What type of insurance do I need? I have a small home-based design business.?

If you are talking about interior design type projects at a minimum you need a Commercial General Liability or a BOP (Business Owners Policy) as suggested by Tom if you would also like to cover your sample books, inventory or other business equipment. If you have employees you will also need a Workers Compensation Policy and since you drive to job sites you should also obtain a Commercial Automobile Policy.

I would absolutely not take Justin's advice on doing the endorsement to your Homeowners Policy. Even though it costs less money, it will not work in your case because you travel outside your home to conduct your business. The permitted incidental occupancies endorsement is used for businesses such as accountants that solely operate inside the home and is intended to cover a slip and fall type claim involving a client of the business that is visiting the home. The endorsement is not intended to be used to cover the liability of the business off site or in any other way.

My suggestion is that you contact a local independent insurance agent that specializes in Commercial Insurance so that he or she can go over your exposures and provide you with two or three different quotes, coverage options, etc. You can go to this website to find an agent in your area: http://www.iiaba.net/agentlocator/findagent.aspx.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

There are too many factors to try and guess and you haven't answered any of them. What kind of projects are you managing? What exactly do you do? Are you an independent contractor or are you employed by a larger firm and operate from home? How long have you been in business? What are your gross revenues? How often do clients visit your place of business?

You would be better off contacting a broker in your area and asking them. While some Homeowner's insurers offer a home based business coverage, I seriously doubt any of them will cover that type of business. I would be surprised if you can find an insurer who can fit this under their small business package policy. That quote of $500 from that other guy is seriously unrealistic. Speak to a local broker and get the facts rather than speculation.

I received the same email. When I did a search for the company, I found "Niles Communication(s) Group in Manhattan. Yelp said this company was listed as closed. I did a reverse search on the (718) phone number and it's some number in Brooklyn. I thought it strange that a graphic design company didn't have a website or physical address, so I emailed Emily to ask about it. No response thusfar. I also left her a voice mail and no response.

Hey Teshadie,

Based on the information you've provided, I would recommend going one of two ways.

You can simply add an endorsement to your homeowners policy, called "Permitted Incidental Occupancies-Resident Premises" that deletes or modifies the exclusions pertaining to a business under both the policies property and liability sections.

The other option would be a commercial general liability policy, which you can "custom-build" to your coverage needs.

What state are you in?

Ask your agent about a Business Owners Policy (BOP). This is a business policy particularly well suited to insuring legal liability and business property. Annual Cost will be about $500 per year...