Insuranks

Home Based Business Insurance: Cost & Quotes From $11

A business doesn’t always start in the four corners of a commercial space. Some businesses, not to mention multinational giants, first operated at home. Examples are Google, Amazon, and Disney.

There are many entry points to starting a home based business. Many have tried starting a candle business in the house and succeeded. Tech professionals, like app developers for instance, provide services through a private office. And then, those who love retail start a home-based business by registering as sellers on Amazon or Etsy.

Home based business insurance is a specialized protection program for ventures that operate in a condo, apartment, house, garage, etc. Read this guide to know:

  • The function and limit of each home based business insurance policy

  • The cost of insurance for home based businesses

  • Which insurance companies provide the best coverage

Home Based Business Liability Insurance

Limits Of General Liability Insurance for Home Based Businesses


Value 
General liability per occurrence limit $300,000-$2 million
General liability aggregate limit $1 million-$2 million 
Advertising injury coverage limit $1 million 
Products and completed operations coverage limit $2 million
Rented premises liability coverage limit $300,000
Medical payments coverage limit $5,000


General liability insurance is useful if you make money as a home based appliance repair technician, craftsman, candlemaker, or soap maker. Consider getting $300,000-$2 million worth of home based business liability insurance. 

General liability insurance grants protection against claims for bodily injuries or property damage that third parties file. This business insurance for home based business provides help when:

  • You manufacture candles in your house. An inspector is conducting a check for fire hazards. While moving around, this inspector steps on wax, slips, and sustains a broken hip.

  • An independent contractor gets electrocuted by a defective wiring and falls from a height while installing a fire alarm and CCTV camera for your cottage food business

  • An employee of a supplier stumbles from the stairs while unloading equipment and stocks for your business

  • A client trips over a toolbox in your home workshop and sustains bruises


You use general liability insurance to cover these costs if a claim is filed for bodily injury or property damage:

  • Medical treatment of the claimant

  • Refunds for the damaged property of the claimant

  • Settlements the claimant demands you give

  • Attorney fees, court filing fees, investigation fees, and other defense costs

  • Court judgments


General liability insurance doesn’t only cover claims for bodily injuries or property damage. It can also solve these problems:

  • Claims for copyright infringement, slander, libel, invasion of privacy, and breach of confidentiality

  • Equipment loss or damage

  • Loss or damage of customer’s property while in your care, custody, and control

  • Liability over rented premises

  • Accidents caused by a vehicle you borrowed or hired


Professional Liability Insurance for Home Based Businesses

Limits Of Professional Liability Insurance for Home Based Businesses 


Value
Professional liability per occurrence limit $1 million
Professional liability aggregate limit $2 million 
Deductibles$500-$1,500


Get professional liability insurance if you’re working as a consultant, engineer, architect, or freight broker from an office situated at your condo, house, or apartment. 

Consider getting at least $1 million professional liability insurance coverage. Professional liability insurance grants a shield if you commit oversights or wrongful acts. Here are some situations where this insurance is useful:

  • You lost some important documents, and a client’s cargo wasn’t shipped 

  • Your design for a building has costly errors

  • You excessively charged a client for your services

  • You failed to finish deliverables on time 

  • You bailed out of a project midway to take care of another one that gives more commission 

  • A client wants to keep the details of a project under wraps. However, you accidentally shared confidential information with a third party. 


Professional liability insurance takes care of settlements, defense costs, and court judgments when a client files a claim for negligence, violation of good faith, inaccurate advice, breach of confidentiality, and other covered perils. 

Sometimes, professional liability insurance is underwritten comprehensively that it will also cover the income you lost while attending a court proceeding or investigation. The policy might even cover the cost of proceedings for the cancellation of your license. Contributory damages might even be covered too. 

Important note: General liability insurance doesn’t cover errors and omissions. This policy isn’t enough if you’re working as a home based filmmaker, software developerweb developer, personal trainer, martial arts instructor, or yoga instructor. You need another type of working from home business insurance. 


