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Construction & Trades
One policy that knows every job on your list, from the shelf you hang to the faucet you swap.
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A handyman in Canada needs commercial general liability for injury or damage at clients' homes, including work that fails after you leave, plus tools and equipment cover for gear kept in the vehicle and commercial auto for the van or truck. Workers' compensation applies where provincial law requires it. The policy must list every service you offer, and work that belongs to a licensed trade, such as electrical in Ontario, needs that trade's licence.
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A handyman's claims come from small jobs with big consequences: a fitting that leaks after you leave, a TV that falls off the wall, a ladder that scrapes a client's car. Those land on commercial general liability, and the insurer will check whether the task was on your declared service list. We write the list properly, include completed operations and add tools and equipment cover for the gear in your van.
We also help you stay on the right side of the licensed trades. In Ontario, electrical contracting needs a licence, and plumbing is a compulsory trade. Many handymen qualify for the WSIB exempt home renovation rule, until a commercial job changes that. See the construction and contractors guide for the wider sector view.
A handyman works inside people's homes, on a different job every few hours. A shelf goes up in the morning, a toilet gets reseated at noon and a deck board is replaced after lunch. Each task is small. The claims are not. A supply line that weeps behind a vanity can soak a finished basement before anyone notices. A TV that falls off a wall can injure a child.
Those are third-party claims, and they land on your commercial general liability (CGL) policy. The insurer will ask one question first: was this work on your declared list of services? Handyman policies are written around a description of operations. A claim from a task you never told the insurer about is the easiest one to deny. Handyman work sits inside the wider construction and contractors sector, but it is rated as small residential repair, and the policy has to match that reality.
Most handyman programs have four or five parts. CGL carries the largest risk. The others protect the tools and vehicle that earn your income.
| Coverage | What it answers | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial general liability (CGL) | Injury to a client or visitor, or damage to their home, caused by your work | Completed operations included, every service listed, no exclusion for the tasks you do most |
| Tools and equipment | Theft or damage to tools in your van, at a job or in storage | Locked vehicle condition, per-item cap, replacement cost; see tools and equipment |
| Commercial auto | Your van or pickup used to travel between jobs with tools and materials | Business use declared; a personal policy may not respond; see commercial auto |
| Rented equipment | Damage to a rented floor sander, scaffold or lift | Most rental agreements make you responsible; add it to the floater |
| Workers' compensation and employer's liability | Injury to a helper or employee | Provincial board rules, plus employer's liability where the board does not apply |
| Home-based business cover | Tools, stock and office equipment kept at home | A home policy restricts business property; see home-based business |
If you take on a full kitchen or basement, you have moved into renovation. Our renovation insurance guide covers the larger project exposures, including builder's risk.
The scenarios below are hypothetical. They reflect the patterns underwriters ask about on handyman applications.
| Hypothetical scenario | What went wrong | Policy that responds |
|---|---|---|
| Faucet replaced on Friday; ceiling below collapses on Monday | A compression fitting was not tightened | CGL completed operations for the resulting water damage; the cost to redo the fitting is usually excluded |
| Wall-mounted TV falls two weeks after install | Anchors used in drywall without hitting studs | CGL for the damage and any injury |
| Ladder slips and dents the client's car in the driveway | Ladder footing on a wet surface | CGL property damage |
| Client trips over an extension cord and breaks a wrist | Cord left across a hallway | CGL bodily injury |
| Tool bags stolen from the van overnight | Van parked on the street | Tools floater, only if the locked vehicle condition is met |
| Helper cuts a hand on a mitre saw | Injury to your own worker | Workers' compensation where it applies; CGL excludes it |
Water damage is the expensive pattern. A small plumbing task can cause a loss many times the value of the job, which is why some insurers cap or exclude plumbing on handyman forms. Read that wording before you quote a bathroom job.
Every province regulates some trades. In Ontario, O. Reg. 876/21 under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 lists 23 compulsory trades. They include plumber, electrician (construction and maintenance), electrician (domestic and rural), residential air conditioning systems mechanic and sheet metal worker. Working in a compulsory trade requires the authorization the Act sets out, and each trade's scope of practice is defined by regulation.
