Any home-based business worth its salt should be covered with all forms of necessary insurance.
Without them, you face a lot of potential financial and legal headaches that could disrupt, or even take down your business completely. You may well have home insurance, but if you’re operating a business from the same premises, then you’ll have to pick up other types of insurance. Here are some of the most important.
Business property insurance
While home insurance obviously covers your house and contents, companies operating from home need business property insurance chiefly for office equipment. If items like a desktop computer, printer, desk, chair, filing cabinet, etc., was stolen or damaged in a natural disaster, then it would be both costly and time consuming to replace all of them individually without insurance.
General liability coverage
This is pretty vital, because if a client or customer visits your home business and breaks their leg by tripping on a step, for example, then your homeowner’s insurance will not cover this (it will if a family member does the same thing). General liability insurance is primarily for injuries and accidents to employees or clients when visiting your business premises.
Smartphone insurance
A home-based business will very likely own one gadget that is a lifeline to the world of commerce: a smartphone. Whether it’s finalising deals, texting employees, updating social media, finding your way via Google Maps to a client meeting, or checking in with your latest email marketing campaign, a smartphone proves itself imperative by managing all these tasks. If you haven’t already got smartphone insurance somewhere else, consider the plans over at simplesurance, which also provides tablet and laptop options.
Business vehicle coverage
Car insurance might be experiencing a rise in pricing, but it’s absolutely essential if you’re using a vehicle for business purposes very often. Having this coverage will be extremely useful in case of damage to your own or another person’s vehicle.
Product liability insurance
This is a handy little insurance to have, as it can protect your business against someone claiming that a product you made or shipped caused injury or damage in some way. Its main objective is to assist with businesses not having to pay any legal fees if someone were to sue.
Errors and omissions insurance
This type of insurance is more for businesses which provide a service, such as giving out professional advice. The errors and omissions insurance can protect your business if someone claims that your advice led to damage, either personally or professionally, or to property. Like product liability, the insurance helps cover legal fees and damages paid to the client if they prove successful.
