My Homeowners Insurance Didn’t Cover My Home-Based Small Business

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• I started a business on the side selling vintage goods, and I didn’t think about insurance at first.
• Once I started inventorying the goods in my home, I found it was worth $10,000.
• Adding insurance coverage was cheaper than I expected and is worth the peace of mind.

When I decided to start Posh&Page, my vintage shop side business, small business insurance was the last thing on my mind.

I was having too much fun sourcing pieces and filling up the guest room of my house with the latest finds, which I’d photograph, measure, price, and upload to Etsy. I was looking for a project that would be profitable so it wouldn’t be a drain on my finances. That would mean I’d have to keep my then-day job, which I didn’t enjoy, to justify having Posh&Page. I didn’t know where my little business was going, but fun and profitable were my primary goals.

And insurance isn’t my idea of fun. Plus, insurance cost money — which was not what I was going for.

I realized I had a ton of inventory

After a year or so of running my shop, I had to grow my inventory to keep up with demand. Instead of a couple of items in the corner of my guest room, my vintage wares took up nearly the entire guest room.

I knew I didn’t want to open a brick-and-mortar or get a storage unit, so I’d have to keep finding space for the inventory in my small Cape Cod-style house. Which is to say, my vintage shop goods were taking over my little cottage of a home.

When the guest room-turned-warehouse got too chaotic, I spent a few days organizing and realized that between vintage clothing and accessories, artworks, and rare books, I’d accumulated about $10,000 worth of items when sold at retail value.

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I wasn’t sure if my homeowners insurance would cover my business

And because I’m nothing if not an anxious millennial, my mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario: What if my house caught on fire? Or what if a tornado blew it all away? The climate apocalypse feels impending, so what if a hurricane hit the Midwest? (Climate anxiety is real, y’all.)

While there would obviously be more pressing considerations in the event of a serious catastrophe, like ensuring my partner and my cats were okay, the idea of losing an income stream during what would be an incredibly stressful — and expensive — time weighed on me. Because we own our house, I reached out to Farmers, with whom we have homeowners insurance, to ensure the inventory in my home-based business would be covered as well.

That was when I learned that while the company will cover personal belongings, it won’t cover business items without additional home business pursuits coverage. But how much would it cost?

Getting coverage turned out to be very affordable

The rate I got was $9.23 for that initial signup, and the coverage costs $30 for the year in total, so roughly $2.50 per month. All that worrying over nearly nothing. I signed up immediately.

Now there’s a line item on my insurance bill for “business pursuits on the premises.” Even though I’ve since downsized the vintage shop to focus more on writing, I chose to keep the insurance add-on, because it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Your insurance rates will vary based on your location and whether you rent or own — if you rent and don’t already have renters insurance, get it! Either way, it’s worth calling (even if you’re a phone-averse millennial like me) to ask about business coverage if you’re running any kind of money-making venture from your home.

Find the Best Business Insurance for You

Meet Simply Business. Provide a little bit of information about your business and let Simply Business do legwork. You choose the policy that’s right for you. Online or on the phone.Get a quote today.