Thanks, I looked through some of the posts but they were mostly focused on insurance related to the members of the space.
We are definitely going with the membership model, it makes the most sense to me. I intend to get a local insurance broker, lawyer, etc to make sure when we open we can stay open from a legal and liability prospective. The last thing we want is to put all this work into a space and gather a community around our space just to find we missed some huge legal document or risk exposure that could shut us down. We want our future members to be able to sleep well at night (as well as ourselves) knowing the space is going to be there for the foreseeable future. Thanks Christian for your input. This group is an incredible resource. Allen On Sep 1, 1:00 pm, Christian <[email protected]> wrote: > You can find a number of discussions regarding insurance if you filter > through the messages. Here is a distillation of some of that wisdom > (please feel free to correct me, folks): > > 1. Most spaces have general liability insurance to cover their > business premises (fires, roof collapse, that sort of thing), which > will cover you in the case of an issue resulting from the facility > itself. > 2. Members are responsible for providing their own insurance to cover > stolen/damaged goods, business liabilities, etc. > 3. Getting insurance for your space may be tricky at first. It is > important to note that you are NOT subleasing the space. The users are > licensees/members, and there shouldn't be any subleasing language in > your insurance agreement. Subleasing is a much more costly and complex > coverage than general liability. Think of it more like a gym, with > tables instead of treadmills. It has been some peoples experience that > some insurance agents just don't seem to get the concept. > > Your insurance and agreements should be explicit in detailing that you > do not cover personal property, and are not responsible for it being > lost, damaged, or stolen. Your general liability MAY cover damage to > someone elses property in the case that something facility related > caused the damage, so make sure you know what scenarios you are and > are not covered under, and to what limits. > > There are probably a few folks in here who can get you in touch with > someone who wrote them a great policy, who can either directly assist > you or give you some pointers on the proper "language" mojo to use to > make your needs clear. > > On Aug 27, 9:20 pm, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi, my name is Allen and my partner and I have been lurking for a few > > months. We had a vague idea for something like a coworking space just > > among our close friends and when we came across this group and went to > > visit Open Space in Charlottesville, VA we were inspired that > > something like this could work in our town and could provide the work > > and lifestyle we desire. > > > We hope in the next 12-18 months to open a space for coworking and > > meeting/ conference rooms in Blacksburg, VA. There are some spaces in > > our downtown area, some unused for several years that are near > > restaurants, banks, USPS, and UPS. In our mind a space would be a win- > > win for everyone involved, drawing people in from all over the town > > and the clients they would bring). I just love working with people > > and see this as a great opportunity to take a risk and meet and > > develop relationships with some awesome people. We are still in the > > dreaming and information organizing stage and our business plan is > > still being drafted. Thanks for being open with your posts and I > > expect to be asking a lot more questions soon. > > > My first question is about insurance for the owners and companies > > themselves. Did everyone just get a Corporate Liability Policy? Did > > you get anything else to protect yourselves or the business (E&O, > > EPLI, D&O, etc.)? > > > I am working in insurance right now (so my concern is most likely > > knowing too much about what coverages there are) but I hope to run my > > own business in the future, both this space and other business > > opportunities that come through the connections and relationships that > > are built. > > > Thanks for all the support and guidance you have already been without > > knowing I specifically was reading. > > > Allen --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
