Working from home can help you cut down on your business costs – but one area you shouldn’t scrimp on is insurance.
But won’t my home insurance cover it?
To an extent, a good home insurance policy could cover the majority of your needs. Any major breakages or damage can be covered even if they happened during your business hours – but you do need to check your policy carefully and find out how much is covered.
Most home insurance policies cover ‘administration’ work – but this can be open to interpretation. They will usually cover up to around £5,000 of home office equipment but any specialist equipment might not be covered. This could include 3D printers, audio/visual kit and specialist tools.
If you are storing large amounts of cash at home, this will probably not be insured. You will need to consider a specialist insurance policy.
Finally, if you are planning on just using your home insurance you need to inform your insurer that you are working from home, otherwise they might not pay out.
What needs insuring?
In your office, anything that you use for work and couldn’t work without needs to be insured. This could include:
• Computing equipment – including tablets, printers and cameras
• Stock – from raw materials to final products
• Tools – anything used in your work like a massage table or desk
• Vehicles – if you’re travelling by car to a meeting this needs to be covered
• Equipment you take with you out of the home
What about other insurance?
While your home office is important, there are other aspects of your business that also need insuring including if you’re having visitors or employing staff, protection against one of your products causing injury and cover if you’re unable to work.
• Public Liability Insurance – this covers any visitors to your home for reasons of business. If they are injured on your property they could make a claim.
• Employer’s Liability Insurance – covers any employees including part time staff, freelancers and volunteers. You need to have at least £5m worth of cover by law.
• Products liability – this covers any claims you make that come from any products you’ve produced and sold. For example, if you sell faulty goods and they cause someone harm.
• Personal accident – If you’re the sole employee of your business, you are its most valuable asset. If you were injured and couldn’t work, this cover would pay your wage until you recover.
Posted by The Secret Businessman