I am shopping insurance for my rod building business. I'm having trouble finding affordable coverage. Rarely will someone visit my home/shop but I understand I need to cover myself in those rare circumstances. Plus the chance of a lawsuit should someone be hurt from a rod I build. Would anyone care to share what kind of coverage they are using? When I explain to the agents what I'm looking for, the quotes come back as "Commercial General Liability Coverage/Commercial Property Coverage". All of them have been over $1000 a year. I understand the insurance company needs to cover themselves and myself in a lawsuit but that seems awfully high. I was expecting something in the $200 to $500 range. Am I just that far out of touch? Is there another alternative type of policy? I have searched the site for old posts and found plenty of talk about the subject but nothing really detailing the "label/type" of policy.

If it helps in a response, I have formed a LLC and I am based out of Wisconsin. I am open to emails if you would rather use that method.

Thanks,
Jon

Have you checked with the company you have your homeowners insurance with? My wife is a photographer and primarily uses our property and a basement studio in our house, unless a client has another preferred location. We spoke to our insurance agent about coverage for this and they came up with very affordable liability coverage for her business purposes. I can't remember what the coverage vs rates are, but it's very good coverage at a very affordable cost.

Thank you for the response. I did check with the company I currently have my home owners with. They have not returned a quote yet. However, they did give me the green light to have a business in my home. As I understand it, many do not. I will be sure to report back soon with an update on price differences.

Product liability insurance may not be necessary. If you install the maker's decal on the blank, their insurance covers that portion.

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I had read that when searching past posts. Some of the blanks I have built on have not come with a makers decal. Usually they are ice rod blanks. I'm not sure how to get around that besides not building on those blanks. Which would be hard to do because they are some of my favorite.

Jon - do you really think someone would get hurt from a rod you built? And, if they did get hurt, would it be your fault or user error? Either way, I don't think anyone would bother to sue you over it. Just my opinion.

_________________________________________
"Angling is extremely time consuming.
That's sort of the whole point." - Thomas McGuane

I agree. The chances of a lawsuit are very close to zero. Maybe that's the question I should have asked... is it necessary to have coverage of accidental injury cause by a rod build? Should I just pursue coverage of an injury at my place of business?

Insurance is a 'transfer of risk' to the carrier in return for a 'premium'. In my previous career as a commercial insurance agent, I often told clients there are three ways to handle a risk; Avoid the risk; Assume the risk; Transfer the risk. Most choose to Transfer the risk. I've also operated somewhat low-risk businesses since leaving the insurance industry and have formed multiple LLC's, complete with business banking accounts and separate business credit cards. I've kept personal and commercial separate along with a minimum $1,500+ in the account and do not use personal assets for business, or business assets for personal use. Not the number one way of doing things and I'm certain others will have their opinions, but I have assumed the risk,set up legal boundaries and the proper legal entities to protect my personal assets. Caveat emptor!

I'm going to talk to a lawyer friend about my options. I planned on having seperate accounts from business and personal. I didn't realize there is the possibility of proctection that way too. The more I dig, the more I realize my ignorance. Hope to report back with some good info soon.