits $1M / $2M, $500 deductible. Workers’ comp average $282 per month ($3,388 per year). Tools and equipment $14 per month ($169 per year). | Carpenter class, not framing specific |
| Thimble | Carpenters coverage advertised starting at $17 per month, with $1 million or $2 million limit options. | Carpenter class, entry price not average |
| biBERK | General liability starting as low as $27.50 per month, with most customers paying under $1,000 per year. | All small business classes, entry price |
| NEXT | Publishes no carpenter or framing average; directs buyers to an online quote instead. | No published figure |
| Farmer Brown | “Framing runs the same rate tier as roofing at 1.5% to 1.75% of annual revenue with a $3,000 minimum.” Sample published premium: a Texas framer at $80,000 revenue pays $2,920. | Framing specific |
The two ways of quoting explain almost every “why is my renewal so different” call we take. Marketplace pricing is a class median: what does the average carpenter pay? Specialty framing pricing is exposure-rated: what does this framer’s revenue and payroll actually expose the carrier to? A $150,000-revenue framing shop looking at $17 a month online and $3,000 a year from a framing program is not being overcharged by the second quote. It is being underwritten correctly by the second quote.
Workers’ compensation is quoted differently
Comp is not a flat monthly price. It is a rate per $100 of payroll, multiplied by your payroll in each classification, then modified by your experience rating. That is why the published comp averages above ($201 and $282 per month) mean very little for a specific framing shop: a two-person operation and a nine-person operation with the same revenue can be a five-figure premium apart.
What actually moves a framing premium
- Payroll size and class code. The single biggest driver, since comp is a function of payroll and the class code sets the multiplier.
- Residential vs commercial mix. California rates residential dwelling carpentry separately from carpentry not otherwise classified, and the codes are not interchangeable.
- Stories and height worked. Single-story tract framing and four-story stick framing are different underwriting conversations.
- Sub vs general contractor role. Carrying other trades under your contract changes the exposure and often the classification.
- Claims history. Clean loss runs move both the general liability rate and the comp experience modifier.
- State. California and Texas price the same crew differently, which is the next section.
For metro-level benchmarks in our two states, see our cost breakdowns for Los Angeles and Houston.
No policy yet but a GC or builder wants a COI before you set one stud? We quote framing general liability the same business day and issue the certificate right after binding.
California vs Texas: two opposite rulebooks for framing contractors
In brief: California licenses framing directly through the C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry classification, backed by a $25,000 contractor bond and a license that can be suspended when required coverage lapses. Texas licenses framing not at all: the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not run a framing, carpentry, or general contractor program. In Texas the requirements come from city registration and, far more often, from the general contractor’s subcontract.
| California | Texas | |
|---|---|---|
| State framing license | C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry (CSLB) | None |
| License bond | $25,000 contractor bond | Not applicable |
| Workers’ comp for employers | Required by Labor Code 3700 | Elective for most private employers |
| Who sets the insurance limits | Statute plus the contract | The contract, almost entirely |
| Typical GC demand | $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, additional insured, waiver of subrogation, current comp certificate | |
California: the C-5 license comes first
CSLB defines the classification this way: “A framing and rough carpentry contractor performs any form work, framing or rough carpentry necessary to construct framed structures; installs or repairs individual components of framing systems and performs any rough carpentry or associated work, including but not limited to the construction or installation of: sub-flooring, siding, exterior staircases and railings, overhead doors, roof decking, truss members, and sheathing” (CSLB, C-5 classification).
The threshold that decides whether you need that license changed recently, and the old number is still circulating. Business and Professions Code section 7048, as amended by AB 2622, exempts work only when the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is less than $1,000, and only when the work does not require a building permit and the person does not hire workers to help. The threshold rose from $500 to $1,000 effective January 1, 2025. Any page still quoting $500 is out of date. Framing almost always requires a permit, so in practice the exemption rarely reaches real framing work at all: if the job is permitted, the license is required regardless of price.
Other California pieces that hit framing shops directly:
- $25,000 contractor bond. The bond rose to $25,000 on January 1, 2023 under SB 607, and it must be in place before CSLB can issue, reactivate, or renew an active license (CSLB bond requirements).
