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5 Responses to “Insurance – if working from home what do I need?”
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November 18th, 2010 at 2:18 am
Assuming you are in the USA threre’s a couple of things you’ll need. You don’t neccessarily need public liability insurance, but even though nobody is going to your place of business you are sending a product and so some sort of safety net is required. My suggestion is that you form yourself as an LLC(limited liability corporation). You’ll need to get a business license from your state, but the paperwork’s not that intensive. Your bank will offer a variety of added benefits over a basic business account if you are an LLC, and as an added bounus it will be easier to set up a SEP(self-employed Pension) allowing you to shelter up to 1/2 your income up to 17.5k. Should you desire additional insurance for your office(which will be your home, which is a bonus), or any liability, inquire with your bank’s small business specialist to reccomend a product for your needs.
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November 18th, 2010 at 2:40 am
Many homeowner’s policies liability portion can be extended to cover a home based business, however I can guarantee none of them will cover a retail operation like the one you a re undertaking. Also most Homeowner’s policies limit the amount of coverage for business property kept on your premises. You may want to review the limit as it may or may not be sufficient to cover the amount of stock, as well as equipment used in the business.
While you may not have customers coming to your home to conduct business, you will still need some sort of liability policy to address product liability claims. What if the clothing manufacturer used some sort of dye that causes physical reactions with your customers. Sure the manufacturer is liable as the manufacturer, but you also liable as the retailer. Lawyers these days cast a wide a net as possible in order to maximize the award.
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November 18th, 2010 at 3:00 am
A simple endorsement on your homeowners/renters policy will take care of this. Call your agent!
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November 18th, 2010 at 3:20 am
In the UK, household policies would only offer a working from home extension where the work undertaken is purely clerical with no clients visiting the premises.
That said, there are specialist "working from home" schemes available from several leading insurers. I’d suggest you contact a local broker who will be able to advise you further on this matter.
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November 18th, 2010 at 3:56 am
Legally there is no insurance that you need i.e. compulsory – unless you employ anyone.
I would however tell your house buildings and contents insurer that you are working from home. They MAY be able to offer you a special homeworker policy to include your stock and public liability. If they can’t then a local broker would be able to help. Business stock is not mormally covered under a house insurance policy.
If you are living in a let property you should check that working at home will not breach the terms of your lease. The fact that you are working at home may also affect the landlords insurance policy covering the house.
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Insurance broker