If you work from home, like a growing number of people in Amherst, you probably think you don’t need small business insurance. However, homeowners insurance typically excludes business losses including property and most importantly - liability. When you run a business, whether or not it is within your home, small business insurance is important to help provide comprehensive protection against a variety of situations.

How Will My Homeowners Insurance Cover My Business?

Just because you work out of your Amherst, NH home does not mean that your homeowners insurance will cover every situation that may occur. While most policies may cover a limited amount of business equipment, such as computers, this coverage limit is very low. Also, your liability coverage will not extend to any business operation, including visitors who come to your home for business matters.  This would include delivery persons, mail carriers as well as clients. Before beginning to operate a home-based business, you should speak with a business insurance professional to ensure you are protected with the right insurance coverage.

Though your typical Amherst homeowners policy won’t cover any claim stemming from a business, some insurance companies do offer a small business endorsement that can be added onto your home policy.  This is a good option for an incidental business owner who may have turned a hobby into a small business and wants to be sure they are protected.  Check with an insurance professional to see if your line of work would qualify and if your carrier offers such coverage.  If not, you may want to reach out to an independent agency that offers business insurance through numerous insurance companies, and not just one.

Insurance for the Home-Based Business

To receive more comprehensive insurance coverage for your home-based business in Amherst and the surrounding area, you may need to purchase insurance designed for this situation. Just as with other businesses, you need to consider:

• Business Property
• Liability
• Workers Compensation
• Business Interruption and Loss of Income
• Professional Liability
• Business Auto Insurance
• Cyber Liability

What coverage is right for your business?  That will depend on several factors include the nature of your business, volume of business, number of employees (if any) as well as where you conduct business (from your home or around the world)?  The insurance needs will be different for a person who works from home conducting a weekly quilting class vs. a business consultant working with multi-national companies.   That is why it is critical that you consult with a commercial insurance professional given the needs of a consultant are different than those of the quilter, though both work from their home without any employees. 

Buying Commercial Insurance for Your Home-Based Business

Most businesses, regardless of where operated from, can purchase a Business Owners Policy (BOP).  BOPs are great package policies as it reasonably priced and often includes coverage needed by many small businesses such as:

• Property insurance for both buildings and contents
• Business interruption which would cover the loss of income resulting from a covered loss like a fire.  It may also include the additional expense necessary to set up your business at a temporary location while repairs are being completed.
• Liability protection should your business be held legally responsible for causing harm to another party.

Though BOPs provide essential coverage to many types of businesses, it does not include coverage for professional liability, business vehicles or workers compensation. These coverages would need to be purchased separately.

You have worked hard to build your Amherst business.  Many small business owners make the mistake of believing that their homeowners policy will cover their home-based business, only to find out that they have very minimal coverage if any.  Purchasing small business insurance will make sure you get the coverage you need to protect your business against a variety of situations.  Speak with a commercial insurance professional today.