Why doesn’t my Georgia homeowners policy cover my home office equipment?

Your Georgia homeowners policy gives only limited coverage for home office equipment because a homeowners policy is built to insure personal property, not business property. Once your gear is used to make money, the policy treats it as a business risk and caps or excludes it, which leaves a real gap for anyone working or running a business from home.

Most homeowners policies include a low sub-limit for business personal property on the premises, often around $2,500, and even less for that property away from home. They also exclude business liability. So if a client trips at your home office, or your work creates a liability claim, the homeowners policy will not respond. The gap usually catches a home office’s most expensive gear:

• Equipment above the sub-limit, such as multiple computers, monitors, cameras, or specialized tools that exceed the small business property cap.
• Inventory and products you store or sell from home.
• Business liability, including injury to a visiting client or damage your work causes.
• Lost business income if a covered event shuts down your operation.

There are good fixes. For a small side business, a home business endorsement, sometimes called an in-home business endorsement, can raise the equipment limit and add liability. For a larger operation, a business owners policy bundles property and general liability coverage built for the business. You can read more about adding coverage in our explainer on the endorsement.

A consultant in Marietta works from a home office with $9,000 of computers, monitors, and camera gear. A power surge fries the equipment. Her homeowners policy pays only the $2,500 business property sub-limit, leaving $6,500 uncovered. A small business policy would have paid the full replacement cost and added liability protection.

If you earn income from home, do not rely on the homeowners sub-limit. Request a free coverage review so we can size the right coverage for your home business.