Reviewed by Shara Bierman, Registered Insurance Broker at Strong Roots Insurance Brokers Ltd. and current Chair at the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario.
These days, it feels like everyone and their dog has a side hustle. Sometimes the dog is literally the side hustle. Dog walking. Photography. Consulting. Bookkeeping. Landscaping. Home baking. Social media management. Contracting. Tutoring. Hair and beauty services. Online stores. Freelance design. A business doesn’t need a storefront, ten employees and a giant sign out front before it becomes a business. But when does that business actually need insurance?
Quick Answer
A new, small or home-based business may need commercial insurance as soon as it starts accepting customers, providing services, selling products or creating a business-related liability exposure.
Being a startup does not necessarily mean you are inexperienced. Commercial insurers may consider your previous experience in the trade or profession, your training, projected revenue and exactly what the business does when deciding whether they can offer coverage.
If you operate from home, don’t assume your homeowners insurance covers the business – it doesn’t! And if clients pay you for professional advice, expertise or services, you may also need Professional Liability or Errors & Omissions insurance.
For Stratford entrepreneurs, the goal isn’t to buy every type of business insurance available. It’s to understand where your personal insurance stops and your business risk begins.
Can a Brand-New Business Get Business Insurance?
Yes. New businesses can qualify for commercial insurance, and insurers may consider the owner’s previous experience even when the company itself is brand new.
This is an important distinction for startups. Imagine you’ve worked as a carpenter for 10 years and finally decide to open your own contracting business. The company might be six weeks old. You aren’t six weeks into carpentry. Or perhaps you’ve spent a decade working in accounting and have now launched your own company. Your corporation may be new. Your expertise isn’t.
Commercial insurers can consider factors such as your experience, qualifications, services, location, projected revenue, employees, equipment and previous insurance history when evaluating a new business. Every insurance company has its own underwriting appetite, so previous experience does not guarantee coverage. But “new business” and “new to the industry” are not necessarily the same thing.
Shara Bierman’s (FCIP, CAIB, RIBO) Perspective
A new business isn’t always a new risk in the way people assume. Someone may be opening their first company after spending 10, 15 or 20 years working in that trade or profession. When we’re helping a startup find coverage, part of our job is telling that whole story to the insurer, not simply checking a box that says the business is new.
Are There Many New Small Businesses Starting in Stratford?
Yes. Stratford and Perth County have an active small-business and entrepreneurial community, with dozens of new local enterprises being launched each year.
According to StratfordToday, the Stratford Perth Centre for Business conducted more than 170 business consultations in 2025, directly supporting the launch of 43 new businesses and the expansion or continuation of another 48 businesses. A 2026 Starter Company Plus program also supported 19 founders developing new arts and culture ventures across Stratford, St. Marys and Perth County.
That’s before we even count all the small businesses that don’t necessarily look like businesses yet. The person doing bookkeeping from home. The photographer shooting a few weddings each year. The contractor taking jobs on evenings and weekends. The consultant who has left a corporate position and landed their first few clients. The person making and selling products online. The teenager that builds websites. And, yes, the person walking half the neighbourhood’s dogs. They’re businesses too.
And that brings us to one of the most common insurance questions for new entrepreneurs.
Does My Home, Condo or Tenant Insurance Cover My Home-Based Business?
Not necessarily. A standard homeowners policy may provide little or no protection for certain business property, business activities or business-related liability. In fact, having a home business, without informing your insurer will disqualify any claim you make from being paid out, even if it has nothing to do with your home business.
Working from home doesn’t automatically mean you’re insured for the work you’re doing there.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada advises home-based business owners that personal home policies may have limited coverage for business equipment and typically aren’t designed to cover the same liability risks as a commercial policy. Consider a few examples.
- You have $8,000 worth of photography equipment stored at home.
- You make products and keep thousands of dollars of inventory in the basement.
- Customers visit your home for appointments.
- Your garage contains tools you use for paid jobs.
- You operate an online store from your spare bedroom.
- You rely on expensive or specialized equipment to earn your income.
Those are business assets and business activities. Your home insurance wasn’t designed around them.
Liability matters too. If a friend slips on your front steps while coming over for coffee, that’s one situation. If a paying customer visits your home for a business appointment and is injured, that’s a different exposure. Working from home doesn’t make the business risk disappear. It simply means the business is operating from your home.
Do I Need Business Insurance for a Side Hustle?
Possibly. Whether a side hustle needs insurance depends more on what you’re doing than whether you do it full-time or part-time.
