Home based businesses are on the rise these days as more and more people are discovering the advantages of starting their own business operated out of their home. In fact, it is estimated that somewhere around 30% of all homeowners operate a business from home right now, and that number will more than likely rise as time goes on. That’s great in itself but the problem is that most home based business owners are either underinsured or not insured at all. Most people assume their homeowner’s insurance policy covers their home business, but it usually doesn’t.
It’s actually possible that your home business activities could void your home insurance. The reason is because your homeowners insurance covers only your home, not your business. If you use your home for another purpose that your insurer is not aware of it might make your policy invalid. Basically you can assume that your standard home insurance policy does not cover your home business and if that’s all you have, you could lose a lot. Therefore, you may need home based business insurance!
Anyone who owns a home business faces the same risks as most other companies and needs insurance to protect themselves against those risks. Home business insurance may be needed whether your business is incorporated or it’s run as a sole proprietorship. There are a few different home based business insurance options available for you to consider.
The home business insurance policy you choose depends on a variety of factors. Some of these factors include how large your home based business is, the type of business you conduct, if you do any off-site work and how much, the extent of your potential for liability, how frequently you have people visit your home for business, and other things.
To find out what insurance you need or don’t need, you should take the time to sit down with your agent and talk about it with them. Don’t keep anything from them because it could come back to kick you in the butt in the future if something happens that your home based business insurance doesn’t cover.
It’s definitely worth looking into whether you think you need it or not.