Inflation and a challenging economy weighed heavily on the real estate market last year. However, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) expects a 10.4% increase in residential home sales in 2024 versus 2023. Furthermore, it predicts national housing sales will climb by another 7.3% in 2025 as interest rates decline.
For property owners looking to sell their homes and real estate agents, home inspectors, and home stagers, the CREA’s January 2024 forecast is welcome news.
For home stagers, real estate stagers, and interior decorators, possibly more so given the economic lull that hit the real estate market also had a noteworthy impact on the home staging industry.
According to the Real Estate Staging Association, staged homes sell for 25% more than homes without staging, and staged homes spend about 73% less time on the market than non-staged homes. Therefore, home stagers should anticipate their services will be in high demand.
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That means home stagers need to be ready for what’s ahead, including having a customized business insurance policy to protect their finances and reputations.
What Liabilities Do Home Staging Businesses and Professionals Face?
Enhancing the appeal of residential properties for sale to potential buyers is a big responsibility, and it comes with many liability risks, including:
- Third-party property damage: A stager may accidentally damage a customer’s home or belongings while working.
- Third-party bodily injuries: An injury to a homeowner, their guests, or prospective homebuyers during the staging process or after a stager dresses up a property may occur.
- Allegations of misrepresentation: A customer may make an allegation of misrepresentation against a stager if the staged property does not live up to their expectations.
- Errors or accusations of professional negligence: If a customer suffers financial harm because of a stager’s services, they may file a professional negligence claim against them.
- Contractual disputes: Misunderstandings or disagreements about the terms of a staging contract could arise and escalate toward litigation.
- Cybersecurity threats: Stagers handle sensitive customer information. The costs could be extraordinary if a stager suffers a data breach or cyber-attack.
- Theft of or damage to staging materials in a vacant property: A stager may use rented furniture and other decorative items to enhance a vacant property that could be stolen, vandalized, or damaged by fire or water.
What Is Home Staging Business Insurance?
Think of a customized home staging business insurance policy as an envelope containing different types of coverages to account for the various risks you face.
In that envelope, you’ll typically find:
General liability insurance to cover claims of third-party bodily injury or third-party property damage. General liability insurance also includes protection from allegations of defamation or false advertising.
Professional liability insurance, or errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, covers allegations or claims of professional negligence, misrepresentation, mistakes you make, or accusations of failing to deliver a service as promised.
Cyber liability insurance helps you recover quickly if you’re hit with a cyber-attack or suffer a data breach that compromises your and your customers’ confidential information.
Tools and equipment insurance to cover the cost of repairing or replacing your transportable tools and equipment, such as hand tools, power tools, photography equipment and rental furniture.
There may be other coverages you should add to your policy. For example, commercial auto insurance covers any vehicle used for business purposes to transport people, materials, or packaged goods.
Speak to a licensed Zensurance broker if you have questions about what your home staging insurance policy should include and the coverage limits you need.
How to Get Low-Cost Home Staging Insurance Fast
Let Zensurance set the stage to protect your home staging business quickly and easily with a low-cost business insurance policy.
Fill out our online application for a free quote. We’ll shop our partner network of more than 50 insurers to get the coverage you need, customize it to suit your specific requirements, and issue your policy documents and a certificate of insurance fast so you’re ready to help your customers sell their homes in no time.
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