We have been tryting to better define when a client faces a “home business” exposure. Personal insurance, like home coverage, condo coverage, or renters coverage, standardly excludes anything having to do with any sort of business for either liability or property coverage. This can cause real problems for people who work out of their homes. In our discussions with people, we have found that people don’t consider it a problem for coverage since they do not see clients at their house. Just because you don’t see clients doesn’t mean that you still don’t have a potential exposure and you could be without coverage.
There is a small “rider” or endorsement that you can add to your home, renters, or condo coverage that will extend the Personal Liability coverage from that policy to include the office exposure. So, when the UPS man trips over your garden hose, falls on the icy driveway, or gets bitten by your dog, there will be coverage.
These are challenging times. If you are working from home, or your job situation changes and you start working from home, be sure to call us, or your agent and advise them of this new exposure. Remember, your doctor doesn’t call to ask if you are sick. You need to be proactive when your insurance situations change.