- LLC framers carry more. CSLB requires an LLC licensee to post “a $100,000 surety bond (in addition to the $25,000 contractor bond)” and to carry “liability insurance with the cumulative limit of at least $1 million for licensees with five or fewer persons listed as members of the personnel of record,” with “an additional $100,000 required for each additional member of the personnel of record, not required to exceed $5 million total” (CSLB, LLC licenses). Read that carefully: this is an LLC rule. A sole proprietor or corporation with a C-5 is not held to the same statutory liability figure.
- Lapses suspend the license. CSLB states that “Failure to maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage will result in the license being suspended,” and that “Any work performed while the license is suspended is considered to be unlicensed and disciplinary action can be taken against you” (CSLB workers’ compensation page). The suspension lifts once acceptable proof is received and processed.
If you are pricing California framing work as a sub to a licensed builder, our California general contractor general liability page covers how the limits and endorsements typically read on that side of the contract.
Texas: the subcontract is the rulebook
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation publishes the full list of occupations it licenses and regulates, and framing, carpentry, and general contracting do not appear on it (TDLR licensed programs). There is no state framing license, exam, or bond. Some cities require a contractor registration before they will issue permits, so the local building department is worth a call.
What fills the gap is the general contractor’s insurance exhibit. Framing subs in Texas are routinely asked to show $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate general liability, additional insured status for the general contractor and often the owner, a waiver of subrogation, and a current workers’ compensation certificate before a single truck reaches the pad. Our Texas general contractor general liability page walks through how those exhibits normally read.
The balanced read: lighter regulation in Texas does not mean lighter insurance. The enforcement simply moved from a state agency to the general contractor. A Texas framer who skips coverage does not get investigated by a licensing board; the framer just does not get on the job.
Workers' comp: California's mandate vs the Texas non-subscriber trap
In brief: California requires workers’ compensation from every employer under Labor Code section 3700, and CSLB will not keep a license active without either a certificate of coverage or a valid exemption on file. Texas lets most private employers go without it, and the Texas Department of Insurance is explicit that a non-subscriber gives up the core defenses it would otherwise have if an injured employee sues. For a trade that works at height, that trade-off is worse than it sounds.
California
Labor Code section 3700 opens with “Every employer except the state shall secure the payment of compensation in one or more of the following ways” (California Legislative Information). One employee triggers it. CSLB then enforces it at the license: you file a certificate of workers’ compensation insurance, a certification of self-insurance, or a valid exemption, and a lapse suspends the license.
There is a separate rule that gets misreported constantly, so here is exactly where it stands today. CSLB currently requires workers’ compensation regardless of employee status only for a named list of classifications: “All active C-8 Concrete contractors, C-20 Warm-Air Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning contractors, C-22 Asbestos Abatement contractors, C-39 Roofing contractors, and/or C-61/D-49 Tree Service contractors are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance or a valid Certification of Self-Insurance, whether or not they have employees” (CSLB). C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry is not on that list. A C-5 licensee with genuinely no employees can still file an exemption today.
That changes. SB 1455 moved the universal requirement out, and the amended Business and Professions Code section carrying it states that it “shall become operative on January 1, 2028” (SB 1455 bill text). From that operative date, every licensee, C-5 included, is inside the requirement unless a valid exemption is properly filed. If you are a solo framer running on an exemption, the planning window is now, not 2027.
The dual wage threshold and why low-wage crews price worse
California prices carpentry on a dual wage basis, meaning the same work is rated in a higher-cost class when the employee’s regular hourly wage falls below a published threshold. That carpentry threshold moves from $41.00 to $46.00 per hour for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026 (Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, summarizing the WCIRB filing). Raising the bar pulls more crews into the lower-wage, higher-rated class, so a framing shop that paid $43 an hour and priced comfortably in 2025 can be in the expensive class at the 2026 renewal without changing a thing about how it works. Whether raising wages past the threshold nets out cheaper is an arithmetic question worth running before renewal, not after.
Texas
The Texas Department of Insurance states plainly that “In Texas, private employers can choose to carry workers’ compensation insurance coverage, but it is not required in most cases” (TDI, employer resources). Employers who opt out are non-subscribers, and they must file an annual notice with the Division of Workers’ Compensation, post notices at the workplace, and tell new employees in writing that they are not covered.
