How Working from Home Affects Your Insurance
What homeowners should know
More households than ever are using their living spaces as offices. While remote and hybrid working certainly makes managing your work/life balance more achievable, it’s important to consider how this impacts your home insurance.
At Peter Best, we’ve seen a rise in queries around how homeworking affects your insurance policy, so we’ve put together a clear guide to help you understand the implications.
Clerical home working
If your remote or hybrid job is purely clerical, i.e. working on a computer, taking calls, or joining online meetings, your home contents insurance will normally cover your office setup. This includes items such as desks, printers, and laptops.
Where equipment is supplied by your employer, it is generally insured under their business policy.
When your home becomes your business base
If you run a business from your property or host clients there, you must inform your insurer. Typical examples include:
Therapy or treatment rooms
Hair and beauty services
Private tutoring
Pet services such as grooming or boarding
Any activity involving visitors, stock, or tools
In these cases, additional cover such as liability or business insurance may be required. You may even require a tailored business policy.
Outbuildings as offices
Converted garages, sheds, and garden rooms are increasingly popular as home offices. These can be covered under your buildings and contents policy, but they must be declared. It’s best to check because valuable equipment and high-value structures may need to be listed separately.
Changing risks at home
Working from home, and spending more time at in your property should naturally reduce the risk of burglary. But spending and increased amount of time at home, and increased use of expensive equipment may raise the likelihood of accidental damage. If you’re concerned, extra accidental damage cover may be sensible.
Disclosure is key
Whether you work remotely, in the office or have a hybrid arrangement, insurance depends on transparency. If you change how you use your home but fail to notify your insurer, you risk invalidating your cover. Reviewing your policy regularly ensures it keeps pace with your lifestyle.
Our recommendation
Most people working from home on clerical tasks won’t need to change their cover. But for those running a business or seeing clients at home, reviewing your policy is essential.
At Peter Best, we encourage policyholders to keep us informed of any changes to their property to ensure that their protection remains valid and reliable. We can guide you through every step of your insurance journey, ensuring you have the protection you need, whatever your work arrangements.
