It seems as though everyone has a side hustle these days. Thanks to inflation, the rising cost of living, and numerous other factors, it makes plenty of sense to have a job or two on the side, in addition to your full-time employment. Whether you make crafts and sell them online and through in-person fairs, do accounting, bookkeeping, writing, or even spend your free time driving for Uber or delivering food for Instacart or DoorDash, it’s important to make sure that you have the insurance coverage that you need. Otherwise, you could be out a lot of money should something happen.
Wondering what kind of insurance you need to protect your side hustle? We’re here to help!
Additional Car Insurance
Most people don’t realize it, but when they’re delivering goods for an app-based company, like DoorDash, UberEats, or Instacart, their car becomes a commercial, or business vehicle. This means that any accidents that they get into while driving it for these purposes, including acting as a taxi for Lyft or Uber, won’t be covered under their standard auto insurance policy. Instead, you need to have a special rider in place on your auto insurance, or a standalone commercial auto insurance policy, to ensure that everything will be covered.
Don’t Forget Liability Insurance
Your side hustle may not seem dangerous, until it becomes so and accidentally harms someone. For example, if you make cakes and cupcakes for special occasions, what happens if someone has an allergic reaction to one of your ingredients? If you didn’t provide an ingredients list, you might be held liable for their hospital bills. Other issues can occur as well. Your accounting clients might be audited, your homemade soap might cause someone to break out in hives, or your business consultancy might steer someone in the wrong direction. You can’t predict the outcome, no matter how careful you are, so it’s best to have liability insurance on your side gig, just in case.
You Might Need an Additional Rider on Your Homeowner’s Insurance
When you’re working out of a home office, your homeowner’s insurance might not cover all of your business supplies. If someone should happen, damaging your computer and other necessities, then you could end up having to pay out of pocket for replacements. Your homeowner’s policy might view your business items as things that aren’t covered under your standard policy.
The same is true if you operate an Airbnb. Your homeowner’s insurance would kick in when you’re the one actively living in the home, but once your short-term renters are the primary residents, you could be out of luck if your coverage doesn’t include those time periods.
An additional rider or policy attached to your homeowner’s insurance would take care of all of these potential issues.
Check With Your Insurance Agent
What can you do to make sure that your side hustle has all of the insurance coverage that you need? Contact your knowledgeable Charlotte Insurance agent, of course! Simply give us a call, and tell us what you’re doing as a side hustle. We’ll go over your current policies to see if and where you need a little extra coverage and make sure you stay protected.