Most people don't consider getting business insurance when they work out of their homes. For many home businesses, it may not be necessary. This article will help you decide if you need additional insurance coverage for your home business. Insurance helps protect your business against losses from fire, illness, and injury. You should not operate without it. If you are running your business out of your home, your homeowners insurance will probably protect you against most accidental losses. Check with your insurance carrier to make sure that your coverage includes business use of your home. If not, you should add the insurance you need to your existing policy. You may need to add additional coverage to include Product Liability. The purpose of Product liability insurance is to protect you in the event your product causes injury to the consumer. While you may or may not think this is necessary, you would be better safe than sorry if a consumer sued you because your product injured them. Disability Insurance is a kind of health insurance that will protect you, should you become disabled and unable to work, provide for your family and meet your financial responsibilities. Auto Insurance may be necessary if your personal car is used in your business. Most (if not all) states require that an individual must have auto insurance in order to operate a motor vehicle. Getting caught without it usually results in a traffic ticket and some pretty stiff fines. Medical Payments Insurance is necessary if someone is injured in your home whether or not it was your fault Most homeowners policies include this as a standard portion of the policy, but check with your agent just to be sure you are adequately covered. Worker's Compensation Insurance will probably not be necessary if you are working out of your home, however, if you have employees it is a requirement in order to protect you, the businessperson, as well as the employee from losses due to accidents on the job. Business Interruption Insurance is not something we want to consider, however, it is an extra protection you might wish to add to your policy. In effect, if your business is damaged by fire or circumstances beyond your control prevents you from operating your business and you must totally or partially suspend operations, this insurance will help protect you from total losses while you rebuild your business. Keep all your insurance records and policies in a safe place. A bank safe deposit box or home safe is ideal. Although we don't like to think about the unpleasant "what if's" in life, it is often better to be prepared than to face the unnecessary expense of loss. Insurance can help protect your home business if you take the time to evaluate your business insurance needs. |
