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Thread: Calling all home working jewellery makers - insurance help needed!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
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    5

    Default Calling all home working jewellery makers - insurance help needed!

    Argh, just as I thought it would be safe to launch my teeny, weeny on line silver stamping business...

    I've been scuppered by home insurance.

    A, I hope, brief update on my situation.

    We have normal, family contents and buildings insurance with an insurance company (a supermarket brand). It covers all the usual contents, accidental damage, building burning down etc. It's coverage for "working from home" is the usual - occasional admin work or full time office based work only.

    I, obviously, need something to cover my stock, tools, equipment plus the product liability and, possibly, public liability at some stage - so I am working on that.

    Now, most of the craft insurers recommend you check with your home insurers to see if you have any coverage under your home insurance - they always say it's unlikely but worth asking.

    So I asked. Thank goodness I did. As I expected, my work tools and stock are not covered. However, the underwriters have also said that, if I set up my business from home, I invalidate the whole policy. So, whilst I can get cover for my jewellery stuff from the craft insurers, if we get burgled and they take the TV my current insurer won't pay out for it as working from home invalidates my non business coverage, whether they take my silver or tools or not. If the building catches fire I will have no buildings insurance as that's invalidate because my 'studio' is my spare bedroom (even though I solder in the garage which has the usual 'burn time' associated with attached garages - just in case the car catches fire when it's in there, usual stuff). I asked if it would make any difference if I set up in the garage completely - even though it's freezing in there. Nope, it's covered by the buildings insurance and that's invalidated by my working from home.

    Now, I have done a few on line quotes and putting in jewellery maker, gold/silver smith etc seems to bring up the same answer from all the high street insurers - can't cover your home. I even, out of curiosity, put in my friend's home occupation (florist), can't get home insurance with that home occupation either! So this obviously a "thing" - you invalidate your contents and buildings insurance if you work from home in anything other than general office admin.

    So how do you home working jewellery designers and makers get round this? Should I be going down the route of insuring my home as my business instead? How does that work? Or are there other insurers out there who will insure ALL my contents and my house whilst giving me the extra coverage for business contents/stock and the public/product liability?

    At the moment I am having to hold out on launching as I can't risk my business invalidating insurance claims for my home.

    Any advice would be great! Thank you.

  2. #2
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    You will most likely need two separate policies.

  3. #3
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    Jan 2016
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    Yeah, I'm trying that. The current insurer is basically saying, even with a separate policy to cover my business, the fact that I work with silver at home will invalidate my home contents cover. Time to try to find a separate contents insurer. But a few of the high street ones seem to have the same policy - if you're not just doing admin work at home you're likely to invalidate your home contents cover. But I am up to a challenge!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
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    1,086

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    It's absurd. Bad assessment of risk. They don't understand it so run. And can you imagine the reaction when I said some customers come here too?
    Sell a few items regularly on eBay and there goes your house and contents insurance.
    The British Pearl Association is looking into the whole insurance thing for home pearl peeps
    Author: Pearls A Practical Guide
    www.pearlsapractical.guide
    www.Pearlescence.co.uk

  5. #5
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    When LV were told about the jewellery making, they cancelled the policy on the spot. Not impressed. I'm not the only one they've done that to - work from home, fine, but if you actually make anything (so any & all crafts) they aren't interested.

    I'll dig out my policy details later (can't remember who the company is), but it covers me for pretty much everything needed *and* house & contents. None of the usual craftwork policies covered me; several of the more specialised ones pulled stunts like "you can make jewellery, but you can't solder". Mention of the laser welder freaked them out too.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
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    I few people I know who make similar types of jewellery in silver, don't say they're working from home at all - they just say the equipment and tools are for a hobby.

    Lots of people have expensive hobbies! If you're not earning enough to qualify for tax or likely to get sued by a customer, is it really neccessary to declare it at all?

    Somebody will probably correct me but as long as you're not going to have stacks of gold sheet or hundreds of pounds of commissions sitting around, the insurance company seems to be massively over-reacting.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lucie View Post
    I few people I know who make similar types of jewellery in silver, don't say they're working from home at all - they just say the equipment and tools are for a hobby.

    Lots of people have expensive hobbies! If you're not earning enough to qualify for tax or likely to get sued by a customer, is it really neccessary to declare it at all?

    Somebody will probably correct me but as long as you're not going to have stacks of gold sheet or hundreds of pounds of commissions sitting around, the insurance company seems to be massively over-reacting.
    Yes, you do need to declare it to them; if there's an incident, they will look for any and every reason not to pay out and if you've not declared something they reckon you should, it will invalidate your entire policy and they'll gleefully refuse any payout.
    Most mortgages require buildings insurance as a condition of lending so they can be sure of getting their money; if the house burns down and you abruptly find you're not covered, you're in breach of contract with them (at a time when the extra aggro might not be entirely welcome). Hopefully a low probability, but it's there.

    Not a fan of the insurance industry.

  8. #8
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    Feb 2014
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    Manchester
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lucie View Post
    the insurance company seems to be massively over-reacting.
    Insurers prosper by taking premiums from clients who are as low risk as possible. The industry has changed a lot from thirty years ago, when you could generally rest assured that you were actually insured against the worst happening. Today, thanks to increasingly sophisticated and exclusionary policy T&Cs, more and more people who think they're insured against such and such an eventuality actually aren't. And if you're one of that unfortunate group of people who've had to make a claim for subsidence or flooding at their property you have the joy of discovering what it's like to be uninsurable thereafter, and then the additional joy of discovering what that pariah status does to the marketability of your property when you decide you want to sell it.
    Last edited by Aurarius; 14-03-2016 at 07:43 PM.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    491

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    How about if you work out of your garage (not attached to your home). Does anyone know if that makes a difference?

  10. #10
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    Jul 2012
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    I knew someone would probably correct me. Thank you for the clarification Peter.
    I've got some friends who'll appreciate the info.

    Quote Originally Posted by ps_bond View Post
    Yes, you do need to declare it to them; if there's an incident, they will look for any and every reason not to pay out and if you've not declared something they reckon you should, it will invalidate your entire policy and they'll gleefully refuse any payout.
    Most mortgages require buildings insurance as a condition of lending so they can be sure of getting their money; if the house burns down and you abruptly find you're not covered, you're in breach of contract with them (at a time when the extra aggro might not be entirely welcome). Hopefully a low probability, but it's there.

    Not a fan of the insurance industry.

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