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Guide to Properly Insuring a Home-based Business
Homeowners insurance is not enough; you need specific coverage to protect your home-based business.- Homeowners Policy Endorsement. This means paying a little more to bulk up on how much you can recover for property losses, but typically does not cover all the liability issues you may face.
- Home-Based Business Policy. This stand-alone policy can be purchased as an addition to your homeowners coverage or separately from a different insurer. It can include the loss of business-related data and papers, business interruption, a small number of employees and liability for business clients and products.
- Business Owners Policy (BOP). These are the broad-based policies that most small businesses use. The coverage here is essentially the same as the home-based business policy, only with greater protection and more options for additions like malpractice.
- Self-Insurance. This is used mostly by large corporations that can withstand large losses. Instead of paying an insurance premium each year, the business invests the money, and hopes that the interest accrued covers any future loss.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Understand what you need
Review the different types of business risk and the insurance programs that cover them.
I recommend:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a guide with an insurance-needs checklist and glossary. Click-through subjects and Q&A's are available from the Insurance Information Institute (III) and the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA).
Identify what's at risk
What do you need to protect? Take an inventory of your property. Assess how long your business can survive an interruption before it is terminal.
I recommend:
Direct Logic's software program All My Stuff keeps track of office property, its value, location and date of acquisition, and provides space for digital images, all helpful if you need to file an insurance claim. The Insurance Information Institute's Know Your Stuff is a free, downloadable program for the whole house, but includes tips on what to include from your home office. Zurich has a business interruption cost calculator.
Find a policy that works for you
What are the risks to your business? How much or how little protection do you need? Be temperate with your evaluation. Review the packaged options that insurers or independent brokers offer to get an idea of the options and the cost.
I recommend:
InsuranceNoodle.com specializes in small-insurance and is a good starting point. Multiple quotes can be compared after filling out online questionnaires from NetQuote.com, LowQuotes.com or USInsuranceOnline.com. Mega broker Marsh has an online form to request a quote.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide- Know what your typical homeowner's policy does NOT include when it comes to your home-based business: Office equipment is typically covered for no more than $2,500, which will likely not cover even your computer and printer if they are stolen or destroyed. Liability for people injured in your home is only covered for social visits, not business clients.
- If you have employees, you may also have to look into purchasing separate workers compensation and health insurance.
- Don't buy all the extras — you may not need them. Assess the minimum you require (business data, computers) to do business and assess how you can protect or acquire that after an incident so that you don't need specialty insurance.
