Will Working From Home Affect My Insurance?

Working from home, or working remotely, is becoming more and more commonplace as time goes on. This can be due to outside factors, such as the 2007-08 financial collapse, which created more and more start-up businesses launched from home, and the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020, where people were asked to work from home where possible, but advancements in technology has also helped make things more possible than ever.

Will working from home affect my insurance?

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With this in mind, insurers are much more familiar with the concept of their customers operating businesses from their home address than ever before, so finding relevant insurance can be pretty straightforward, especially if your work is considered “clerical only”.

The definition of clerical only business use also shifts with the times, as electronic devices tend to take priority over hard copies. Essentially though if you work from a computer, you aren’t manufacturing anything from the home, you don’t hold any stock, and nobody visits your property in connection with the business, then you can answer “yes” when asked if your use is limited to clerical only.

You are likely to find that a majority of home insurers will accept clerical only use with no additional charge, so it is definitely worth letting them know.

If your use of the property extends beyond clerical use, then a more specialist working from home policy might be better for you.

Business Equipment

Anything you own and use for work purposes can fall under the definition of business equipment may be restricted, or even excluded entirely under your home insurance. For example if you have specialist machinery, such as a kiln for pottery and glass work, or a turning lathe for woodworking, it may fall outside of the scope of your cover.

You may be able to arrange a separate public liability policy, which can provide more cover for business equipment, business cash and stock, but it is still important that you tell your home insurer about the business use.

Please note that if your employer owns equipment that they have provided for use in respect of the business, then it will be their responsibility to ensure that these items have adequate insurance in place.

Business Liability

A standard home insurance policy covers for property owners liability, which covers liability that arises for your responsibilities as the property owner, but usually excludes for visitors for a business or professional purpose. It also has employers liability cover for domestic staff, but again this would not cover for any employees working in connection with your business.

If you employ people, then having sufficient Employers Liability in place is a legal requirement, and while Public Liability isn’t, a potential claim from a visitor can get expensive, so it is definitely worth getting cover in place.

Whether this is included as part of a specialist working from home policy, or you choose to arrange this separately, it is another consideration to make sure all of your bases are covered.

If you find your current cover is too restrictive, GSI Insurance Services (Southern) can help you get everything sorted, whether combined on one single policy, or covering all of the aspects across two. Give us a call on 0800 612 9376 or click Get a Quote to fill in our online form.

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Why not read one of our other buildings and contents insurance guides?