Top Tips - Business insurance if you work from home
Save time and money on your Business insurance if you work from home. Our tips guide you through what to do.Skip now to tips on
Impact on your home insurance
Taking out business insurance
Impact on your car Insurance
What liability insurance do you need?
How you can protect your profits
Insuring all aspects of your activities
1. Impact on your home insurance
You must inform your home insurer that you’re conducting your business at home. If you don’t, you run the risk of invalidating the insurance you already have on your home and contents.
2. Continuing cover under your home insurance
If your home insurer doesn’t believe the risk to your home is any greater as a result of your business, they should continue to provide the cover you have at present on your home and contents. However, it is most likely that this cover will not extend to your business equipment and a separate cover is still needed for this.
3. Taking out separate Business insurance - even when you work from home
In any event, you will need to take out a separate insurance on your business. In some cases, your home insurer may be able to supply this for you. The benefit of having the same insurer for your home and business is that, if you need to make a claim, you know immediately which insurer to turn to.
Don't forget, though, you will still need home insurance to cover the building and your household contents and personal possessions.
4. Impact on your car insurance
If you use your private car for any business purposes – however infrequently you do it – you must inform your car insurer. Your cover can then be changed to include business use. This may or may not result in an increase in your premium. If your insurer is unaware of the position, you run the risk that your car insurance could be invalidated. This means you are then driving without insurance and this is a criminal offence.
5. Do you need Employers’ Liability Insurance?
This is compulsory by law. You must have Employers’ Liability insurance if:
6. Do you need Public and Products Liability or Professional Indemnity insurance?
You will need to insure your legal liability for injury to third parties when they visit your home or when you are out working.
If you are selling a product, you need to consider Products Liability insurance. This covers your liability at law if one of your products causes injury or illness to someone. You'll need products liability insurance even if you just sell some second hand business equipment.
If you are providing a professional service, you need to consider Professional Indemnity insurance. This covers your legal liability in respect of the advice or services that you provide in a professional capacity.
7. How you can protect your profits
It’s vital that any business insurance covers the financial loss you would suffer if you had to stop (or reduce) trading if your property was damaged – for example in a fire. And as recent disasters like the oil storage fire in Hemel Hempstead have cruelly demonstrated, it’s vital too that this includes the loss to your profits caused because of damage at someone else’s property – where this means that you or your customers can’t reach your premises.
8. Insuring all aspects of your activities
People working from home often get involved in various activities. So think carefully about all the aspects of your business and make sure each one of them is covered by the insurance.
9. Maintain an audit trail
Keep copies of all your correspondence about insurance, and make notes of any conversations and meetings. This may prove very useful if you need to make a claim, or if a dispute arises about what’s been agreed.
What next . . .
Getting new Business insurance - the steps you need to take
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