Home Home Insurance / Business at home - what to do?

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L0llip0p

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Hi,

We have bog standard home insurance(GetCover.ie) on 3bed semi-detached.

My wife recently trained as a baby massage instructor and hoped that she would hold a class from our home once or twice a week, to try and bring some extra income.

1st baby, single income at moment you see.

Now she will be taking out professional indemnity insurance to cover herself and clients but when I asked my home insurer if this would be ok, they said it would still void the home insurance policy.

I'm struggling to understand how it would given that all the risk is being covered by the liability policy. The clients are only in 1 room of the house for max 2 hour period so they are supervised etc.

I rang around Zurich and Quinn and they both said they would void under same circumstance?

What exactly are my options here? It sound like we'll just be screwed to take out "business" insurance ontop of home insurance.

I'm guessing this is common problem from people who just want to run a small service from their home rather than face the overheads of renting out a property, insurance etc.

Any advice?
 
Your home is a residential premises and is covered as such by your insurers and has had its rateable valuation set and has had planning permission granted for residential use by the local authority.

If you (or anyone else) wants to run a business (big or small, part-time or full-time) from their home its use changes from residential to either commercial or mixed use, which may require changes in planning permission, the rateable valuation and insurances.

Professional indemnity insurance covers clients for the actions (or perhaps inactions) of a practitioner. However, if a client trips on the hall-way carpet and is injured, neither the professional indemnity insurance nor an ordinary household insurance covers them for their injury and losses.

Rather than being concerned that you'll "... be screwed to take out "business" insurance ontop of home insurance ..." I think you need to ensure your wife's clients and your neighbours are correctly and adequately covered by insurance.
 
mathepac,

Thanks.
Your point is well made. I wasn't full aware of the range of cover provided by professional indemnity insurance. I had presumed it covered premises as well as service related claims by clients etc.

This post will be deleted if not edited immediately, it might well we easier to just rent out a room once a week somewhere else than change the use of our home, get planning etc etc.
 
Yes, it may very well be the way to go to rent a shared, commercial serviced space with public liability cover. Check with commercial estate agents in your area. Typically these units are shared by counsellors, therapists, etc. and may be available a couple of mornings or afternoons per week, with rent and services charged pro rata with use / occupancy.
 
Hi had a plan to work from home also giving sewing lessons to kids, with 123.ie who would let me mind two kids but not this. have everything in place in my study. tried everywhere but have basically given up on the idea. did speak to someone who ran their wed stationery business from home by converting the shed. Let us know when ye achieve any progress. Thanks.
 
Hi,

Received advice to maybe contact the insurer who provided us with the indemnity to see if they could also quote for home insurance with addtional risk for business outlined. Turns out they could do this.

Not sure if I can post the link to them but here goes. www.balens.co.uk
I'm in no way affiliated with them. Simply put, they were the only ones who could help us with our problem.

Hopefully they might be able to quote for you too Sandals.
 
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