Do you have your equipment insured?

[Dustee]

I was wondering how many of you have your equipment and studio insured. We recently added on to our home and decided to update our insurance. When the adjuster came out, I took him into my studio to see what would be insured. I was told my home insurance would not cover my studio contents, only the structure. I would have to take out a separate policy or add a writer to my home insurance. It is very expensive. I don't know what to do.

Do any of you have insurance on your equipment, supplies or stash? If so, is it separate from your home insurance? Who do you insure with?

Thanks in advance for you input. This has me very worried.

[Linda G. Craig]

I am in Canada, so insurance probably differs. But we too had a surprise when we asked our insurance agent if my basement studio was covered under our house insurance policy. It was only covered to approximately $5,000 so we upped the coverage substantially. Excellent question and great for discussion. :cool:

[Oma]

I am wondering if your insurance considers your studio and equipment as a "business". My husband use to play the drums in a band occasionally. We put his musical equipment (drums, microphones, PA system...mucho dollars worth of equipment) into a trailer to take to the different places he was playing. We were told if we were in a vehicle accident that our equipment would not be covered (not even by our auto insurance even though the trailer would be) nor would it be covered while in the place he was playing (in case there was a fire or theft or whatever). But, if it was in his music room and something happened to it then they would cover it. If he left it in the trailer parked in our driveway and something happened to it (theft, fire, etc) then it would not be covered. Made no sense whatever.

I am not in a business with my quilting things so my things are covered as personal belongings. I do, however, need to update my info. I believe I do have sufficient coverage amount.

[newellyn]

I am not in business either. When we built our new building, the upstairs of which is my studio, we had our agent come and see what was involved in my "little space". The total content of our property is covered. Take lots of pictures or document in video or keep an inventory just in case. I made up a spreadsheet to keep track of my books and patterns. Mainly to stop myself from buying duplicates:o. I try to include the prices. The amount is staggering. Of course I have no intention of sharing that info with DH .

If I were to go into business, then that is a whole different issue. I would have to have huge liability ins. And I would need to do things to be ADA compliant. Like an elevator! Reason 484 for NOT being in business.

[JudyLynn]

When I bought my George, I went right down and added his replacement value to a policy all his own. I do not quilt as a business, altho I do have a business in my home, which I do have a separate policy for, because the homeowners policy does not cover "this" or "that"...I hate insurance compaines, when it comes right down to it, they only cover what the hell they want anyways..

[JustSewSimple]

Yes, we added it to our homeowners ins. My husband was in the business at the time and did the research and we also got replacement (not only for the longarm but my other machines as well).

[queenie123]

I highly recommend also storing all your personal documents in a fire safe ,ours was a x-mas gift many years ago ,whew sadly to say it paid off ,it also help speed the recovery process ,the fire safe was also under warranty and sentry sent us a brand new one,it was the only item to survive the fire ,it was unreconizable but ll contents inside were saved ,strange thing was we had over stuffed it because we were in and out of it all the time soI knew it was not closed all the way but the weight of the debrie somehow landed on it and it sealed itself safe from the heat and fire . A fire safe makes a great gift for newlyweds and young students moving out on thier own .

[nanbrug]

I had mine insured on a seperate rider policy. The machine is insured for replacement and studio also. Included is coverage if anything happened they pay me for loss of wages I'm sure it would be an average of the time and coverage on any quilts in studio. And there's something on coverage if the machine breaks they will pay to have it fixed. I pay around 25.00 a month if that helps.

[Primitive1]

Dustee,

Yes you should cover your equipment - it is a big investment! I had a hard time finding someone who could even understand what I wanted to cover but finally USAA referred me to a company they work with called The Hartford that cover's my machine, equipment, liability for customer's if they trip and fall or something and their quilts...try them...

[Guest Linda S]

I had a business policy from State Farm in addition to my homeowner's insurance. The sent me a "Facebook" letter a while ago, though, explaining that they were no longer carrying my type of policy, but I was sure to love what they were going to send me. Well, it took them over a month to send what I was sure to love, so I changed all of my insurance to the Hartford through AARP. I will not have a business policy when my current one runs out. Turns out what they sent me has nothing at all to do with our type of business anyway, so it's worthless to me. I'm thinking of adding it to my homeowners as a substitute for furs and jewelry!

[Matt Sparrow]

We have 200,000 coverage on the 7 machines in our studio

[GrandmaLKB]

My Millie is included with our homeowner's insurance with a rider and a small additional premium. I'm not in a business, so that makes a difference. My DH has a gun collection, so we have those listed under a rider, too.

[Sandra Darlington]

I have a business in my home and my homeowners insurance (Nationwide) said they would not cover anything related to the business. We have the home and 2 cars with Nationwide, but they would not cover the business.

