Home-Based Business Insurance
Home-Based Businesses Are On The Rise
Home based businesses are on the rise. More and more Americans are starting a home based business so they can work from the comfort of their home. According to the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI) the vast majority of home based businesses are not properly insured. Many people believe their personal homeowners policy will cover the home based business.
While some homeowners policies may have limited coverage on business property, homeowners insurance does not automatically extend liability coverage to the business. The fact is that the majority of homeowners policies exclude potential liability claims involving a business operated out of your home.
Three Simple Insurance Solutions For Your Home-Based Business
Homeowners Business Endorsement
If you are a one person shop operating a business out of your home, a rider to your home insurance policy will normally be the most inexpensive option. A business rider expands your home insurance policy to cover your business property and liability exposures.
However, this option is usually very limited in the types of businesses that qualify for a homeowners business insurance endorsement. Some common business examples that qualify for a home business insurance policy are music teachers, child care, photographer, writers, etc.
A home business insurance endorsement is usually very limited in the insurance coverages provided. It may also require limits to business revenue or number of clients that you can provide a service to. For example, there may be limits to how many children a home daycare business can watch in their home.
Let our agents at Big Pine Insurance help you decide if a homeowners business endorsement is the right solution for your home business insurance needs.
In-Home Business Policy
An in-home based business policy is much more comprehensive insurance coverage than homeowners business insurance endorsement. First, there are more classes of business that can qualify for a in-home business policy.
Second, there are more coverage options for this type of insurance coverage. You can get higher limits on the property damage insurance. Liability coverage is also usually stronger. You can also cover your loss of business income in the event of a loss.
However, an in-home business policy also has limitations. For example, annual gross business revenue cannot exceed $250,000 dollars. The business cannot be permanently conducted at any other locations under the same legal name. There are also limitations on the number of employees.
Contact our office today to see if your home business qualifies for this type of home-based business insurance policy.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
A business owners policy (BOP) provides the most comprehensive insurance coverages for small businesses. However, there are still limitations on the types of businesses that can qualify for this type of insurance protection.
In general, a business owners policy is designed to cast a much wider net over the exposures that small businesses can face in conducting business. For example, you could purchase optional coverages to cover cover things like hired or non-owned auto exposures, cyber liability, employment practices, mechanical breakdown, etc. So as you can see, business owners policies can cover more than just general liability, property insurance and business interruption insurance.
A BOP doesn’t include workers compensation, auto insurance, professional liability, health or disability insurance. You will need separate policies to cover your professional services, employees and company owned vehicles.
Let our agents at Big Pine Insurance help you customize a BOP policy for your small home-based business insurance needs.