Putting More Teeth In Your Home Office Coverage

For people who work out of their homes, trying to get proper insurance can be frustrating. Homeowner policies don't pick up most losses on business equipment or liability if someone gets hurt in your office. And many of the separate home-office policies insurers began offering five years ago don't have realistic coverage limits.

Now, insurers are seeking to correct the inadequacies. The changes initiated by Aetna Life & Casualty, for example, result in part from a survey that found that many home-based business owners mistakenly "assume their homeowner policy covers everything they need," says Robert Restrepo Jr., Aetna's vice-president for homeowner insurance. Aetna and its competitors are also looking to expand their home-office business to compensate for all the homeowner's customers they have dropped in areas hit by earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.