Product Liability Insurance for Home Based Businesses 

Product liability insurance is offered as part of general liability insurance for home based businesses. This is useful for covering bodily injuries or property damage caused by manufactured products that have:

  • Design errors

  • Labeling errors

  • Manufacturing flaws 


The product liability coverage included in general liability insurance offers $2 million-$3 million coverage. 

If you’re a home based business in the food industry, then product liability insurance can help. This home based business insurance coverage also covers claims customers file because of foodborne diseases, food poisoning, and contamination. 

Compare Home Based Business Insurance Quotes

Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!

Commercial Property Insurance for Home Based Businesses 

Limits Of Commercial Property Insurance for Home Based Businesses 


Value
Building coverage limit$25,000-$500,000
Contents coverage limit $25,000-$500,000
Fences, and other outdoor installations coverage limit $1,500-$2,500
Accounts receivable coverage limit $10,000
Money and securities coverage limit$5,000
Key and lock loss or damage coverage limit $500


A homeowner’s insurance doesn’t grant coverage if the condo, house, apartment, private room, or garage you use commercially sustains damage or gets destroyed. 

Commercial property insurance does what a homeowner’s insurance can’t. It reimburses losses if the residential space you use to store and manufacture products gets damaged or destroyed by:

  • Fire

  • Theft

  • Vandalism

  • Riot

  • Civil commotion

  • Malicious mischief

  • Sinkhole collapse

  • Volcanic action

  • Lightning

  • Impact

  • Vehicle

  • Aircraft

  • Winds

  • Snow 

  • Hail

  • Rain

  • Sprinkler leakage


Commercial property insurance also covers the equipment and tools inside the residential space of your home based business. Examples of items the policy covers are computers, cooking equipment, and food processing equipment. 

Important note: See to it that the amount of coverage you get from commercial property insurance is equal to the replacement cost of your home based business’s condo, house, apartment, or garage. 


Workers Compensation Insurance for Home Based Businesses

Your home based business needs to get workers' compensation insurance if it employs one or more people, including family members or relatives (if applicable). 

All states, aside from Texas, grant no exception. The table below shows situations where this insurance is useful, depending on the home based business you might be running right now:


Scenario 
Home based candy manufacturing An employee cuts his finger while slicing a slab of chocolate
Cottage food business An employee gets burned by the stove while cooking condiments
Home based soap making business An employee is fetching scents, vegetable oil, and other supplies delivered downstairs and falls from your apartment’s steps
Home based craft and workshop businessYour employee amputated a finger while using a saw 
Home based wax manufacturing business Your employee got burned while pouring wax to a container 


Workers' compensation insurance covers these costs when your employee sustains an occupational injury or disease:

  • Surgeries, therapies, private EMT service fees, first aid treatment, and other expenses for medical treatment

  • Hospital bills for nursing, medical supplies, food, X-rays, laboratory tests, and others

  • Prescription medicines 

  • Rehabilitation and retraining

  • After-hospital visits

  • Lost wages

  • Funeral expenses and allowance to dependents 


Workers' compensation insurance is expensive, and your pocket might find it painful. Save money by getting pay-as-you-go workers' compensation insurance. 

This provides a monthly coverage and can be canceled anytime. Instead of annual revenues, premiums are determined through the monthly income of your business. You get this from Cerity and The Hartford. 


Commercial Auto Insurance for Home Based Businesses

Limits Of Commercial Auto Insurance for Home Based Businesses


Value
Auto liability coverage limit $25,000 per bodily injury
$50,000 per accident
$15,000 per property damage 
Uninsured motorist coverage limit $25,000 per bodily injury
$50,000 per accident
Underinsured motorist coverage limit $25,000 per bodily injury
$50,000 per accident
Rental reimbursement coverage limit $15 per day
$900 max 

 

Do you use your personal car to transport supplies and equipment or deliver goods and products? Know that your personal auto insurance won’t grant coverage. 