Electrical work has a second layer. Under O. Reg. 570/05, no person may operate an electrical contracting business without an electrical contractor licence. Licence applicants must have public liability and property damage insurance of at least $2,000,000 and register with the WSIB where required. The regulation exempts work in a residential dwelling done by the owner or occupant, but that exemption belongs to the homeowner, not to someone they hire.
| Task | Rule to check | Insurance consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing a light fixture, switch or outlet | Electrical work under O. Reg. 570/05 requires a licensed electrical contractor | Unlicensed electrical work is a common exclusion; refer it to a licensed electrician |
| Repairing a plug-in appliance | O. Reg. 570/05 exempts maintenance or repair of plug-in equipment that does not alter wiring | Declare appliance repair as a service |
| Swapping a faucet or toilet | Plumber is a compulsory trade; confirm the task falls outside its scope of practice | Declare light plumbing; some forms cap water damage |
| Installing a gas appliance | Gas work is regulated separately under technical standards rules | Do not do it without the required certificate |
| Building a deck or removing a wall | Municipal building permit rules may apply | Structural work is renovation, rated differently |
Other provinces draw these lines in their own statutes. Check with your provincial skilled trades authority and electrical safety regulator before you advertise a service. Then tell us the full list, so the policy and the law agree. Our plumber page covers the licensed plumbing program.
In Ontario, people who own or run a construction business, with or without employees, must generally have WSIB coverage. That includes independent operators and sole proprietors. Under section 12.3 of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997, they must register within 10 days.
Handymen often fall under an exception. Section 12.2 exempts independent operators, sole proprietors, partners and executive officers who do no construction work other than exempt home renovation work. That means construction work done directly for the person who lives in, or will live in, the existing private residence, or for a member of their family. A cottage counts as a private residence. A rental unit you are hired to fix by a landlord does not fit the definition.
Our post WSIB is not enough explains why liability and employer's liability still sit on top of workers' compensation.
Homeowners rarely ask for proof of insurance. Property managers, condominium corporations, landlords and commercial clients almost always do. They are often the steadiest source of handyman work, so a clean certificate is how you get on the approved vendor list.
Our post on why every contract asks for a certificate of insurance explains the wording clients use and what each clause commits you to.
Most handyman losses show up after you have packed up. Completed operations is the part of CGL that responds to injury or damage caused by finished work. A policy without it leaves your largest exposure uninsured.
There is a limit to what CGL pays. It covers damage your work causes to other property, such as the ceiling, flooring and contents below a leaking fitting. It generally does not pay to redo your own faulty work. That cost is a business expense. Our guided tour of the CGL policy wording walks through the exclusions that matter.
A handyman's van is a mobile workshop, and tool theft from vehicles is a routine claim. Published Canadian tool floater wordings contain a locked vehicle condition: theft from an unattended vehicle is covered only after forcible entry into a locked, fully enclosed body or compartment. Tools taken from an open pickup box, or from a van with no sign of forced entry, may not be covered at all.
Schedule anything worth more than the per-item cap, and photograph serial numbers. If you rent equipment, add rented equipment to the floater.
Most handymen also run the business from home. A homeowner's policy offers only a small limit for business tools, and only while they are in the home. A home-based business policy or the floater closes that gap. Our post on the home-based business coverage gap explains where home policies stop.
Handyman CGL is usually rated on annual revenue or payroll, with subcontracted costs rated separately. The underwriter then looks at the service mix. Painting, assembly and minor carpentry sit in lower-hazard classes. Plumbing, roof work, work at height and anything near electrical or gas raise the rate, or face exclusions.
The limit and deductible matter too. Ask for a higher limit to be priced alongside the minimum, because a property manager's contract may require it. We compare the insurers on our panel and show wording differences, such as water damage caps, side by side.
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This page is general information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage depends on your policy wording and the insurer. Speak with a licensed broker about your situation.
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