Hi Dazzler,
I think you need to define clearly what risks you want to cover. I went through this about 9 months ago when my domestic insurer refused to continue to provide cover for my semi commercial risk exposure in a workshop, contents and raw material and Public Liability and product Liability. These risks apart from separate Public Liability had been detailed endorsed and valued on the household policy.
If you've got an ABN then by definition you are operating commercial if you make one sale. That was the ruling I was given.
The cover provided by most domestic insurance for tools, equipment and machinery, stock, raw material and WIP is almost negligible unless the policy is endorsed for those risks and I couldn't get anyone to cover on that basis after the first knock back from my existing insurer.
I've now got commercial cover but I've limited it severely to make it affordable. Essentially I've covered the workshop strucxture against fire, the static and portable equipment against fire, limited cover for raw material and stock against fire, plus public liability and product liability. Theft I've managed myself by making the place very much more difficult to enter. Theft insurance is unaffordable.
When you go this commercial insurance route the premises have to be up to a standard and semi risky activities such as spraying and flammable goods storage have to conform to commercial standards. There are also higher electrical safety and electrical isolation compliance requirements.
I got my policy through City Rural Insurance Brokers
[email protected]. Try them for details for your specific risks you need to cover.
This exercise for me indicated that there a lot of folks out there who have big bucks value in hobby or semi commercial workshops at domestic premises or under the house workshops that they mistakenly think are covered by domestic insurance and this is generally not the case. Indeed some risky activity could invalidate or limit domestic risk cover under domestic insurance policies.
It's all pretty hard and bloody expensive to fix this up and some folk just opt to carry the risk or bury head in sand. I live just up the road from you. If you send me a private E mail I'll give you more detail so you don't have to do all the homework again