You Put Your Left Arm In…

The Coronavirus pandemic resulted in many people working from home instead of their normal working environment. Even when restrictions relaxed many employers and employees welcomed a hybrid of home and office working, embracing the change as it offered the chance to work more efficiently around family life and/or reduce the costs of commuting.  Although you were previously obliged to tell your home insurance provider that you regularly worked from home, since the global pandemic began this requirement has been relaxed.

However, there are still insurance implications to consider when working from home and it is always best to keep your insurance provider up to date regarding your working arrangements to ensure you are correctly covered.

If your employer has requested that you work from home and you do not need to invite work-related visitors to your home, it is unlikely that you will need to change anything, and most standard office-based equipment should be covered under your existing policy or the company’s insurance.  On the other hand if you are making and/or storing goods at home or offering any services, such as beauty treatments, then this will have an impact on your cover. With your right leg in and out of the office so frequently it is also a good idea to check if any work-related items are covered when you are between home and the office.

You Shake It All About…

Some have taken this unprecedented opportunity to start up their own business, reigniting a long-lost passion or adapting their career to suit their circumstances. If you have chosen to start a new business from home you will certainly need to check that your home insurance policy is up to date, especially as some policies exclude any item for ‘business or professional purposes’, and valuable specialist equipment may require additional cover. Those offering any element of professional advice will need the protection provided by Professional Indemnity Insurance, (link to https://eginsurance.co.uk/professional-indemnity-insurance/) providing cover against damages courts may award as a result of loss that any professional advice given by your business has caused to another business or individual.

Also, with everyone at home and distractions aplenty, you may have decided that you need a new space to put your right arm in (…and your right arm out) and have decided that your property needs a shake up to accommodate for home-working or your new business venture, for example by replacing the shed with a garden home office or creating a space to store products. If this sounds familiar you will certainly need to flag this with your insurance provider.

And You Turn Around….

There is potential, especially in the UK, that business would grind to a halt without a hot beverage to lubricate any meeting, now imagine you turn around and accidentally knock the aforementioned coffee all over your client’s laptop causing unrecoverable damage; you might still win the deal but you may not win the claim for compensation.

No matter how careful you are, accidents happen, and when they do, public liability insurance covers you against claims made against you or your business. If you own business premises, arrange activities or events in a business capacity or someone visits your home for professional purposes you should consider public liability insurance. This type of insurance will cover you if a client or a member of the public claims they have been injured or their property damaged due to your business activity.  It is primarily designed to cover the cost, up to the limit of the policy, of any legal proceedings, including any compensation costs you may face.  Check with your employer as well to ensure you are covered if you have face-to-face meetings, for example, whilst working from home.

Although public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, if your business has one or more employees, you’re legally required to have employers’ liability insurance.

Ra, Ra, Ra…?

It is likely that the office system offered you the necessary security protection you required when online, however how comfortable are you that your firewall is sufficient and your DM’s are actually private? With so much information being shared digitally, via computers and mobile phones, it is increasingly important to any business to keep it secure. Any information you keep about yourself, your business and, most importantly, any data your clients or customers trust you with, is open to attack from hackers, at risk if your IT systems fail, and open to issues of sharing due to human error.  Whether you have a firm grasp of your internet safety or all you hear when the IT department call is “ra, ra, ra”, cyber insurance (add link to https://eginsurance.co.uk/cyber-insurance/) will protect against a data breach or cyber hacking, providing cover for loss of revenue or profit and costs of putting things right. This cover can also protect you if your business is required to defend and settle claims made for failing to keep customers’ personal data secure, or for allegations of non-compliance with GDPR.  Also ask your employer if they have cyber insurance it might be something they have not considered.

That’s What It’s All About!

So much change can be overwhelming at times and it can be difficult to navigate this merry dance alone, but nobody likes dancing by themselves so let us do all the hard work for you; our highly experienced team, with your interests at heart, access a wide range of insurers to find you the best package for your needs – we care about what matters to you!

It doesn’t cost you anything to let us quote, but think about what it could save you.