With recent advances in both technology and the internet, even more people are running home-based businesses, full-time or part-time. But will your homeowner’s policy cover the risks of a home-based business? In nearly every case, the answer is no.
Exceptions exist, in the form of special endorsements, such as an endorsement to run a child-care operation from your home, yet fewer and fewer companies offer such endorsements. Even with a special endorsement, policies may give a very limited amount of coverage
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Small businesses have to carefully manage their costs to survive and grow. Employee injuries can be a difficult expense for them to absorb and can also hurt workplace morale. Despite the best efforts of business owners, ultimately injuries in the workplace can’t be completely avoided.
Financial services company The Hartford said in a recent report that there is a 50 percent chance that a small business will have a Workers’ Compensation claim in the next 10 years. This prediction was based on
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General Liability Insurance, also known as Comprehensive General Liability insurance, covers third party claims that an insured becomes liable for due to the operations of his or her business. A third party claim would be from any entity other than an employee. Not every policy is the same and the exclusions and endorsements added to a policy may limit the coverage. The main areas of what general liability covers are:
Bodily Injury & Property Damage
Products and Completed Operations
Personal and Advertising Injury
Owner’s
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LiaBusiness insurance can get complicated. Small businesses need to protect themselves against damage to their property, income they may lose if they have to shut down after their property is damaged, and the risk of lawsuits. With the risks of crime and other types of losses that separate policies cover, there can be a lot to keep track of.
It does not have to be so complicated. Small businesses can meet many insurance needs with a single product – a businessowner’s
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Of the U.S. companies that are victim to a man-made or natural disaster, the Contingency Planning Research Strategic Corporation says 43% never reopen their doors and 29% are out of business within the following two years. A study by Touche Ross found that companies without a disaster recovery plan only have a 10% or less survival rate. Small Business owners, in particular, should be seriously asking themselves whether or not they have an adequate recovery plan for disasters.
There are three
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Most small business owners look at workers’ compensation as just another necessary evil and unavoidable cost of doing business. It’s usually one of those out of sight, out of mind things when rates are low. It’s not until an employer is hit with a rate hike that they really start to give some thought to their workers’ compensation rates. Employers need to constantly look at workers’ compensation as a tool to improve their business’s bottom line, and they certainly need to
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Every small business goes through different cycles of profit and loss, as a result your risks and potential exposures are being similarly affected. At the same time, commercial insurance coverage is also continually evolving and changing; cyber liability coverage didn’t even exist at the turn of the last century. Nothing in either your business or the insurance industry remains static. This is why you should re-evaluate your insurance coverage at least once a year. A regular insurance audit will help you
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At one time or another, just about every small business owner considers either buying another company or selling his or her own. Sellers need to start planning an exit strategy several years in advance of a potential business sale. According to an IBBA study, retirement continues to lead as the number one reason for selling a business. As the baby boomer generation exits the work force there will be increasing opportunities to purchase established small businesses. Whatever the case may
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Businesses are always on the move and as such you or your employees are going to end up behind the wheel as part of operating your business. According to the United States Census Bureau, there are over 11 million traffic accidents in the U.S. each year. Having your work vehicles covered with a commercial auto insurance policy is vital to protect your business and its assets. You should take it one step further and make sure you train your employees
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According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3 out of 10 homeowners operate a business out of their homes. More than 66% of the estimated 20.7 million people who work at home are self-employed and run a home-based business.
A survey conducted by the Independent Insurance Agents of America found that 60% of home based business owners don’t have the proper insurance in place because they believed their homeowners policy would cover any potential business losses. Most homeowner policies provide
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