How to Protect Your Home-based Business with the Right Insurance

14 Jul How to Protect Your Home-based Business with the Right Insurance

There are many components to starting a successful home business. One that often gets overlooked is making sure you have the right insurance coverage to protect your business. A home-based business still has risks, so choosing the right insurance for your specific needs is important.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing Business Insurance

Insuring your home-based business is an important step to take in protecting that business. There are a lot of things to consider before purchasing insurance. You have to consider the type of business you run and its potential risks, the value of your business property, including your inventory, whether or not your business has employees, whether or not your customers or contractors visit your business, usage of your personal car or commercial vehicles for business-related purposes, and the storage of customers’ financial and personal information on a computer or through a cloud computing service.

All of these will determine which types of insurance coverage you should get. You can customize your coverage, so you do not spend money on unnecessary coverage while still maintaining coverage that is vital to your business.

Types of Insurance for Your Home-based Business

• Property and Liability Insurance: This type of insurance protects the value of your business property from loss due to theft, fire, and other covered events. It also includes the costs of medical expenses if a customer or contractor who is visiting your business or uses your product or service sustains injuries. Although your home insurance policy might provide some protection for your business, it is often not sufficient. You can include additional endorsements to your homeowners policy to help cover some things, but many homeowners insurance policies will not cover business-related expenses. Therefore, it is best to choose a stand-alone business insurance policy or a business owner’s policy that combines different coverages.
• Business Vehicle Insurance: You probably already have personal insurance for your vehicle. However, if your personal car is used for business-related purposes or you have a commercial vehicle for your business, you will need business vehicle insurance. Personal car insurance will not cover your vehicle while it is being used for business purposes.
• Workers’ Compensation Insurance: If you have employees or hire contractors, you will need to purchase workers’ compensation insurance. Not only does this policy provide wage replacement to employees injured on the job, but it also covers medical bills or funeral expenses if an employee dies as a result of the injury. This insurance is also a requirement for business owners with employees in most states.

Choosing the right insurance coverage for your business can be an overwhelming process. Contact the experts at Kevin Dougherty Insurance for answers to important insurance questions that will allow you to make the right decisions. Contact us today!