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In short, working from home can affect your high-value home insurance with some providers if the work is more than just clerical (emails, online, telephone calls, etc). However, as with all insurance products, it depends on the limits in place and what is included in your coverage. After the pandemic, many of us began working from home and continued even after the lockdowns ended. It could be that you haven’t updated your high-value home insurance to match your new working- from-home situation, meaning you could be without sufficient coverage.
In this guide, we’ll help you understand insurance coverage for those working from home
Do I need bespoke working from home insurance?
Fortunately, you can usually get by with a standard high-value home insurance policy, and it’s unlikely you’ll need to add your work phone or laptop to your policy if your employer owns it. Most high-value home insurance products include an element of cover for business equipment you possess within your total insured general contents sum – to be totally sure however, we recommend you take a look at your policy wording.
The importance of ‘insurable interest’ must be stressed here. Typically, you can only claim on an insurance policy where you are personally at a material loss following the incident. So, if you work for a sizeable corporate business that supplies you with a home PC set-up and it gets damaged, it is the large corporation that is at a material loss – so you need to claim a replacement through them. However, if you purchased the home business equipment and damage occurs, you’d claim through your high-value home insurance policy.
Typically, high-value home insurance products are all risks worldwide products, personal belongings on such policies are automatically protected when away from home. This will give you peace of mind when you visit someone for a business meeting at your local coffee house. This is perfect if you embrace hybrid working and want to ensure your home office and equipment are covered.
What are key things to consider if you work from home or plan to in the future?
The primary consideration for high-value home insurance when working from home is the type of work you are performing. You should inform your home insurer if you do any work from home, even just office or clerical tasks. If it is office and clerical work only, the underwriter will not ask further questions, and your statement of fact will reflect the facts accordingly.
Typically, business equipment is covered as part of your high-value home insurance policy (check each policy for the limits applied), giving you peace of mind should something happen to a laptop, phone or other item owned by you and used in connection with your work.
If your work-from-home extends to include in-person meetings, you must declare this to the insurer or, at the very least, check your current insurance schedule and policy wording for what is/is not covered.
Depending on the type, frequency, and location of the meetings at home, the insurer may extend the liability aspect to include this element of working from home. Alternatively, they may apply a business exclusion endorsement on the policy and request you obtain separate business liability insurance.
Do you need special insurance if working from home?
Does high-value home insurance cover my work laptop?
Do high-value home insurance premiums increase if you work from home?
Can you run your business from home?
Millions of people in the UK are self-employed or business owners who work from home. If your business is registered to your home address, you must tell your insurer the nature of your business.
What the insurer may need to know if you work from home:
- If you have regular visitors to your home related to your business and if so, how many visits per week, what part of the property they’ll have access to and the reason,
- Will you use your home only for administrative purposes, or will other activities be carried out? If there are additional activities, confirm all the details.
- If you’re storing stock at your property, the total value, location, and type of stock.
- Do you require and hold any specialist equipment or machinery at your property? If so, please describe its intended use and who will have access to it.
Typically, high-value home insurance products will cover clerical business activity as standard. If you require extended business cover, we suggest discussing your requirements with a specialist high-value home insurance broker.
Does my high-value home insurance cover an office in the garden?
In most cases, high-value home insurance encompasses all parts of the property, including outbuildings in the garden, garden furniture, sheds and garden office equipment. Still, it is always best to check with your high-value home insurer to ensure this is the case.
Outbuildings are great additions to any property, and when used as a home office, they can make for a perfect workspace. We deem them part of your property but separate from the main part of your home. But this is where outbuilding insurance comes in handy: It gives you full coverage for any outbuilding on your property, protecting your outdoor office.