Commercial auto insurance provides a comprehensive shield for all exposures that might happen while you’re using a vehicle commercially. You can use this insurance to:

  • Cover the medical treatment of persons who sustained property damage or bodily injuries from a vehicular accident you caused

  • Take care of repair and replacement expenses if your vehicle sustained damage because of fire, theft, vandalism, lightning, weather, collision, and other covered perils

  • Cover your medical treatment and the passengers as well if your car got involved in an accident caused by an uninsured/underinsured driver

  • Get reimbursement for public transportation and vehicle rental while your car is with the mechanic

  • Cover the replacement cost of a trailer or any other equipment attached to the car


All states in the USA require a specific amount of commercial auto insurance for bodily injuries and property damage from an accident you cause. For example, if in Georgia, your commercial auto insurance must provide a liability coverage of $25,000/$50,000/$25,000. 


Cyber Liability Insurance for Home Based Businesses 

Cyber liability insurance is useful if you’re an independent home based software developer, web developer, or app developer. Consider getting $2 million worth of cyber liability insurance

IT work involves collecting and processing the data of third parties such as credit card information, phone numbers, address, and others. You’re responsible if such information leaks in the inconvenience of affected parties. 

Cyber liability insurance will help you cover costs if a claim is filed after a data breach happens due to a cyber attack, cybersecurity error, or employee negligence. You can use this insurance to:

  • Cover public relations costs to inform clients of the breach

  • Pay for professional services to contain the breach and recover lost data 

  • Cover lost revenues if you need to stop working to contain the breach

  • Account for defense costs and court judgments if affected parties decide to sue


Home Based Bakery Insurance

Home based bakery insurance is a specialized insurance program for home bakers that manufacture cakes, cookies, and other goodies. Several insurance companies offer this. Examples are Thimble and FLIP Program. Policies you can get are general liability, professional liability, and commercial property insurance.

Rank and Review Insurance Companies

Help others make better decisions

Show more

Home Based Business Insurance Cost


Cost per MonthCost per Year
General liability insurance$25$300
Professional liability insurance$35$420
Commercial property insurance$42.83$513.96
Commercial auto insurance$56$672
Workers compensation insurance$70$840


As a home based business, expect to pay $25 per month or $300 per year for a $1 million general liability insurance. This home based business insurance cost estimate assumes that you have 5 employees and make $500,000-$750,000 per year.

Be smart in deciding who you work with. Here’s a table showing the rates of insurance companies you might want to consider:


Cost per MonthCost per YearBest for
NEXT$13$156Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for home based businesses
CoverWallet$15$180Home based business insurance quotes comparison online
Tivly$17$204Comparing home based business insurance quotes over the phone
Thimble$20$240On-demand home based business insurance available as a temporary insurance policy
Hiscox$22$264Liability insurance with worldwide coverage for home based businesses
Progressive$30$360Small home based businesses
The Hartford$37$444Growing home based businesses


Selecting the best home based business insurance policy is sometimes hard. However, by clicking the 'Get Quotes' button below and completing the form, you will be able to easily compare countless home based business insurance quotes and coverage options online from the best home based business insurance companies in America! 

Compare Home Based Business Insurance Quotes

Get all the best quotes from leading providers in a click of a button!

Best Home Based Business Insurance Companies

Here are the best companies you can work with for your working from home business insurance. That said, read the reviews to know each company's pros, cons, and rate for a $1 million general liability coverage. 


NEXT Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Best overall

  • Get an online proof of insurance and send as a text message, email, or social media post

  • Fastest general liability insurance for home based businesses

  • Great customer service and reputation

  • Issues an online proof of insurance instantly

  • Outstanding value for money

  • Bundle two or more insurance policies and get a 10% discount

Cons

  • Couldn’t find any

NEXT offers general liability, workers' compensation, commercial property, and professional liability insurance for home based businesses. There’s also commercial auto insurance that’s underwritten by Progressive. 

NEXT offers a 10% discount if you bundle two or more insurance policies. You can name an unlimited number of additional insureds on your policies for free. Last but not least, NEXT issues an online certificate of insurance you can send as an email, photo, or social media post. 

