Home Based Business

Trivia Time

In the previous post, we asked the question:

According to Statistics Canada, approximately how many vehicles are stolen every day?

Answer: Around 400 vehicles are stolen every day in Canada! In fact, by the time you finish reading this blog post, another poor soul will have lost their vehicle to automobile crime.

How close was your guess?

Now for this post?€?s question!

What?€?s the number one complaint from people who work at home? 

We?€?ll reveal the answer in our next post!

Imagine waking up on a Monday morning?€? hitting the snooze button?€? and when you finally, leisurely awaken from slumber, stumbling to your computer in your PJs. And only getting dressed if you feel like it. At 5pm.

Sound like a dream come true? An impossible dream, perhaps?

Believe it or not, it?€?s not as far-fetched as it sounds! An increasing number of people are making the leap from working 9-5 in an office to running their own home-based business. This type of self-led structure can be a reality for the entrepreneurial spirit, and the flexibility that comes with being your own boss can provide the room to better balance work and other obligations.

But What About Insurance?

?€?that wasyour next question, right? As wonderful as a home-based business can be, there are additional responsibilities that come along with it, and one of these is having adequate insurance for the kind of business you?€?re running.

Consider these scenarios:

·        A client visits your home for a meeting, but is injured when he falls down the steps.

·        You?€?re traveling to meet with a client, but your laptop gets stolen in the airport.

·        A fire or flood damages your home and destroys your home office?€?and you don?€?t have any off-site backups of critical financial information.

What are you going to do? If you only have a standard homeowner?€?s policy, sad to say, but?€? you?€?re out of luck. A standard policy typically provides zero protectionagainst home based business losses and liabilities.

How Can I Protect Myself?

First, pat yourself on the back, because you?€?re doing the right thing?€?checking all the angles before committing to a big change! There are a number of different types of coverage worth considering when getting into a home-based business.

Business Property ?€” This type of insurance covers property both at your premises and temporarily away from your premises. This could include things like: musical instruments used in connection with your business; customer goods loaded in your car; stock held for sale; samples & advertising materials; tools; computer equipment & software. Consider the replacement value of the property, as that will be factored into this coverage!

Business Liability ?€” This liability insurance covers financial sums that you may be legally forced to pay due to some aspect of operation of your business, or through libel or slander & liability arising out of your product or your work. This is especially important if you?€?re a consultant or other “advice-giving?€? professional, because you may need to add onto it “Errors and Omissions?€? insurance. This type of liability insurance will cover you in the event that the advice given to a client is inaccurate or incomplete, and that person?€?s business suffers as a result.

Earnings Insurance ?€” Also known as business interruption insurance, this type of insurance?€? oh, that?€?s right! You already know about this type of insurance! Go check out our previous blog post if you?€?d like to refresh your memory.

Accounts Receivable / Valuable Papers & Records Insurance ?€” If your valuable papers or accounts receivable documents are destroyed, you might find yourself unable to collect due accounts from customers, or even incur extra expenses during the recovery. There is protection available for you!

It?€?s a big decision?€?yes, an even bigger decision than what kind of coffee maker would look best in your home office?€?so doing your due diligence will go a long, long way to keeping you and your business protected for the future!