The Upholstery Forum

I know the topic of insurance has come up and I've read a few prior post on the subject. I have thought about insurance coverage, but don't have any specific business insurance at the moment.

I do boat seats exclusively, work out of my house, customers either deliver the seats to me or I go to their location and pick-up/deliver. So far, I don't do any of the seat removal or installation. I just do the upholstery work. So, I think my liability exposure is fairly minimal.

I am just wondering if there is some sort of liability associated to the upholstery should the customer have a tragic event. I would think not, given that upholstery is largely cosmetic, but people tend to sue everyone for everything.

I'm also wondering if I did get into the seat removal/installation, if that would change the liability to the point of needing insurance?

thoughts/experiences?

If you have employees then "slip & fall" insurance in your shop is a good idea. Commercial insurance is very expensive and you may be better off being "self insured" for damage to client property during your possession. You can be sued for anything in this country, but insurance regularly does not cover claims so it's not as valuable as they say it is. Determine what your real legal exposure is and your financial exposure to determine if commercial insurance is worth it. My homeowners policy does not cover any of my equipment used in business, I work from home, so I'm taking a risk, but commercial insurance is so expensive that I would rather take the risk. Do make sure you have good comprehensive auto insurance as that's the most likely place you will have an accident in your life.

I picked up general business coverage just in case mainly due to vehicles and boats etc being in the shop while I work on them. If it was just seats, personally, I wouldn't worry to much about it.

If it's just you working, start an LLC. Don't pay anyone to do it for you, it's simple enough to do yourself. Once you have the LLC get an eIN, you will need that to open a bank account in the company name. Don't put anything in the LLC's name, no tools or building's , nothing. Pull any money out of the bank account. Someone wants to sue an LLC, shut the LLC down, it's that simple.