What Kind Of Insurance Do You Need For Your Home Based Business?
It doesn't matter if your home based business is large or small, you need coverage for it. Your home insurance policy may not cover any eventualities that stem from a business-related incident. That means you have to find protection yourself.
Why You Need Some Form of Commercial Insurance
In the pursuit of a profit, anything can happen. If someone hurts themselves on your property during your monthly garage sale, what do you think will happen? You may assume your personal liability will kick in to take care of that person's medical bills.
Unfortunately, since you were engaging in commercial activity, your insurance company may not cover the accident. That means the injured party will have to sue you personally for damages.
If there's a fire at your home, and you lose your entire garage, you may think your home insurance will reimburse you. Since you used the garage for making those woodcarvings you sell online, the insurance company may not help you at all.
Not only that, but you cannot recoup off the loss of your machinery, nor is anybody going to help you with the loss of income that comes with the loss of your garage and business. These are all reasons why you need some form of commercial insurance.
What Kind of Commercial Insurance do You Need?
You will have to decide what kind of commercial insurance offerings will work best for you. What you need to consider is what kind of coverage will protect both you and your activities. Here are a few of your options.
Endorsements and riders – Your insurance company may already have some products you can use to insure your business. These will become add-ons to your current home insurance policy. They vary by insurer, but usually add some liability coverage and protection for business equipment.
Dedicated in-home business policies – These policies are for the more serious in-home business owners. They offer far more protections for a business. These protections can include things like loss of income, document loss, protection for employees, higher amounts for liability coverage, and various other things.
A business owner's policy – A BOP is the kind of commercial insurance that brings you the kind of coverage that mid-sized businesses take advantage of. It's not limited to your in-home activities, as it can protect you if you operate out of multiple places.
Even if you don't start with a BOP, you will likely need to add one as your home-based business grows. In any case, you should consider some form of commercial insurance no matter what. What you need to consider is what kind of coverage you need to protect yourself and your activities.
Having some protection shows that you're serious about your activities. And since a lot of your personal assets are tied into your business, it's important that you protect them as much as possible. Contact a professional like Paris V Mastroddi, Inc to learn more.
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