Some of our clients either work from home for their job, or they run their own business primarily from home. Whether you are doing some sort of cosmetic trade, marketing, journalism or data processing, you really should be aware that you have inherited some “risks” that your standard home policy will not cover.
If you are operating a business at home where you will have clients coming for services, there is a liability hazard that is present. As the nature of the visit is for business, there are additional requirements of you (the homeowner) to ensure you follow- things like keeping your walk way clear of debris, snow, and ice to prevent slips and trips, as well as ensuring you have adequate hand rails installed in your home should there be a requirement to use any stairs. Beyond that, if you have things like client lists with personal information stored on your own computer, you will likely want to have cyber liability in place should that information become corrupted by a virus or hacking.
Adding coverage for a home based business also provides you the opportunity to insure your business contents and equipment that you may be using and storing at your place of residence. Again, as these items are of business nature (and might even belong to a corporate entity) your regular home insurance policy will not cover these items in the event of a claim. It is important to know the value of these items, then to insure that value as a separate item on your policy.
So how does this get done? Simply call your broker and tell them that you operate a home based business, and they will walk you through the few simple questions that will get you covered accordingly. Carrying additional contents, equipment and liability coverage is not a huge cost burden, and it could just save you should the worst happen!
Talk to your broker today!