Insurance for small home based business start-ups can be a little confusing and many times buying insurance for a home based business isn’t necessary at all. I’ve spent my fair share of money on insurance throughout several different businesses over the years and thought I’d share what I’ve learned. First off, insurance has it’s place, it’s one of those things that is hard to appreciate until you need it. I guess you could say I have a love/hate relationship with insurance and especially insurance premiums.
Cost of Insurance for a Home Based Small Business
One of the things that had me looking at work at home based businesses several years ago was the fact that expenses were much lower and the cost of starting a home business is much lower than most any conventional business. Insurance requirements for a home business can many times be much lower as well.
Currently I have no employees who work with me on my home business, which is exclusively online. For many years I operated a commercial construction business and had over 30 employees in the field and a small office staff of 3 or 4 people most of the time. Needless to say I paid a lot of money for insurance in that business. Many years I paid over 100k dollars just in insurance premiums.
Of all the insurance premiums I’ve paid I’d say by far the most significant insurance cost for a small business has to be workers compensation insurance. Again I have no employees for my home based business so I don’t have a workers comp insurance cost at all and I like that.
Talk to Your Insurance Agent about Your Small Home Based Business
I’ve always had a great relationship with a local insurance agent and always share my concerns with him. I suggest you find a good agent near you and share your home business insurance questions with him or her.
Should your home business have a liability policy?
One of the basic insurance requirements for a small home based business is going to be a good liability policy for your home based business. Things that can impact whether or not you need a liability policy for your small home based business are:
- Do people/customers come into your home?
- Do you have business assets such as equipment in your home?
- Are the contents, equipment, or assets currently covered under a different policy?
These are just a few of the things that can impact your decision on buying insurance for your small home business or not. There are surely many more things to consider and that is why contacting your insurance agent is a good idea. Don’t falsly assume you need insurance for your home business and waste your money…Talk to an agent near you.
Many times the same insurance company you use for your home or car can also offer the best rates on insurance for your business so I recommend starting there.
If you’d like to share your feeling, or experience with buying insurance for small home based business start ups in 2011 please do. If you have insurance experience and would like to share more information on who should get it and who shouldn’t, please feel free.