Business insurance

[Andymac]

Ok, I know things are different for everybody, but what do you people do re this? what do you pay?

We are home based, so we have our house insurance, but because we operate the biz inside the home now, it's brought up the issue where we need coverage for it, or it will invalidate the house insurance.

So basically I print, we have small groups of students occasionally, the equipment sales, copywriting, some piicture framing. I was just quoted $3750/year for the extra for the biz, on top of $900 for the house and travel insurance. The 3750 gives 2 million liability, coverage in Canada and the USA.
Seems like a lot.

[Josh Rickun]

we have a big store display window at the shop, i just fill it with photos of me bloodying up the neighborhood kids with my fists...seems to be working.

[Nicholas Wilson]

that's way too much. shop around, and find a good agent. We pay about a tenth of that for the same coverage. You want someone that will come to the shop and check out your personal situation. If they just tell you that number over the phone, they will be a bitch to pay out when something happens. You need to find someone that is a buffer between you and the adjusters, dealing directly with the insurance company is not in your best interest, since they are there to take your money and reduce THEIR losses, not yours.

[Dusty!]

Just got our first payment note and it's $500 for the year.

Not a shop you like you, 1000sqft office, only real valuable stuff is computers. Plus we're renting so the owner of the property has property insurance.

Home insurance is $1000 a year, but its Philly and they havent updated their tax system in like 20 years.

[andydiesel]

I pay $1200 a year for the shop i am in now, i was just quoted $1100 a year for the new shop that i will own. weird. My homeowners insurance is about $550 a year.

[andydiesel]

i only have 1 million liability and about $100k for theft and damage due to a godly act on equipment and inventory.

[squeegeethree]

With students coming in liability is a concern.

[Andymac]

Thanks guys. Oddly, the students and the operation here is not the sticker, they said that would be approx 250-500 on top of our regular house insurance (and I could live with that.) it's the fact I sell things in the USA. Everybody is scared of your sue-happy legal system. Everything here is geared towards convincing the average person not to go into business, and for gods sake never make anything. the whole system seems designed for worker drones.

My only experience since we started selling equipment in 1989 was collecting money/repossessing machinery where the customer defaulted. That cost a small fortune in legal fees. But that kind of stuff is not what's being covered. It's more product liability.

[squeegeethree]

That's sounds like BS to me. You need to find a Ins. company that does exclusively product liability then and have them cover just that part. With the type of thing that you are selling and the number of units moved, it shouldn't be that much.

[Andymac]

I think I will shop it a bit. The insurance people we have are pretty good, and I feel like I owe them something after how they responded after our fire 4 years ago. Like around $68,000....they paid out.