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Liability Insurance a Must Have

By
Home Stager with Prudential Ambassador / Ross Designs, LLC

Even before I recruited my first Home Staging client I signed up for a hefty personal liability policy.  I am admittedly ever-so-slightly accident prone despite my best efforts and let's face it, our litigious society is not one to mess with.

For less than $700/year I have a policy that covers me for up to $1.1 mil, per occurrence, up to 2 occurrences per year.  Knock on wood, throw salt over my shoulder, light a candle, whatever superstitious beliefs tell a person to do, I haven't had a claim yet.  But I definitely feel much safer with this policy in place. After all, one lamp with a short in the cord is all it could take to ruin a small business and the personal life of the owner.

UPDATE:  Per request, I am listing my insurance agent's contact info here.  I remember last year my independent contractor's regular insurance company did not have such policies available, so she had to call my agent.

Larry Smith State Farm Agency

11717 Burt Street
Suite 105
Omaha, NE 68154-1508

Contact Numbers:
Phone: (402) 491-0111
Fax: (402) 493-8546
Toll Free: 1-888-491-0111
http://www.statefarm.com/apps/agentLoc/AgentInformation.asp?na=US&st=27&ofc=9652

Posted by

Ross Designs Is Omaha's Full Service Home Staging Company, Dedicated To Supporting The Real Estate Industry!

 Omaha Area Board of Realtors (OABR) and Women's Council Of Realtors (WCR) Affiliate Member. 

Incorporated in 2004, Ross Designs stages 150-200 homes every year. Owner Occupied and Vacant Staging Programs, Color Consultations for Existing and New Construction, Holiday Decor Design and Implementation, and Odor Removal Services.

Call anytime at 402-490-3244

Connie Tebyani
Platinum Home Staging, Inc. : RESA-Pro - Calabasas, CA
Platinum Home Staging, Los Angeles and Ventura County

ALL Stagers should have not only Liability Insurance, but Workers Comp Insurance as well.  (Do you think I got my point across that I agree with you =) So many are NOT insured and as you said, all it takes is 1 short in the cord, or 1 employee who doesn't lift something properly...  GREAT POST!

May 11, 2008 02:50 AM
Greg Hampton
Re/Max Around The Mountains - Blue Ridge, GA
North Georgia Mountain Property,Blue Rid

Insurance will never make you any money, but When the time comes it may save you assets!

May 11, 2008 02:51 AM
Cheryl Johnson
Highland Park, CA

Tori --- Could you post the name of your insurance carrier/agent and the contact phone number or web site ....  Some of your readers may want to contact the company for a quote !!   Thanks!

May 11, 2008 02:55 AM
Lorraine or Loretta Kratz
Crescent Moon Realty, Inc. & Land N Sea Auctions. - San Marcos, CA
Certified Negotiation Consultants

Tori:

Good point, so many agents that I know in the business do not have health insurance, E&O and hopefully the brokers they work for will have workmans comps.  It does not take much for something unexpected to occur and you are wishing that did have insurance. 

May 11, 2008 03:01 AM
Chris Horton
Horton's Lawn Care L.L.C. - Burton, MI

Tori- I carry Liability, and Workers Comp. No incidents that I have had to claim, but one client had an extension cord running through the lawn (which hadn't been mowed in almost 2 months and was extremely over grown to the point I couldn't even see the bright orange cord) that was not plugged in eventhough he said it ususally was after I hit it and whipped it around landing in the clients pool. Thankfully it was unplugged as it could of electricuted myself on the mower, and their daughter who was in the pool.... Definitly not good. Always better to be safe than sorry.

May 11, 2008 03:08 AM
Gary McAdams
GMAC Schwartz Property Sales - Key West, FL

I don't balme you there.  I wouldn't open or own any business without a good liability policy.  It's sad that we need it but thanks to the sue happy people we do.

May 11, 2008 03:12 AM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Another excellent insurance company is Vitallia -- the owner is a member of Active Rain (Vitus Lau).  For another good resource, you can contact them through their website www.vitallia.com.  Coverage is approx $500/yr in my area for up to $2Million liability.

May 11, 2008 04:53 AM
Lori Kim Polk
Premiere Home Staging : Home Staging Services - Roseville, CA
Home Stager - Roseville, Sacramento

I second what Mareen said. I have had Vitus for 3 years now. They are familiar with staging and they cover much more than other ins. companies.

May 11, 2008 05:01 AM
Tori Lynn Wallitsch
Prudential Ambassador / Ross Designs, LLC - Omaha, NE

Connie- great addition!

Greg + Lorraine/Loretta - You are right, it doesn't take but one incident to potentially lose all or  many of your assets; insurance is absolutely worth the potential protection.

Cheryl - thanks for the suggestion; I added the info to the post.

Chris - that incident would be a close enough call to make sure I had the proper insurance! Glad nobody was hurt :-)

Gary - if a person is truly running a business then business costs such as insurance policies must be paid for.

David -- verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry funny! Let's screen some clients from now on, huh?

Maureen -- thanks for the info!  Good resource.

Lori - thanks for the testimonial.  I might have to check them out ...

May 11, 2008 05:02 AM
Connie Tebyani
Platinum Home Staging, Inc. : RESA-Pro - Calabasas, CA
Platinum Home Staging, Los Angeles and Ventura County

I'm back, as I felt I needed to respond persoally to Greg Hampton comment  "Insurance will never make you any money" ~ quite the contrary,  we have been award several Stagng jobs BECAUSE we were the ONLY company bidding that IS insured.  I know personally of several Staging companies in Los Angeles that are fully insured, but there are far too many that are not.

May 12, 2008 01:55 AM
Tori Lynn Wallitsch
Prudential Ambassador / Ross Designs, LLC - Omaha, NE

Connie- great point!  This can be a selling feature if a Stager knows how to present this to potential clients and make it an issue.

May 12, 2008 02:38 AM
Morgan Schott, Staging Atlanta's West Side
Sweetwater Staging & Redesign - Douglasville, GA

In addition to Maureen's comments, Vitallia offers a special staging business insurance policy. They understand the unique needs we have as business owners and have crafted a policy that reflects that. I would definitely suggest anyone check them out. They were the only company I researched that I felt understood our industry.

May 12, 2008 04:20 AM