Q&A: The blurry line between home and business insurance

The ability to work from home is one of the benefits of living in a modern world. But believe it or not, as a home business owner you may be exposing yourself to risks that are not covered by your home insurance policy .

When an insurance policy is underwritten, all the risks that the proposed insured presents are evaluated and the policy is issued and priced accordingly.

So unless you disclose to your home insurance company that you are running a business out of your home and they add coverage for the liabilities associated with that in your policy, then claims that occur and affect your home office may not be covered. In that case, you may need a separate business insurance policy.

Even if you do let them know and they add wording to the policy that covers your business property in the event of an insurable incident, that does not mean that your business is completely covered.

Business liabilities can affect the work you do and not the stuff you own, so coverage of them might require professional liability policies such as errors and omissions insurance. When you compare insurance quotes , make sure you give the company the full story of your home business so that you can get quotes that are accurate for your situation.

Will Homeowners Insurance Replace, or Simply Repair a Damaged AC ...

Will Homeowners Insurance Replace, or Simply Repair a Damaged AC Unit?

When our homes or property are damaged from a storm, lightning strike , flooding or other natural disaster , having insurance gives us peace of mind, knowing that our home and our possessions are covered. Many homeowners want to know how the insurance company will handle their claims. Specifically, will homeowner insurance replace or simply repair a damaged central air conditioner? In this Homeowner Insurance Claims Guide , we’ll try to answer this timeless question everyone faces at one point or another.

The bottom line is that there truly is no carved-in-stone answer for this, and insurance companies evaluate every situation based on the circumstances. However, in most cases the insurance company will pay to replace a damaged item more often than it will pay to repair an item. There are at least 2 reasons for this.

Replacement Usually Costs Less!

It is more costly to repair than it is to replace most items. Consider, for example, a central air conditioner condensing unit. If the unit has been submerged in water due to flooding, the likelihood is high that several internal parts, along with wiring and circuitry, have been damaged.

The price of the parts, plus the cost of the labor to remove the old ones and install the new ones would far exceed the cost of a replacement condensing unit.

If Extent of Damages Unknown!

It is impossible to know the full extent of the damage. A flood gets into every part, and though they may look okay, and even work, there may be damage such as corrosion that will cause the parts to fail shortly. Or, if the central air conditioner has been struck by lightning, the same situation arises. Even if the only obvious damage is to the circuit board, it is very likely that other parts have been damaged by the million or so volts of energy packed into a lightning strike. Rather than replace parts one at a time until the system is functioning, it makes much more sense for the insurance company to replace the entire unit.

Homeowners are better served by replacing a damaged unit than repairing it. Getting a new unit, such as a central air conditioner condensing unit, is a worry-free way to handle a claim. It assures the homeowner that all has been done to satisfy their claim, and it assures the insurance company that there won’t be follow-up claims for damage that only appears well after the initial event. It is a win-win situation that produces the kind of loyalty insurance companies rely up.

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