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I'm having difficulty finding an insurance provider within a reasonable cost who will insure a very small-time builder working out of his home.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Doug

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Amen. I've been laughed out of half a dozen offices. My sister is a broker and she won't even talk to me.

I *believe* that you can still get covered by heritage in Canada, but I'm not sure for exactly what...

Hi Doug,
I have insurance with
http://www.canfinse.com
Canfinse Group Inc.
Your Insurance House
5000 Dufferin Street, Suite 219
Toronto, ON M3H5T5
Phone: 416-667-9177 ext. 508
Fax: 1-866-591-5613
I have 2,000,000 liability and 50,000 contents. Deductibles are 1000 to 10,000 depending on what causes the loss. Costs me around 500. Works well for me.

Doug, I assume you are looking to insure your tools and stash?
Ron, does Canfinse specifically cover tools and stash?

I am interested as well - have not called my current provider yet... CDI.

Rob

Robbie, it is that but to also cover liability ie in the case of a fire that starts in the shop and burns the neighbors house down. Homeowner policies won't cover that as it is a commercial enterprise.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

Got it! Thanks for the clarification.

I had the same problem when I was trying to do custom woodwork from my detached garage.
There was no inexpensive option.Insurance companies are not interested in insuring the home based woodshop.
As soon as it becomes a commercial operation they want to squeeze.
Currently I have a hobby shop in my garage and a larger facility offsite for commercial work and they still give me a hard time.

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My memory is so good, sometimes I remember things that never happened.

Heritage is our choice and instead of trying to make a one size fits all homeowner's policy fit what we do Heritage has specialized policies for builders, repair people, and of course musicians. They are GREAT people AND we know of a few stories where our friends who had Heritage insurance had thier claims settled in full to the complete satisfaction of the Luthier and in only a few days time.

They also serve Canada and they are backed by the Travelers.

http://www.musicins.com/

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Ann Arbor Guitars

I checked out Heritage and although they provide great loss coverage they do not offer property liability insurance to Canada.
As per Ron Belanger's suggestion I did find reasonably priced insurance through Canfinse. Thanks Ron!

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

I should have found this thread a little earlier, as I recently had something of an insurance crisis. My shop is on the lower floor of our house -- been here for one year today. We had purchased home insurance brokered by one of the big 5 Canadian banks, and told them my plans to establish my guitar building/repair business once the workshop was setup and some important surgery out of the way. "No problem", they said. "Just give us a call when you ready to open and we'll work it out".

So, beginning of February, we made the call, and 10 days later received a cancellation notice, giving us 2 weeks to find replacement home insurance! That's when I should have found this thread, but in the end it's maybe just as well. We are now fully insured, including the home-based lutherie business, and I learned a few things along the way.

If you operate a commercial workshop area in your home, the validity of your entire home insurance policy may be at risk. Certainly, your shop (and clients' guitars) will not be covered, and any link of damage originating from the activity (e.g., your Fox bender lights up) may be enough to reject the entire claim. You can literally lose your entire house! If the gross revenue of the business is over a certain amount ($25,000 in our case), you need a clause in your home policy recognizing the existence of a commercial activity in the home, which will then specify that the commercial activities are excluded.

Then you need a linked commercial policy providing coverage for the area occupied by the business and the various risks associated with it. Yes, my stash, tools, machines and all instruments are covered up to $60,000, with liability and injury coverage at $2 million. Most importantly, for my peace of mind, there is an agreed 80:20 split on claims that span both policies.

I'm paying more than Ron's Canfinse policy, but the coverages are slightly different. I got good service from a large, local brokerage and I'm actually very happy that both the home and commercial policies are through the same insurer and linked. If I need to increase coverage to take in a vintage instrument over a specified period, one call to the broker can make it happen.

Insurance is something that many small businesses skimp on. Perhaps if your shop is a separate structure, you can decide to "self insure", but if it is part of you home, you really have no option but to deal with it.


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