Important Facts You Should Know About Insurance For Your Home-Based Business

If you run a business out of your home, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to assume that your existing homeowner's insurance policy will extend to cover all the risks associated with your business. It is fairly easy in most cases to add an insurance rider to your homeowner's policy to provide coverage for someone with whom you are doing business if they were to become injured on your property. However, you cannot expect your existing policy to extend to incidents involving professional liability or loss of product. Therefore, if you run a business based out of your home and you want to protect your financial interests in the future, it is a good idea to be aware of the following information about the proper use of a business insurance policy.

A Rider To Your Existing Policy Is Cheap...But Not Appropriate For Every Business

It will first be necessary to remember that the value of your business, including merchandise and equipment that you use at home, should be covered under your policy. For example, if you work as a transcriptionist, you may be able to benefit from simply adding a rider to the homeowner's policy you already have due to the reduced coverage you will need. The rider is just an addition to your existing policy and will often provide less coverage than you might find with an entirely new policy.

The use of a business rider on your existing policy is a good choice if:

• You would rarely have clients coming and going from your home business, so limited protection against injuries is an acceptable choice

• You do not need to provide coverage for merchandise that could be stolen or damaged from your home

• The bulk of your business is done electronically, and therefore, coverage can be safely limited to computers and other common business equipment

An In-home Business Policy Is Useful When You Meet With Clients And Have Merchandise At Your Home

If you sell a product or provide a service from your home that requires clients to visit your home or business, you need to have more comprehensive coverage. Specifically, you will want to have professional liability coverage, so if a mistake is made that has a negative impact on a client or employee and they seek compensation; you will not be responsible for the financial loss. In addition, just as your homeowner's policy would protect you financially if you were the victim of theft or intentional damage, you should also have a policy that would allow you to replace damaged or stolen items associated with your home business. Every home business should be disclosed to your insurance agent or there is the risk of a future claim being denied due to that lack of information.

An in-home business policy is often a good choice because it is known to provide coverage for both financial liability and replacement of items, as warranted, within the same agreement. However, you will need to know the approximate value of your merchandise so that you can have adequate protection against theft, damage or loss. Alternatively, you may want to discuss the benefits of a general or professional liability policy with your insurance agent. He or she will be able to make specific recommendations as to the most appropriate type of insurance for your needs.

In conclusion, it is very important to be sure that you have adequate insurance coverage for any business, even if you are running it from your home. When you are unsure as to the most appropriate policies or riders for your business, the information provided above will be very useful.

For more information, contact The Blondin Agency Inc - Nationwide Insurance or a similar company.