Personal Liability Insurance

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Barefootgirl
Posts: 2519
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:05 pm

Personal Liability Insurance

Post by Barefootgirl »

My sister and her husband have decided to retire early and they are investigating the possibilities of earning some part time income in the future from house sitting
and possible minor household tasks (bringing in mail, watering plants, etc.) Her husband also has some handyman skills. They live in an area of wealthy estates.

I know nothing about this but suggested they look into some kind of personal liability insurance as I am not sure this would be covered by an umbrella policy.

Has anyone done this kind of work? if so, any tips, advice, warnings?

Thanks, BFG
How many retired people does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Only one, but he takes all day.
placeholder
Posts: 8421
Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:43 pm

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by placeholder »

Rather than speculate they should contact their current insurance provider.
denovo
Posts: 4808
Joined: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:04 pm

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by denovo »

Barefootgirl wrote:My sister and her husband have decided to retire early and they are investigating the possibilities of earning some part time income in the future from house sitting
and possible minor household tasks (bringing in mail, watering plants, etc.) Her husband also has some handyman skills. They live in an area of wealthy estates.

I know nothing about this but suggested they look into some kind of personal liability insurance as I am not sure this would be covered by an umbrella policy.

Has anyone done this kind of work? if so, any tips, advice, warnings?

Thanks, BFG
Most personal liability insurance policies have exclusions for business activity as a rule of thumb. For handyman work, I am sure there's got to be some cheap commercial insurance.
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln
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celia
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 6:32 am
Location: SoCal

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by celia »

Do they have experience doing these little jobs? If not, why don't they advertise and do the jobs for free for 6 months to see how it works out. During that time, liability insurance may be needed in case someone claims they took or broke somethings.
A dollar in Roth is worth more than a dollar in a taxable account. A dollar in taxable is worth more than a dollar in a tax-deferred account.
Calm Man
Posts: 2917
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:35 am

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by Calm Man »

Rather then retire and then start doing odd jobs at low pay, why not work an extra year longer and not then have to water people's plants or walk their dogs when retired? As to liability? I think the clients have more worries than they do.
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Rob5TCP
Posts: 3812
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:34 pm
Location: New York, NY

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by Rob5TCP »

You really do need to check. I know my umbrella policy does not cover anything work related.
john94549
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Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2011 8:50 pm

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by john94549 »

For planning purposes, you should assume no coverage. For example, if one owns a home, homeowner's liability coverage will exclude business activities. Same with a car (think car-sharing). If you have a business, you need both primary and umbrella (or excess) insuring the business. Dog walker => dog bite => lawsuit. As opposed to dog pet => dog bite => lawsuit.
flyingaway
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Joined: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:19 am

Re: Personal Liability Insurance

Post by flyingaway »

Calm Man wrote:Rather then retire and then start doing odd jobs at low pay, why not work an extra year longer and not then have to water people's plants or walk their dogs when retired? As to liability? I think the clients have more worries than they do.
+1.
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