With the cost of business offices and suites so high right now, it’s no surprise that more and more companies are asking their employees to work from their spare rooms and garages. With computers, people can easily work from home. Employers cut their expensive office overheads by having their full-time staff telecommute. Those who are self-employed freelance or run e-commerce sites. Home becomes Your Office.
Despite this, most people never think about how this affects their home insurance. They have their home insurance policy, sure, but they need insurance that most other people don't need. Whether you’re working from home for a company or you’re self-employed, you need to consider extra insurance.
Let’s say you work from home for a company, and they’ve provided you with a computer or other equipment. You need to make sure that your company insures their property! If they don’t, you may be expected to pay for damages or loss in the event of your home catching fire, being robbed, or being damaged by storms. Since regular home insurance policies don’t cover property belonging to those outside your immediate family, the cost to repair or replace your company’s equipment could be devastating.
If you run your own business from home, you need to find out how much all of your equipment and inventory is worth. Even if some of the value is covered under your home insurance, there’s almost certainly no cover if you take any of it outside the home, and no liability if anyone is injured while dealing with your business. If your business is small, you need to add an endorsement to your policy.
But if your business is bigger, there’s no substitute for a work-at-home business owners insurance policy. Other good ideas to make sure you’re entirely covered: keep your computer files backed up in another location, and talk to someone trustworthy who knows all about insurance in regards to home businesses or working from home.
Be sure to insure your home business or company’s equipment as you do all of your other valuables.
Altman Insurance is an independent insurance agency in the Olympia, Washington area. To learn more about Olympia, Tacoma, Lacey, and Seattle home or business insurance, contact them today.
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