A business can create real liability long before it becomes your full-time income. Take dog walking. It sounds fairly simple until a dog gets loose, bites someone, is injured while in your care, damages property or you are given access to a client’s home. Suddenly, the “little side hustle” has some very real exposures. The same applies to other common small businesses. A home baker may have product liability exposure. A photographer owns expensive equipment and works at client locations. A landscaper uses tools and works on other people’s property. A craft business manufactures and sells products. A tutor may work inside customers’ homes. A mobile beauty professional provides services directly to clients. And a consultant may create an entirely different type of exposure if a client relies on their professional or financial advice.
The point isn’t that every side hustle needs a large commercial insurance package. It’s that: “I only do it part-time” does not mean “there is no business risk.”
Do Dog Walkers Need Business Insurance?
A dog walker can have commercial liability exposures even if the business is small or part-time.
Potential exposures can include injuries to other people, damage caused by animals in your care, access to customers’ homes and allegations that an animal was injured while under your supervision. A professional dog-walking business may therefore need to discuss Commercial General Liability and other appropriate coverage with an insurance broker. And if the neighbourhood dog-walking gig suddenly becomes three employees, 40 dogs and an Instagram account with 15,000 followers? Congratulations! You definitely have a pretty good business.
What Is the Difference Between General Liability and Professional Liability Insurance?
Commercial General Liability generally responds to certain claims involving bodily injury or property damage. Professional Liability generally addresses claims arising from mistakes, negligence or failures in professional advice or services.
A simple way to remember the difference is:
Commercial General Liability: Something Happened
Think: Someone slips. Someone gets hurt. Something gets damaged.
For example, a customer falls at your business or you accidentally damage a client’s property while performing work.
Commercial General Liability, often called CGL insurance, is designed to respond to certain third-party bodily injury and property damage claims, subject to the terms, limits and exclusions of the policy.
Professional Liability: Something I Did, Recommended or Failed to Do Caused a Loss
Professional Liability is different. It is often called Errors & Omissions or E&O insurance.
Instead of someone alleging: “You damaged my property.”
They may be saying: “Your advice, mistakes or professional service cost me money.”
That distinction matters. A business can need one type of liability insurance, the other or both.
When Do I Need Professional Liability Insurance?
If clients pay you for your professional advice, expertise or services and a mistake could cause them a financial loss, Professional Liability insurance is worth discussing with your broker.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada specifically identifies Professional Liability, or Errors & Omissions insurance, as a consideration for businesses that provide professional advice or services. It may be relevant for consultants, accountants, bookkeepers, technology professionals, designers, marketing professionals, engineers, architects and many other service-based businesses. But don’t get too hung up on whether you consider yourself a “professional.”
Ask this instead: Could a customer claim that my advice, expertise, recommendation, design or service caused them a financial loss?
If the answer is yes, you should probably be talking about Professional Liability. Some professions may also have regulatory requirements for coverage, while some customers may require it contractually before they will work with you.
Do I Need Business Insurance if I Don’t Have Employees?
Yes, a sole proprietor or one-person company can still have insurance exposures even without employees.
Employees are only one potential source of risk. A one-person business can still damage someone’s property, injure someone, make a professional error, lose expensive equipment, experience a cyber incident, sell a product that causes harm or face a lawsuit. Whether you need insurance depends on what your business actually does, not how many people are on payroll.
What Does It Mean When a Client Asks for $2 Million in Liability Insurance?
It usually means a customer or contract requires you to carry a specified amount of Commercial General Liability coverage before you can perform the work.
For many entrepreneurs, this is the moment business insurance suddenly becomes very real. You win a new contract.
Then the customer says: “Great. Send us your Certificate of Insurance.”
Commercial agreements can require specific insurance, including Commercial General Liability, Professional Liability, Commercial Auto, Cyber Insurance or specific policy limits and endorsements. That’s why it’s helpful to involve your broker before you sign the contract, rather than discovering afterward that you’ve agreed to insurance requirements you don’t currently meet.
Your broker can help you understand what the contract is asking for and whether your insurance program can provide it.
What Insurance Does a Small Business Actually Need?
The right small-business insurance depends on what you do, where you work, what you own and what could go wrong. There is no single policy that every Stratford business needs.
A local contractor and a marketing consultant don’t have the same risks. Neither does a dog walker and a downtown retailer. Depending on your business, coverage may include Commercial General Liability for certain third-party injuries or property damage; Professional Liability for errors or negligence in professional services; Commercial Property for equipment, inventory and business contents; Product Liability if you manufacture or sell physical goods; Cyber Insurance if you store data or rely on technology; Commercial Auto when vehicles are used for business; or Business Interruption coverage following certain insured losses. A home-based operation may require an endorsement to an existing policy or a separate commercial solution depending on the type and size of the business.
The goal should not be: “Give me every coverage available.”
It should be: “Help me understand what could realistically happen in my business and where insurance should fit.”
What Should I Tell My Broker When Starting a Business?