Best for: Best overall; Fastest general liability insurance for home based businesses 

Average cost: $13 per month

Our rating: 10/10

 

CoverWallet Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Cancel a policy anytime

  • Compare quotes and find the best pricing

  • Manage your insurance online

Cons

  • Not an insurance company but an insurance broker

CoverWallet is an online insurance broker with an online quotes comparison platform you can use to find policies that fit the needs of home based businesses. This insurance company covers all types of home based businesses except those that provide specialty services or goods to customers. Business insurance policies you can get from CoverWallet are:

  • Commercial property insurance

  • General liability insurance

  • Professional liability insurance

  • Business owner’s policy- a combination of general liability and commercial property insurance CoverWallet added with workers comp insurance

  • Product liability insurance

  • Commercial auto insurance

Best for: Home based business insurance quotes comparison online

Average cost: $15 per month

Our rating: 10/10

 

Tivly Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Responsive customer service

  • Call and compare home based business insurance quotes over the phone

  • A partner of many reputable insurance companies 

Cons

  • You need to call to get a quote 

Tivly (formerly CommercialInsurance.NET) doesn’t explicitly have any specialized insurance programs for home businesses. However, get in touch with this company because it will take you to partners that can provide coverage. 

Call Tivly now to compare home based business insurance quotes over the phone and get covered. 

Best for: Comparing home based business insurance quotes over the phone

Average cost: $17 per month

Our rating: 10/10


Thimble Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • On-demand and short-term home based business insurance

  • Covers home based event vendors, craft businesses, and freelance/professional service businesses

  • Issues a quote quickly

Cons

  • Doesn’t offer a BOP for home based businesses

Thimble’s home based business insurance is available for event vendors, craft businesses, and freelance and professional service businesses. General liability insurance is the only inclusion. However, this is okay because Thimble insures you in an instant. You can even choose to only get covered for only hours, days, weeks, or months. 

Best for: On-demand home based business insurance available as a temporary insurance policy

Average cost: $20 per month

Our rating:  9/10

 

Hiscox Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Easy to work with online for both purchase and policy management

  • Provides great value for your money

  • Offers great general liability and professional liability insurance coverages for home based businesses

Cons

  • Low rating on Better Business Bureau

Hiscox specializes in niche insurance in both the personal and commercial spaces. The company is an underwriter for Lloyd’s of London, and it was originally founded in 1901 with the purpose of underwriting marine insurance.

Hiscox offers a range of different coverage options for home based businesses, including general liability coverage, professional liability coverage, and business owner’s policies. One of the best things about Hiscox is that they have a quality online presence that makes it easy to purchase and manage your policy.

Best for: Liability insurance with worldwide coverage for home based businesses

Average cost: $22 per month

Our rating: 8/10

 

Progressive Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Quick quotes through their website

  • Relatively cheap

  • Bundle deals

Cons

  • Not all policies are handled directly

While Progressive’s main industry may be auto insurance, the company also specializes in covering businesses and property. Progressive is one of the 100 biggest companies in the United States based on revenue, and it has been in business for nearly 85 years, having been founded in 1937.

Progressive offers a range of different kinds of coverage under their working from home business insurance policies. These include but are not limited to general liability, professional liability, workers’ compensation, and even commercial auto insurance.

Best for: Small home based businesses

Average cost: $30 per month

Our rating: 7/10

 

The Hartford Home Based Business Insurance

Pros

  • Endorsements allow you to customize your policy

  • Scalable coverage

  • Policies can also include employment practices liability insurance

Cons

  • Expensive

The Hartford was founded in 1810. As the name would suggest, the company started off in Hartford, Connecticut. It has grown into one of the largest property insurance companies in the United States, insuring businesses, personal autos, homes, and commercial vehicles. 

The Hartford’s running a business from home insurance policy is scalable. The company offers several different policies, including general liability coverage, BOPs, commercial property, commercial auto, and workers compensation insurance. 

Best for: Growing home based businesses

Average cost: $37 per month

Our rating: 7/10




Recent Reviews

Recent Posts