Greg shares some advice on getting the proper insurance coverage for your at-home business in this episode of Ask The Expert. 800 CHAB radio presents Ask the Expert with Greg Marcyniuk of Heritage Insurance located in Moose Jaw.
Here's a full transcript of the episode.
Rob Carnie: As we make our way through the pandemic here in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, our insurance expert at Heritage Insurance in Moose Jaw, Greg Marcyniuk is finding more and more people are working from home, and more and more people are operating businesses from home. And you've got to know that you've got to be covered. You've got to have the proper insurance in place.
And Greg is here to tell us all about it today.
Greg Marcyniuk: Thank you. First of all, a lot of people that are operating home businesses, they feel that their homeowners policy may cover them, and in most cases, it won't cover business-related damages or losses. So what kind of business losses could you incur? Certainly, you could get your property damaged or stolen.
The customer could catch some errors in your work while you're working from home, and they could file a costly lawsuit against your small business. As well, your essential business equipment could break, and either it gets damaged from fire, mechanical breakdown.
Your warranty may not cover it. And again, most home policies will not provide any coverages for specialized equipment. A visitor, client coming in, could unexpectedly get injured or slip and fall, and they could go back and sue you. And again, your homeowners policy may not cover it. So if you do conduct business in your home, insuring your business property is part of a solid management risk plan.
We can certainly help. A lot of it is based on your business needs, and there's basically three business coverage options to choose from. Again, it's dependent upon the level of risk. First of all, there's a Homeowners Policy Endorsement, and this type of endorsement provides the least amount of coverage and is not ideal for most home-based businesses.
It's dependent upon the level of risk. Say, for example, if you're a freelance writer, one computer, and no business for foot traffic, it might be enough. But for someone who has clients visiting their home and has valuable equipment and/or inventory, it'd be better off to go with the other two options. The other two options is In-home Policy.
It's more comprehensive than a Homeowners Policy Endorsement. The home business coverage is a standalone policy that provides high amounts of coverages for business equipment and liability. The best policy that you'd want to look at, again, it's dependent on the level of risk, is Business Owner Policy, or BOP, as we call it in our industry.
And it provides property, liability into one policy, and it's created specifically for small or mid-size business. BOP covers your business property and your equipment, loss of income, extra expense and liability, and it is the most comprehensive policy and liability option.
It doesn't include health or disability insurance, and these are separate policies. So great idea to come on down to our office, sit down, and review what you actually do if you are running a business out of your home, and check out your options.
Rob: Yeah, and as brokers, you can find us the best deals for the coverages we want.
Greg: That's correct, Rob. We go to the market with multiple carriers, and we make sure that we get the best value for your insurance dollars.
Rob: How do we get in touch with you, Greg?
Greg: You can either check us out at nohassleinsurance.ca or come on down to our office and see any of our fine people here at the corner of 1st and Fairford West.
(Video transcription by Speechpad)