There are lots of perks to working from home – you can enjoy greater flexibility and not having to commute means that you are at your desk earlier and can work for longer. However, you need to make sure that your working from home insurance package covers you adequately and that by working from home you are not putting your business at risk.
Without specialist working from home insurance if you are a victim of theft or damage, or you make a mistake, it could mean the end for your business.
What does home based worker insurance include?
If you work from home, you can choose from different types of insurance to create a package to suit you. Your home based worker insurance should include:
1. Professional indemnity insurance
If a client sues you for making a mistake, professional indemnity insurance provides you with the cover for any compensation and legal costs. Working from home is not much different to working from an office with professional indemnity insurance, as any legal costs can be considerable.
A professional indemnity insurance policy might include cover for:
- Loss of client data (for example if you lose your laptop or it is stolen)
- Breach of confidentiality
- Defamation
- Virus transmission
- Infringement of intellectual property rights
2. Employer’s liability insurance
If you have employees, you will be legally required to have employer liability insurance under your working from home insurance cover.
3. Public liability insurance
If your type of work requires clients or customers visit your house, you need to have public liability insurance. This type of insurance protects you from damage or loss resulting from claims made by someone who visits your home in association with your business. For example, if you run a hairdressing business from home and accidentally burn a client’s scalp, public liability will cover you.
4. Product liability insurance
If you design, make or sell products from your home you will need product liability insurance as part of your working from home insurance. If one of your products causes injury, the legal costs could destroy your business if a customer sued you.
5. Office insurance
Your home insurance will cover a great deal, but do check the policy documents as your standard policy may not cover any professional equipment that you need for work, such as you desk, phone and computer. These may need to be covered by a separate office insurance policy.
6. Building insurance
Building insurance will cover your home office building structure, indoor fixtures and fittings in case of damage.
Take a look at your home buildings insurance policy and see whether it’s worth combining cover for your home and your home office.
If you’re interested in Home Based Worker Insurance, please fill in the form below with your contact details and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.