With the current state of the economy more and more people are establishing home based business ventures or are working remotely from their residence.
If you fall in either category it would be beneficial for you to review your homeowners’ coverage and verify that your business operations are not excluded in the policy. There are limitations to a California Homeowners Policy for business personal property on premises, and very minimal (if any) coverage for business personal property off premises. The personal liability coverage on a standard Homeowners’ Policy also excludes Professional Liability, Errors and Omissions, and damage to property from business activities.
There is typically an option to add a home business endorsement to a Homeowners policy. However, the ability to add this endorsement depends on the type of business you own, if you have inventory, or if your customers come onto the premises. The endorsement would provide additional coverage for business property and Premises Liability. Unfortunately, it still would exclude Professional Liability coverage, as this coverage should be written on a separate policy.
The most important thing is to make sure that you discuss with your agent what is (and isn’t) covered in relation to your business activities. Don’t wait until something happens to find out you didn’t have the proper coverage!
If the type of business exposure is something that the homeowners’ carrier won’t cover, a Hatter, Williams & Purdy professional can assist you with a Commercial General Liability policy, Professional Liability coverage, or Errors and Omissions coverage.
If you have any question as to whether or not your business activities out of your home would be covered, don’t hesitate to call. Please contact your agent or customer service representative regarding your Carlsbad Insurance at 760-795-2002 or your Temecula Insurance at 951-296-6833.
