Business Owners Policy FAQs

Why does my Georgia homeowners policy not cover my home business?

All FAQs

Quick answer: Your standard homeowners policy excludes business activities.

Your Georgia homeowners policy does not cover your home business because of a business activities exclusion built into the policy. Homeowners insurance is designed to protect your home and personal life, and it specifically carves out losses connected to a trade, profession, or business you run from the house.

The exclusion shows up in two main ways. First, business property is barely covered. Most policies cap business equipment and inventory in your home at a very low amount, often around $2,500, and even less when it is stored elsewhere. Second, and more importantly, business liability is excluded. If your business activity injures someone or causes damage, your homeowners liability coverage will not respond.

In practice, your homeowners policy leaves the business side mostly uncovered:

  • Inventory, equipment, and supplies used for your business are mostly uninsured.
  • Injuries to clients or delivery people connected to your business are excluded.
  • Professional mistakes that harm a customer are not covered.

To understand the mechanics, it helps to read about how an exclusion works in a policy. The business exclusion exists because business risks are different and larger than household risks, and insurers price homeowners policies assuming those risks are not present.

You run a small consulting business from a home office in Roswell and keep $15,000 of computers and equipment there. A power surge destroys all of it. Your homeowners policy caps business property at $2,500, so it pays only that, leaving you $12,500 short. If a client visiting that office tripped and was injured, the liability claim would likely be denied entirely.

The solutions are straightforward: a home business endorsement for small operations, or a business owners policy for anything larger. Either one restores the property and liability protection your homeowners policy leaves out. To find the right fit for your business, request a free coverage review at our coverage review page.