Tell your broker exactly what you do, how experienced you are, where you work, who your customers are and how the business makes money.
For a startup, the story behind the business can be particularly important. Your broker will likely want to understand your experience and qualifications, projected revenue, whether the business is full-time or part-time, your location, equipment and inventory, employees or subcontractors, vehicles, products, professional advice or services, customer information and any contractual insurance requirements.
Don’t worry if the business itself doesn’t have an impressive history yet. “I started three months ago and expect $30,000 in first-year revenue” is useful information.
So is: “I’ve only owned the company for three months, but I’ve been doing this work professionally for 12 years.”
Those are very different risk stories. Your broker needs the whole picture.
When Should a Side Hustle Become an Insurance Conversation?
If people are paying you for a product, service or professional advice, it is worth asking whether your existing personal insurance is enough.
You should particularly contact your broker when customers begin coming to your home, you start working at customers’ properties, you buy expensive business equipment, carry inventory, sell products, give paid advice, sign commercial contracts, hire employees or subcontractors, use a vehicle for business or begin generating meaningful income from the activity. You don’t need to wait until your side hustle becomes your full-time career. And you definitely don’t want your first insurance conversation to happen after something goes wrong.
Why Work With a Local Stratford Business Insurance Broker?
A local business insurance broker can help explain your operation to insurers, compare available coverage options and identify risks that a new business owner may not know to ask about.
This can be particularly valuable when the company is new but the person behind it is experienced. Strong Roots Insurance Brokers is based on Ontario Street in Stratford and works with entrepreneurs, home-based businesses, startups and established commercial clients throughout Stratford, Perth County and surrounding Ontario communities. The Strong Roots team can help translate your business into the information commercial underwriters need to make a decision. Because when you’re launching a company, you already have enough to figure out. You shouldn’t have to become an insurance underwriter too.
Small Business Insurance in Stratford: The Short Version
A Stratford small business may need commercial insurance even if it is brand new, part-time, home-based or has no employees.
Your previous trade or professional experience may be relevant when an insurer evaluates a startup. Homeowners insurance should not automatically be assumed to cover a business operated from your home. Commercial General Liability can address certain bodily injury and property damage claims, while Professional Liability can help address certain allegations arising from professional advice, errors or services. The right insurance depends on what your business actually does, not simply how big it is.
Starting a Business in Stratford, Ontario?
Whether you’re leaving a long career to start your own company, opening your first storefront, building something from the spare bedroom or realizing your weekend side hustle has quietly become a real business, it’s worth having the insurance conversation early. Strong Roots can help you understand your risks, explain what insurers may want to know about your experience and identify which coverages make sense for the business you’re actually building. If you’re looking for small business insurance or business insurance in Stratford, Ontario, contact Strong Roots Insurance Brokers for a conversation about your new or growing business. No giant corporation required. Dog walkers are welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business Insurance in Stratford, Ontario
Can I get business insurance if my company is brand new?
Yes. A new business may be eligible for commercial insurance depending on what it does and the insurer’s underwriting requirements. An insurer may also consider the owner’s previous experience, training and qualifications in the trade or profession.
Does my home insurance cover my home-based business?
Do not assume that it does. Homeowners insurance can have limitations for business property, activities and liability. Tell your broker about your home-based business so they can determine whether additional or separate commercial coverage is appropriate.
Do I need insurance for a side hustle in Ontario?
Possibly. Part-time businesses can still create liability, property, product or professional exposures. What you’re doing matters more than whether you consider it a full-time business.
Do dog walkers need business insurance?
Dog walkers can face liability exposures involving people, property and animals in their care. A broker can help determine which commercial insurance coverages are appropriate for the operation.
What is the difference between Commercial General Liability and Professional Liability?
Commercial General Liability generally addresses certain third-party bodily injury and property damage claims. Professional Liability or Errors & Omissions insurance generally relates to certain allegations involving negligence, mistakes or failures in professional advice or services.
Who should consider Professional Liability insurance?
Businesses that are paid for professional advice, expertise or services should consider whether Professional Liability coverage is appropriate. If a mistake in your work could create a financial loss for a client, discuss the exposure with your broker.
Does a small business need insurance if it doesn’t have employees?
It may. A sole proprietor can still face liability claims, property losses, professional errors, cyber incidents and other business risks.
Will my previous work experience help when applying for business insurance?
It can. Some commercial insurers consider relevant trade or professional experience when evaluating a new business. Tell your broker about your previous work, training, certifications and qualifications even if the company itself is brand new.
When should I contact an insurance broker about my new business?
Ideally, before you begin taking on meaningful business risk. Speak with a broker when you start accepting customers, sign contracts, buy business equipment, operate from home, provide professional advice, use vehicles for work or hire others.
