Do I Really Need Business Insurance?

You’ve finally decided to start freelancing or start your own business. You know there’s a lot to consider when launching your own gig, so you’ve registered your business name, opened a business bank account, got business cards printed and built a business website. But you’ve never really thought about getting business insurance.

Now you’re wondering if you need it. Will not having business insurance hurt you?

It could.

It depends on the nature of your business or freelance services you’re rendering.

Sometimes, having an affiliation with a third party will offer insurance protection.

For example, if you’re providing service through a ride-sharing company — think Uber or Lyft — you’ll generally have coverage under their insurance while you are ‘active’ in the app (waiting for customers) and actually driving customers to their destinations.

However, if you’re direct selling products originating from other companies (think multi-level marketing set-ups), you’re generally considered an independent consultant. So you may not have any insurance protection via your affiliation with them.

If your business is affiliated with a third party, you need to do your homework to see which protections, if any, are offered through them. And which you need to obtain on your own. If they do provide coverage, it’s imperative you read over the details of these policies to fully understand what is and isn’t covered so you can fill in any gaps.

If you’re not affiliated with another business entity, you are not covered.

Many people mistakenly believe their homeowner’s insurance will protect them from business losses. But, for the most part, that simply isn’t true.

Unless you purchase specific business-related policy riders, known as home-based business insurance, your homeowner’s insurance policy is likely not going to protect your business.

In fact, if you try to file a claim with your homeowner’s insurance company and they were not aware you were operating a business from your home, you could receive a policy cancellation instead!