The catch is what a non-subscriber gives up. TDI’s consumer guide states that without coverage “an injured employee can sue you over a workplace injury or illness,” and that in that lawsuit the employer cannot argue that the employee’s own negligence caused the injury, that another employee’s negligence caused it, or that the injured employee knew about the danger and accepted it (TDI, workers’ compensation insurance guide). Those three defenses are the ones that would normally matter most in a construction injury case.
There is also a hard exception: TDI states that “private employers who contract with government entities must provide workers’ compensation coverage for the employees working on the project.” Public work is not a place to be a non-subscriber.
Now put that beside the OSHA number at the top of this page. Non-subscribing is a bet that nobody gets badly hurt. In a trade where falls are the leading cause of construction deaths, it is the worst version of that bet: one fall becomes an uncapped negligence suit with your best defenses stripped out. And in most cases the bet never gets placed anyway, because the general contractor’s subcontract requires a comp certificate before the crew is allowed on site.
Why GCs reject bare-minimum COIs from framers
In brief: A certificate gets rejected for the same handful of reasons every time, and almost none of them are about price. The limits are below what the subcontract demands, completed operations is missing, the additional insured endorsement is absent or the wrong form, there is no waiver of subrogation, the workers’ compensation line is blank, or the policy carries an exclusion that guts the very work being subcontracted.
- Occurrence limits below the contract. If the exhibit says $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate and the certificate shows $1 million and $1 million, it comes back.
- No completed operations. For framing this is the fatal one. A general contractor knows the structural claim arrives after handoff, so a policy without products and completed operations does not protect the project where it is most exposed.
- Missing or wrong additional insured endorsement. Naming the general contractor in the certificate’s description box is not the same as attaching the endorsement, and ongoing-operations-only forms fail exhibits that require completed operations status too. Our additional insured endorsement guide covers the form differences behind most rejections.
- No waiver of subrogation. Standard in commercial subcontracts, and it has to be endorsed onto the policy, not promised in an email.
- A ghost or missing workers’ compensation certificate. A comp policy covering only the owner will not satisfy a general contractor putting a four-person crew on a jobsite.
- Buried exclusions. Height limits, story limits, structural work exclusions, and residential construction exclusions all appear in cheap contractor policies. A certificate does not show exclusions. The policy form does.
The pattern we see over and over: the cheapest online policy that “covers carpentry” fails the general contractor’s insurance exhibit, and the framer finds out the week work was supposed to start. If you want the mechanics of what a certificate does and does not prove, our certificate of insurance guide lays it out. Our practice is simple: we read the subcontract’s insurance exhibit before we bind, not after.
What framing contractor GL does NOT cover
In brief: General liability does not pay to redo your own defective framing. It responds when your framing failure damages other property or injures a third party. The faulty workmanship exclusion, damage to your own work, employee injury, auto losses, your own tools and lumber, and design advice all sit outside a standard general liability policy.
- Redoing your own defective work. If a wall is framed wrong and has to come down and go back up, that is the cost of performing the contract, not an insured loss. This surprises framers more than any other exclusion.
- Damage to your own work product. The framing itself is your product, and general liability is not a warranty on it.
- Employee injury. That is workers’ compensation and employer’s liability.
- Auto losses. The truck, the trailer, and anything that happens while driving belong to commercial auto.
- Your tools and your lumber. Inland marine covers those. General liability covers damage to other people’s property, not to yours.
- Design and engineering advice. Telling a homeowner a beam will carry a load is professional advice, and framers give this advice more often than they realize.
The clean mental model: general liability pays when your framing failure damages the rest of the structure or hurts somebody. It does not pay to re-frame the wall.
How to pay less for framing contractor insurance
In brief: The savings on a framing account come from classification accuracy and documentation, not from shopping for the lowest advertised entry price. Getting the class code right, reporting payroll accurately, documenting fall protection, keeping loss runs clean, and bundling coverage together typically move the number more than switching carriers does.
- Get the class code right, in both directions. Framing rated as general carpentry looks cheap until an audit fixes it. General carpentry rated as framing is money thrown away.
- Report payroll accurately. Understating payroll does not save money; it defers the bill and adds an audit dispute.
- Document fall protection. A written program, toolbox talks, and training records are underwriting evidence on the exact exposure that drives your rate.
- Protect your loss runs. Small claims paid out of pocket often cost less over three years than the rate impact of reporting them.
