Common coverages for home-based businesses include personal business property, professional liability, business income, personal and advertising injury, and loss of business data, just to name a few. Depending on the type of home-based business you have, not all coverages apply, and other coverage options may be available. Just ask us—we can help!
What’s Your Risk?
While most homeowners insurance policies do cover a limited amount of business equipment, it’s likely that what you own is worth more than your policy’s limits. Also, your homeowners’ liability insurance probably won’t cover any injuries that may occur to the employees or clients that you have on the premises. Check out our blog post on “You don’t have to be a millionaire to get sued like one” to see why insurance is critical.
Contact Coterie Insurance to review your property value and business exposures for your home-based business. Based on that information, we’ll help you select a coverage package that’s as unique as the product or service you provide.
Protect Your Livelihood and Your Home
Just because you operate a business in your home doesn’t mean your exposures are covered—purchasing the right insurance coverage today may be the difference between success and failure. A homeowners insurance policy is designed to cover personal exposures, not business exposures. Here’s what you need to know to make sure you’ve got all your business insurance bases covered.
To understand your home-based business exposures, it’s important to review your property value and business exposures. To get you thinking, here’s a list of questions to consider:
- How much is your equipment worth? Conduct an inventory, listing everything you use to operate your business.
- Does the service or product that you provide create extra liability? For example, what if you made an error or omission? Do you serve alcohol? What if your product is defective? Do you take possession of your customers’ property?
- Do you stock inventory? If so, make a list of the materials and products that you sell and, if you do any of the manufacturing, the materials used to make them.
- What about vehicles? Any vehicle used for business purposes must be insured, even if it’s personally owned.
- Do you, or your employees, perform work in customers’ homes? If so, a third-party fidelity bond will pay for losses due to fraudulent acts, such as theft.
- Do you have employees? If so, you need the appropriate workers’ compensation coverage as required by the state.
- What about vehicles? Any vehicle used for business purposes must be insured, even if it’s personally owned.
- Do you, or your employees, perform work in customers’ homes? If so, a third-party fidelity bond will pay for losses due to fraudulent acts, such as theft.
- Do you have employees? If so, you need the appropriate workers’ compensation coverage as required by the state.
Whether you’re a freelancer or run a larger operation of your home, understand your risks as a home-based business and contact Coterie insurance to get covered today.
