Not much of it. A homeowners policy is written for your personal life, and once there’s a business in the house, it starts stepping back.
Boulder is full of people this applies to. Therapists seeing clients in a converted garage in Newlands, designers in Table Mesa, consultants on Mapleton Hill. Most of them assume the home policy has it handled.
Here are the three gaps.
People who come to see you. If a client slips on your front steps on the way to an appointment, your homeowners liability can deny it, because they were there for business.
Your equipment. Most home policies cap business property at a low amount, often around $2,500 at home and less when it’s away from the house. One good laptop and a camera can pass that.
Your income. If a fire closes the house for two months, a home policy helps with living costs. It doesn’t replace the money your business would have made, which is part of the coverage self-employed people skip.
The fixes run from small to large.
- An add-on to your home policy, which raises the equipment limit and adds a little liability. Fine for very small, low-traffic work.
- An in-home business policy, a step up from that.
- A Boulder business owner policy, which covers liability, equipment, and lost income together. This is the usual answer once clients visit regularly.
While you’re at it, check the city’s rules for home businesses. We covered the basics in a Boulder business license.
Tell us what you do and who comes to the door. It’s usually a five-minute conversation to figure out which fix fits.