It is important for a business owner to take a complete inventory of all business property, determine its value, and decide what’s worth insuring. If the items that need insuring are not covered within the basic policy, adding more coverage may be necessary.
For example, a business owner will want to make sure the building is covered, as well as inventory, furniture, equipment, and supplies. Even if the business rents space, the lease may require certain types of insurance coverage. When renting property, it is important to note that while a building owner may carry all the necessary insurance on the building, the business owner’s equipment, furniture and other business possessions will not likely be covered.
“As for home-based businesses,” adds Oleh Mahlay, “You should be careful in making sure your business work area and business property is identifiable from home and leisure use. This is important not only for business purposes but also for tax purposes if you take home-based business tax deductions.”
Named-peril policies will cover certain losses resulting only from those perils that the policy names; all-risk policies offer coverage for all perils except those specifically named in the policy. An all-risk policy is usually sufficient for the average small business, but keep in mind that all businesses, and thus their insurance needs, are different.