Philip W. Boyko Business Law Blog on Lawyers.com

A home-based business is not immune from liability if one of its customers or employees is injured.  Many homeowners start up a home-based business and an injury to their customer or employee is the last thing they think about. They think, hey, we're in our home, what could happen?  Shame on them as they can suffer dire consequences that could have been prevented by a little pre-business planning.  Consider this example.  A married couple lives on the second floor of their home and they operate their construction company out of the first floor. What a deal, they save money on the rent their business would have to pay elsewhere. They use an adjoining garage to store personal belongings.  A company employee is sent to the garage to look for some company records.  While there, he slips, falls and suffers injuries.  There is an exclusion in their homeowner's insurance policy providing that no injuries are covered if they arise out of "business pursuits of any insured."  Do you think the insurance company will seize on that provision?  You bet!

The simple solution - add a "rider" to an existing policy that covers business liability.  Another solution?  Simply purchase a new, separate policy covering anything related to the business.  Extra expense?  You bet!  But how well do you want to sleep at night?