Bytestart:
Running a business from home is smart and fashionable.
2.1 million businesses are run from home according to research and 60% of new businesses are started at home – that’s 1,400 a week.
And no wonder. Starting a business is hard enough; when you do it from home you immediately remove a layer of cost and risk. You can use existing rooms, computer, electricity, phone and internet access.
One thing that many people don’t think about with their home-based venture is insurance. Existing house insurances are designed to cover domestic arrangements, and may actually be compromised by you working at home.
As you’d expect, Bytestart has it covered. Use this complete guide to check you’ve got your home-based business properly insured.
Buildings insurance
This is a policy you most likely took out when you got your mortgage. It helps to cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding your home if it is damaged or destroyed.
It is very much worthwhile contacting your insurer to notify them you will be running a business from home. While most businesses shouldn’t have any effect on the cover or cost of it, if you are smelting molten metal in your garage, your insurance company may rightly see that as a greater risk!
A general rule with insurance companies is that it’s better to tell them facts up front rather than wait till you come to make a claim. The last thing you want is for them to withhold payment on your fire-damaged house, because you didn’t reveal what they consider to be a material fact.
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