- Bundle general liability with inland marine, pay annually, and consider a higher deductible if cash flow allows.
- Keep your COI hygiene tight. Framers who send the right certificate with the right endorsements the first time stop paying for rush endorsements and stop losing start dates. That is the part we handle for our clients, so the general contractor never has a reason to hold the crew off the pad.
Frequently asked questions
How much is framing contractor insurance?
Published carpentry-class general liability averages $94 per month at Insureon and $85 per month at TechInsurance for $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits. Those are carpenter-class figures, not framing-specific ones. Specialty framing programs price differently: Farmer Brown states that framing runs at 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent of annual revenue with a $3,000 minimum. Your actual number depends on payroll, class code, revenue, residential or commercial mix, claims history, and state.
Why is framing contractor insurance so expensive?
Framing stacks four expensive risks at once. Crews work at height, and OSHA reports falls as the leading cause of death in construction, with 389 fatal falls to a lower level out of 1,034 construction fatalities in 2024. Framing is structural, so a defect damages the whole building rather than one finish. California allows latent construction defect claims for 10 years after substantial completion, so the tail is long. And carpentry payroll classes are rated near the top in construction.
Do framing contractors need a license in California?
Yes, in almost every real situation. California licenses framing under the C-5 Framing and Rough Carpentry classification through CSLB. Business and Professions Code section 7048, as amended by AB 2622, exempts work only when the total contract price for labor and materials is under $1,000, no building permit is required, and no workers are hired to help. That threshold rose from $500 on January 1, 2025. Because framing is normally permitted work, the exemption rarely applies. An active license also requires a $25,000 contractor bond.
Do you need a license to frame houses in Texas?
No. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation does not run a framing, carpentry, or general contractor licensing program, so there is no state framing license, exam, or bond. Some cities require a contractor registration before issuing permits, so check with the local building department. In practice the binding requirements come from the general contractor’s subcontract, which typically demands $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate general liability, additional insured status, a waiver of subrogation, and a current workers’ compensation certificate.
How fast can ContractorsInsured cover a framing contractor?
Same business day for general liability in most cases. We are a licensed brokerage in California and Texas (CA #6015321, TX #3305690), we quote framing general liability the same business day, and we issue your certificate of insurance right after binding. Workers’ compensation and commercial auto move fast too, though those lines depend on carrier underwriting and payroll detail rather than a same-day promise. Send us the subcontract’s insurance exhibit and we will match the policy to it before binding.
Do framing contractors need workers' comp in California and Texas?
In California, yes, if you have employees. Labor Code section 3700 requires every employer to secure payment of compensation, and CSLB suspends a license when required coverage lapses. C-5 is not currently on CSLB’s list of classifications that must carry coverage even with no employees; that list is C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39, and C-61/D-49. Under SB 1455 the universal requirement becomes operative January 1, 2028. In Texas, coverage is elective for most private employers, but government projects require it.
Does general liability pay to fix bad framing?
No. Redoing your own defective framing is excluded as faulty workmanship, and damage to your own work product is excluded too. General liability responds when your framing failure damages other parts of the structure or property, or injures a third party, and completed operations coverage extends that response to damage discovered after the job is finished. Think of it as covering the consequences of a framing failure, not the cost of re-framing the wall itself.
How do I get a same-day COI as a framing contractor?
Send us the general contractor’s insurance exhibit or the certificate holder details, and we handle the rest. If you already have a policy with us, we issue the certificate the same business day, including additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements when the subcontract requires them. If you do not have a policy yet, we can usually quote and bind general liability the same business day and issue the certificate right after. Start at contractorsinsured.net/request-a-coi/.
Get covered before you frame the next job
Framing is priced hard for reasons that are real, and the difference between a proper framing program and a cheap carpentry policy shows up at the worst moment: at a general contractor’s document review, at a carrier audit, or at a claim. Pascal Burke is licensed in California (#6015321) and Texas (#3305690), so one brokerage can price a C-5 shop in Sacramento and a framing sub in Fort Worth without handing you off.
Send us your revenue, payroll, crew size, and the general contractor’s insurance exhibit if you have one. We will quote your actual class, not the class median, and we will tell you honestly whether the online quote sitting in your inbox will pass the exhibit.