These days, more and more of your clients are operating their own businesses out of their homes or conducting job related activities on the residence premises.   Making sure they have the proper coverage can be tricky sometimes.   Please keep the following in mind when placing the homeowner’s coverage with us:

Is the business exposure eligible? 

The business should be incidental with a minimal liability exposure. We recommend discussing the situation with a Personal Lines Underwriter prior to binding coverage, or submitting an unbound, underwritten quote in iBIS for full review.  Whether bound or not, all business exposures are reviewed by Underwriting for approval, so it is better to know for sure before you bind coverage.

Depending on the nature of the business, it is also a good idea to double check on the use of the autos in advance as well.

If eligible, which business endorsement is appropriate?

Permitted Incidental Occupancies  –  Provides premises liability and increased business property coverage for business owners – there is no professional liability coverage provided by this endorsement.   This coverage should be considered if there is any customer traffic,  deliveries or other business related traffic on the premises and there is no commercial policy in place covering the residence premises.

Business Pursuits  – Provides liability for business activities certain classes of occupation both on and off the premises.  The most common classes are school teachers & administrators, and sales representatives.  This coverage is not available to business owners, only those who are employees of a company or school.  

Please see the Rule & Rate Guide under Agency Services / Personal Lines / Homeowner Manual / under the bookmarks choose “Section II-Optional Coverage Rules” for more detailed information.