How Commercial Insurance Differs for Home-Based vs. Brick-and-Mortar Businesses

Running your own business is an exciting journey, but ensuring it’s adequately protected is just as important as making sales or building a brand. At Hermes Insurance Solutions in Sanger, TX, we frequently receive questions about how commercial insurance needs can vary depending on the location of your business. Whether you operate from a cozy home office or a downtown storefront, the right coverage makes all the difference.

Home-Based Doesn’t Mean Risk-Free

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean your homeowner’s policy will cover your business activities. In fact, it likely won’t. If you store inventory, see clients, or use specialized equipment, a commercial policy is essential. Home-based businesses often need coverage for business property, liability, and even cyber protection if you’re handling sensitive data online. It’s easy to assume that being at home means fewer risks, but in many cases, the risks are simply different.

Brick-and-Mortar Comes with Different Needs

If you’re running a physical storefront or office, your insurance needs become more complex. You’ll need protection for your building, signage, inventory, and maybe even employees. Liability coverage is especially important if customers or clients are coming through your doors. A single slip-and-fall incident could lead to a costly claim, so having the right policy in place is crucial.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Commercial insurance should be tailored to your business’s specific setup and operations. Whether you’re shipping products from your kitchen table or welcoming customers into a retail space, your coverage should reflect the day-to-day risks you face.

If you’re unsure whether your current policy fits your business setup, contact Hermes Insurance Solutions, which proudly provides commercial insurance to business owners in Sanger, TX. We’ll help you build a custom plan that fits your business, wherever it’s based.

7 Commercial Insurance Terms You Should Know

There are many unfamiliar terms you’ll come across in your commercial insurance policy paperwork or that you’ll hear from your insurance agent. It’s a good idea to gain an understanding of what these mean as soon as possible so that you don’t have to figure them out when you go to file a claim. An agent from Hermes Insurance Solutions of the greater Sanger, TX area can assist you with understanding what’s relevant to you. 

Here are some of the more common terms you’ll find in commercial insurance. 

Business Interruption Insurance

This offers your company protection if you experience any commercial losses from an event that causes you to halt your operations temporarily.

Effective Date 

The effective date of your policy is the exact date when the policy begins to provide coverage. 

Exclusions 

Exclusions are the specific perils or hazards (events/causes) that are not covered by the insurer’s plan. 

Premium 

The premium is the amount that the policyholder pays to the insurance company in order to get coverage through their policy. 

Product Liability Insurance 

This protects your company in the event that anyone files a claim after they’ve experienced losses due to a malfunction, defect, or some other issue with a product that your company sells. 

Umbrella Insurance 

This is the type of policy that exists to meet gaps in coverage with your current business insurance policies. It protects you in the event that a loss occurs that your policy doesn’t cover completely or at all. 

Workers’ Comp

This is the shorthand you’ll often hear for workers’ compensation insurance. This offers coverage to your employees if they experience losses after an illness or injury that occurs while they’re conducting work tasks for your company. 

What commercial insurance is required in Texas?

Texas has a business climate that is friendly and many businesses have been relocating to Texas. So far this year, more than 200 businesses have chosen to move to Texas. Businesses in Texas are required to have some commercial insurance and it is important that they know exactly what that is. In Sanger, TX,  Hermes Insurance Solutions has the information they need to choose the right commercial policy to protect their particular business. 

The only mandated commercial insurance for businesses is commercial auto insurance. What you are required to carry is commercial auto liability coverage. You need to have 30/60/25. That is $30,000 for one person in an accident where your business vehicle is at fault, and the total accident of $60,000. Your business also must have $25,000 for property damage, 

While this is the required coverage, there is other commercial insurance that pretty much every business should opt to carry. 

Commercial liability insurance protects your business from legal action gains it. In any year, you stand between a 30-50% chance of being on the receiving end of legal action. Businesses are easy targets and given the size of judgments these days, you could lose your business if you don’t have commercial liability insurance to protect you. 

Commercial property insurance protects more than just your physical building. It provides coverage even if you rent your building. You have a lot of things that you need to do business, such as machinery, office equipment, raw materials, inventory, and business records. Many hazards are included in this coverage, including theft and vandalism.

If you are a business owner in or near Sanger TX,  Hermes Insurance Solutions would like to sit down with you and discuss the needs of your business. You can give us a call to make an appointment or just stop in at our office.