These days, hundreds of people are working in a home-based business. Some people may work for another company but may work out of their own homes, and other people may run their own businesses from their own home office. Whatever the case, issues of insurance may become trickier when you’re dealing with a home-based business, since two things that are normally entirely separate are now one and the same. Home Insurance
Whether or not your homeowners insurance will cover your home-based business is probably a question for your homeowners insurance agent, but before you start asking questions, read through some of these tips so that you know where you’re going.
1.Homeowners insurance will probably cover some of your business items. For example, if you have a business-only printer and computer in your home office, your homeowners insurance will probably cover these things, and if you’re taking a laptop off your property to work on business-related things, your homeowners insurance may offer some coverage for your laptop or other personal business-related items. However, you need to know exactly how much of your business-related items your homeowners insurance covers, so this is what you’ll need to ask your homeowners insurance agent.
2.Your homeowners insurance probably doesn’t cover liability issues related to people who are on your property for business purposes. If you have meetings in your home or run consultations out of your home office, you’ll need to have business liability insurance, as your homeowners insurance won’t cover you in the event of a business-related lawsuit if something happens to someone who is on your property for business purposes. On the other hand, if your business is conducted strictly online and no one ever comes to your home for business purposes, you may not even need this type of liability insurance. This is another thing to ask your insurance agent about. Home Insurance
3.The last thing you should talk with your insurance agent about is how you can roll your business insurance in with your homeowners insurance. There are a few ways to do this, and one of these ways will be the best for you both financially and coverage-wise. The first way is to add a �business pursuits� rider to your homeowners insurance. This will generally up your coverage and your premiums by a certain percentage. You can also get an in-home business insurance policy, which will create a policy that includes both your home and your business insurance. If you’re running a business out of your home in which people are constantly going in and out and you’re working from home full-time, you may consider simply purchasing a separate business insurance policy to cover your business-related pursuits that take place in your home.
Homeowners insurance will probably cover some of your business items. For example, if you have a business-only printer and computer in your home office, your homeowners insurance will probably cover these things, and if you’re taking a laptop off your property to work on business-related things, your homeowners insurance may offer some coverage for your laptop or other personal business-related items. However, you need to know exactly how much of your business-related items your homeowners insurance covers, so this is what you’ll need to ask your homeowners insurance agent.
