guide to working from home
An increasing number of people work from home and a
conventional contents insurance may not be sufficient to cover the
risks to your property.
For example, you may have valuable business
equipment such as computers, laptops and fax machines in your home
which are not insured.
For instance, business data held on your
office computer may be at risk from an electrical failure, fire,
flood and other contingencies. You may store high value goods and
materials on your premises which need insuring, and you are
responsible for the physical welfare of clients and staff who enter
your premises.
Not only do you and your business face greater
risks than the normal householder, so you need to declare the fact
that you work from home to your insurer.
Otherwise, you might invalidate your home
contents policy, even for claims not associated with you’re the
running of your business.
For individuals working from home as a sole
trader, some insurers will not make an extra charge, but you still
need to declare the fact that you are working from home.
If the insurer thinks there is a higher risk,
you may be required to buy a separate business insurance policy or
arrange an ‘add-on’ to your standard home insurance policy.
A home business policy will typically
cover the following risks:
- office contents
- computers
- portable equipment (laptops, mobile phones)
- public and employer’s liability
- business interruption: loss of revenue due to not being able to
run your business as the result of some disaster (flood, fire,
lightning etc).
Check that business insurance cover does not
invalidate your home contents cover. The last thing that you
want is for two insurers to be arguing over your head as to which
one is liable for various losses - for example, whether your
stolen computer was a personal or business asset.
This is why it is normally advisable to add business cover to
your existing home insurance.