Working from home – insurance matters

March 11, 2024

Following the successive lockdowns during the recent Covid pandemic, many people were clearly forced to work in any way they could from home. Perhaps the bigger surprise, though, is how working from home – or “hybrid” working (a little from home and a little from the office) – has persisted once the pandemic has passed.

Forbes magazine reported that by the end of 2023 more than 60% of US companies had adopted working from home or hybrid working options for their employees. In the UK, 82% of employees believe that employers have a greater responsibility for nurturing their health and wellbeing post-pandemic, according to The Home Office Life website on the 27^th of February 2024.

The same source noted that more than half of the workforce (47% of women and 44% of men) believe that home working is better for their mental health while more than half of businesses felt that hybrid working lets employees better manage their work-associated expenses.

Insurance matters

In this somewhat unfamiliar environment where so many people are working at least part of the time from home, it may be helpful to remind employees that insurance matters.

Informing your insurers

As the trade union Prospect warned in a posting on the 15^th of December 2023, if you are thinking of working from home – however many hours a week – it is important to check your home insurance policy.

Whether or not you need to inform your home insurers that you are working from home may depend on the type of work you intend to do. You will almost certainly need to inform them if you are:

• making, storing, or selling goods from your home (especially if they contain hazardous materials or are high-value);

• receiving business visitors or customers at home – if you’re operating a home beauty salon, for example;

• if working from home has necessitated structural alterations to your home; or

• if you have invested in new equipment or machinery to help in your working from home.

Public liability insurance

In any event, the fact that you may have colleagues, customers, or suppliers visiting you at home, you may need the security of public liability insurance that indemnifies you against claims from those who have suffered any kind of injury or had their property damaged while in your home.

Professional indemnity insurance

If your employment normally involves giving advice or making recommendations to clients, you may already have professional indemnity insurance – to safeguard against claims that you have offered erroneous or mistaken professional advice. Your employer may have arranged and is already paying the premiums for such cover.

If you switch to working primarily from home or on a hybrid basis, however, it is prudent to check that you remain adequately covered by the relevant level of professional indemnity insurance.

Contents insurance

Your current home insurance policy may not cover equipment used for business purposes such as computers or their peripheral devices. This might be equipment you own or that is provided by your employers specifically for working from home.

Either way, you will need to make sure that your home contents insurance provides sufficient cover – and that any equipment provided by your employer is covered by their own insurance policies.

Building insurance

Finally, it is worth double-checking that your building insurance continues to be valid. Some insurers have taken the view that your working from home increases the risk of fire in the property because of the additional electrical equipment you may have installed. Other insurers may take the view that the equipment you are using while working from home is attractive to burglars and increases the risk of break-ins.

Conclusion

If you are working from home in any capacity, therefore, insurance matters!