Home Business Insurance: What to Know
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Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
Across America, millions are enjoying the earning potential that can come from having a home-based business. For some, this form of income is ideal because it provides the flexibility to work part-time around family needs and schedules.
For others, a home-based business is a full-time venture. Whatever your story, you may want to strongly consider a home-based business insurance policy to protect it.
Fortunately, our independent insurance agents are here to eliminate the hassle of searching on your own by walking you through a hand-picked selection of top insurance policies to cover both your business and your employees.
But first, let’s talk more about why you need the protection in the first place and what kind of coverages you should consider.
Why Do I Need Home-Based Business Insurance Coverage?
There’s a number of circumstances where a home-based business insurance policy can save you from financial loss. Risks vary by industry, but consider the following scenarios:
- If you keep a lot of inventory in your home and it’s damaged in a fire or stolen during a burglary, you could end up losing thousands of dollars.
- If the work you do could create an error that leads to financial losses or embarrassment for a client. If so, you could find yourself on the wrong end of an "errors and omissions" liability claim.
- If you sell products and someone becomes ill or injured as a result of using the it, you could be sued for medical costs.
- If you travel to your clients’ property to work, like with a lawn care or home organization business, and you inadvertently damage something of your clients, you could be sued for property damage.
These are just a few examples, but in actuality, there are a number of instances where a home-based business could find itself in need of a suitable home business insurance policy.
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Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Do I Need a Business Policy? Doesn’t My Homeowners Cover My Business?
A business insurance policy can protect you from potential liability claims and losses or damage to your merchandise and equipment. Because there are so many different types of home-based businesses, the protection you need can come from a number of different policies, including:
- Your homeowners or renters insurance policy: For some smaller home-businesses, simply purchasing an addendum to your home or renters insurance policy will meet your coverage needs. This is perfect for home businesses that don’t have a lot of expensive merchandise or equipment to insure. For less than $10 a month, you can receive about $2,500 worth of additional personal property coverage for your business equipment. This sort of coverage does not protect you from liability, however, so if your business faces the potential of a liability lawsuit, you may want to think about some of the next few options, instead.
- A home business policy: These policies are great for medium-sized businesses that have assets between $2,500 and $10,000 as well as those that face the potential for a lawsuit due to injuries, property damage, or poor work quality. This type of policy generally costs about $20 to $30 month, and can provide up to $10,000 in property coverage and $1 million in liability coverage.
- A commercial insurance policy: This sort of policy is meant for larger home-based businesses that have a ton of assets and require extra coverage. Policies will generally offer several types of liability coverage, and can even cover some professional exposures. Commercial insurance has the ability to cover millions of dollars of property. Premiums can vary widely from modest amounts to large sums depending on your business and revenues.
Most home-based businesses can be fully covered with one of these coverage options. If you’re unsure where your business falls, an independent insurance agent can help you work it all out.
What Does Home-Based Business Insurance Cover?
An insurance policy for your home-based business can provide:
- Liability coverage: This protects you from losses due to liability claims. A home-business insurance policy will allow you to purchase between $300,000 and $1 million in liability coverage.
- Property coverage: This protects you from loss or damage to your business assets, including computers and other equipment, merchandise, materials and inventory. You can purchase $10,000 or more in property coverage with a home business insurance plan.
- Lost income coverage: This protects you if you’re forced to temporarily halt business operations due to damage caused by a covered event. It allows you to continue receiving the income necessary to pay employees and bills for up to one year.
Depending on the insurance provider you choose, you may have other coverage options available to you. Some policies will even allow you to include your coverage for up to three employees.
Save on Business Insurance
Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Finding and Comparing Home-Based Business Insurance Quotes
Our agents will review your needs and help you evaluate which home-based business insurance policy makes the most sense. They'll also compare policies and quotes from multiple insurance companies to make sure you have the best protection out there.
They'll hook you up — in a comprehensive and affordable way.
What's So Great About Independent Insurance Agents?
Independent insurance agents have experience in dealing with all kinds of businesses and insurance policies. They excel at matching the most appropriate policy to the business in need.
Shopping around for insurance policies can be tricky, confusing, and time-consuming, and an independent insurance agent's role is to simplify the process.
They’re also there to help make sure you get the absolute best deal, and the one that meets your unique needs. They shop and compare insurance quotes for you, and they'll break down all the jargon so that you understand exactly what you're getting.