The “American Dream”. Everyone has a unique perspective on what that actually is, but most seem to agree it has to do with owning a house, owning a business, being prosperous, and having a loving family. And this is made even better if you can make it all happen from the comfort of the home that you own! Who doesn’t want a successful, home based business? It makes life soooo much easier if you can make your millions with your feet kicked up on the couch and Fido or Fluffy is sitting at your feet 🙂 There’s just one catch. Insuring a home based business can be very complex.
What does your home insurance policy have to say about that?
Having done this whole insurance thing for over 45 years, we’ve seen SO many variations on what a home insurance policy has to say about a home based business. Some flat out say NO. Others say OK, but only within certain parameters. Still others say only if you let us charge for it. It’s murky water, and without reading the policy you really can’t be sure.
So here’s the scenario. You’re plugging along, putting in 16 hour days to get your business up and running (but it’s okay, because you work from home so you’re able to take cat naps on the couch when needed). You’re finally in the black after months of hard work; things are going great! And then your business gets slapped with a lawsuit. No problem! Let’s just turn that over to the home insurance company and they’ll take care of it.
But will they?
How about this? The UPS guy is delivering package after package, taking back out shipment after shipment. Poor guy! He’s working so hard, carrying all your boxes in and out, every day. One day he trips and falls on his way out and hurts himself pretty bad. Now he’s thinking you MUST be rolling in the dough. You have a nice house that he sees every day, nice cars in the garage that he also sees every day. Your business is clearly raking it in with all the boxes he carries for you. Why not sue the business for his injuries? Hit those deep pockets for his payday. He knows the name of the LLC; it’s on every label he sees. No problem, you think! Let’s just turn that over to the home insurance company and they’ll take care of it.
But will they?
Ooh, and then there’s the “I set up a photography studio in my living room/basement/shed/spare room/etc”. So now you have people coming on and off your property, who can potentially trip, fall, be injured, cut themselves, whatever in your home. Go ask your insurance company what they’ll say about THAT one.