While many Lufkin, Texas homeowners operate a business from within their home, many do not understand whether or not they are covered under their existing insurance policy limits. While the exact answer to this question varies by insurance provider, the simplest answer is often no.

Take having a delivery man come to your home with product for your business as an example. If he or she slips and falls on your front step or trips over a rug, you may not be covered for the liability associated with this claim. Simply put, you and your business would be forced to pay out of pocket. The same goes if you have a garage full of inventory. If a fire or flood were to happen, destroying those items, your policy would not cover replacement of those items.

Why? Many policy contracts include exclusions for businesses operated within your home. However, this can often be remedied with an extra business policy. If your work activities are limited or do not include inventory, some insurance companies can also issue a simple endorsement to your existing homeowners policy for a minimal fee. Errors and omissions coverage is also a good idea, especially if you do any type of consulting or writing work from your home.

Of course, the easiest way to determine what type of coverage you need for your home based business is to talk to your Lufkin, Texas independent agent. Don’t delay on this, as failure to do so could end up costing you and your business a ton of money in the event of a catastrophic claim.

There are a wide variety of reasons why you might add (or remove) an individual from your property deed or change your name over the course of the policy period. Marriages, divorces, and/or business transactions are often key reasons why homeowners would opt make such decisions. However, it is important that you notify Integra Home Insurance if either of these scenarios are enacted during the policy period.

Why? Well, for starters, an insurance policy is technically a legally-binding contract. While Integra Home Insurance won’t cancel your policy for not notifying them of a name change, per se, it is still important. An example of when this might come into play is if you ever have a claim. In order to write the insurance claim’s check from your homeowner’s policy, it would be vital for them to have the correct names for all owners of the property. Instances where a person might remove a former spouse or partner from the deed are also important to report, as it allows the carrier to know exactly who is in the home posing risk on a daily basis.

Frankly, it is important to let your independent agent know about any major changes you make to your home. While not everything will always need to be documented, if your agent knows what is going on, he or she can make sure you are completely covered should an unexpected situation or claim arise.

For more information about homeowners insurance, policy contracts, and other similar topics, please contact your local Lufkin, Texas independent agent today.