I called the main office for Nationwide and asked why they would not cover my business, as the agent was not very clear on his reasons. Turns out Nationwide would cover the business on a separate policy (which is what I asked for to start with), but my agent did not want to be bothered with it. OK, so the main office referred me to another Nationwide office in Philadelphia which is where I now have my insurance. The first year is was just shy of $60 a month, but the second year it went up to about $80 a month. It is really hitting me hard! I only have coverage on my equipment and customer quilts in my home and while I'm transporting them to/from the LQS. I do not have "slip and fall" insurance because I do not have any customers coming to my home.

Getting insurance was a real PITA!!! Nobody seemed to understand what I wanted. I really should look around for something else, but I have to wait till the end of the year to see if I can even stay in business. The point might be moot. This is my third year in business and I lost money big time the first two years. I am trying to be very frugal with expenses this year, but I know I am still in the red so far. (: But, way ahead of where I was last year at this time, so there is still some hope I will at least break even, plus a dollar or two.

[Dave-Jane]

My other job is an insurance agent - basically if you are not in business, you just need to be sure your personal property limit is high enough and you have replacement coverage - or add a rider like for jewelry, silver or guns.

If you are in business - you need a business policy. It is best to consult an accountant to determine if you are in business or a hobby. You do not need to make a profit to be in business. A business policy offers coverage your home owners does not, such as property of others, loss of income, besides all of your quilting stuff and liability.

Sit down and talk to your accountant/attorney and your insurance agent - they can best answer your questions and each state may have differences.

[ffq-lar]

Originally posted by sandradarlington

This is my third year in business and I lost money big time the first two years. I am trying to be very frugal with expenses this year, but I know I am still in the red so far. (: But, way ahead of where I was last year at this time, so there is still some hope I will at least break even, plus a dollar or two.

This is off-topic a bit, Sandra, but I want to offer you some encouragement about your business. I don't know your situation but I was given great advice by my DH when I was deciding to buy my longarm. When what you owe on your machine and it's resale value meet, that overhanging "debt cloud" can lift, since you can sell the machine and pay off the loan if things get really bad. Pressure to turn a profit in the first years lessens and you can breathe a bit.

While APQS offers that you can pay off a machine within a year, reality is that the threshold "two queen-size quilts a week" is not realistic for any new longarmer. Sorry guys--it's the truth. It took me two and a half years to take in enough money to consider my machine paid for. I didn't take out a loan so I just had to wait it out and plug along. Of course, it's never "paid off" since all the tools, thread, gadgets and gotta-haves add up to a huge chunk of change.

I'm just trying to give you a bit of perspective on it and hope you can continue to do what you love. I didn't turn a profit for four years. And then with depreciation and expenses my tax man has kept the profit on the sparse side. I'll take a hit when I sell the machine, but I hope that's years away.

BTW--from your post it looks like "Nationwide is NOT on your side"!

[Sandra Darlington]

Thanks, Linda. I love your last sentence, and have to agree!!!

My machine was paid in full when I purchased it 4 1/2 years ago (used), but the accountant used some formula for the depreciation. I have since bought a ton of toys, thread, etc. and always run a tab with Michael at Circle Lord.

If I don't include the utilities of the room I use exclusively for quilting, a percentage of my cell phone, internet service, and the cost of gas to drive to the LQS, I anticipate being ahead by a few hundred dollars (I think) by the end of the year. But that list of utilities, etc is going to kick me in the pants.

I need to talk to my accountant and see how close things are looking for this year. Maybe he can give me some creative advise.

I really appreciate your information and encouragement!!!!

[Primitive1]

I am in the same situation as Linda, I depreciate my machine and take every deduction I can to get a break on taxes but my tax person told me to set up a separate business account which I did several years ago and take a draw now and then so it doesn't look like a tax deductible hobby to the IRS. I am finding that it took about 2 years to pay off what I paid for the machine and am now finally making some profit after classes at MQX, thread, ins., etc. MY DH is finishing up his master's degree this year so we are using my draws for living expenses this year and it is helping. On the insurance, I did finally find a business policy but they call my business an "embroidery" business as it is the only description that The Hartford has in it's computer that is the closest to what I do...I really wish they would update as there are more of us out there than they think.

First we fight for credit when our quilts go to shows and now we have to fight for insurance to call us what we are....LongArm Quilters! .....sheesh!

[calicokat]

I have a seperate policy, it covers my machine and my supplies (rulers, threads, batting, & such). We also built in an amount to cover customer quilts in case they were ruined. I think we figured $200 each and I usually have 8 on hand. When we had a flood in 2008 I grabbed all the customer quilts and took them upstairs to my bedroom first thing! Luckily only the cellar/basement flooded, but I didn't want to take chances.

My premium is only $425 for the year. I'm glad you posed the question though, because I need to review whether I have enough coverage, I've added a lot of supplies, gadgets and even a new sewing machine since this policy was written.

One thing I made sure of, my machine is insured for replacement value - since it's a 1994 I am probably the only person who makes SURE it's plugged in when there's a storm coming, I almost hope for a lightning strike so I can get a new one, LOL.

[Susanri]

Bump