Glossary of Business Insurance Terms
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Homeowner’s insurance

This insurance policy protects your personal real estate and its contents. Just as property insurance protects your commercial real estate, homeowner's insurance can protect your home against structural damage or loss, contents damage and loss, and provides liability coverage.

What is homeowner’s insurance and does it cover business property and liability?

If you’re a home-based business owner, you may think your homeowner’s policy is killing two birds with one stone by guarding your home and your business. But the truth is that homeowner's insurance policies don't cover business-related property or liabilities.

Because more than half of the businesses in the United States are based out of the owner's home, business owners should know the limits of homeowner’s insurance coverage. Your home might not be open to the public, but that doesn’t mean your home premises aren’t used for business purposes all the same. In fact:

  • If a postman simply drops off packages and supplies for your business, you could have a lawsuit on your hands if he slips and falls on your property. And your homeowner’s policy won’t help fund your legal expenses.
  • If a fire destroys your home office, you may have to pay to replace your business property and repair your office out of pocket.
  • If you bring a client’s laptop home and accidentally spill coffee on it, you could be sued for repair expenses, and only a commercial liability policy can help with that.
Homeowner's insurance policies don't cover business-related property or liabilities.

There are a couple of routes you could go to fill the coverage gap left by your homeowner’s insurance policy. You could add a commercial rider to your policy, but that option usually doesn’t offer much coverage. The better method is to apply for a business owner’s policy, which bundles general liability and commercial property insurance together for low-risk small businesses.

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Updated: June 8, 2022

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