The amount of people working on and running their businesses from home has grown out of site since the global pandemic began. With this has come stories in the press identifying that some businesses operating from home have had a number of claims declined simply because they had not disclosed they were running a home business to their insurer.
It’s important to know that if you’re running a business from home, do not assume that your home insurance will provide you with the coverage you will need for your business. This is because running a business from home carries risks that aren’t necessarily covered under a standard Home and Contents policy.
Indeed, in most cases, many home and contents’ insurance policies will exclude coverage for business assets, equipment, or stock, so it’s important to seek professional insurance advice to make sure you have the right coverage for both your home and your business.
What insurances do you need for running a business at home?
Every business is different and accordingly has different risks and exposures, but there are some business insurances that we would generally suggest are important to have in place when running a business from home, to make sure that you and your business are covered should things go wrong.
- Business Interruption Insurance –how would you cope if your home business has to shut, even temporarily, due to factors beyond your control? Our business Insurance packages generally include ‘Business interruption’ as part of an overall solution and can provide broad financial protection for a range of small to medium-sized business types and occupations. It can help cover the costs associated with the repair or replacement of damaged property. It can also cover you for loss of gross profit following an interruption to your business, which was caused by an insured event, including fire or burglary.
- Cyber Insurance –All businesses, large or small, can be the target of cyber-attacks. Cybercriminals can commit internet and computer crimes via social engineering fraud, phreaking, phishing, or other forms of cyber fraud with the intent to steal company or client data or money from your organisation or business. A Home and Contents insurance policy may cover the computer you use for business, but it will generally not cover such things as loss of data or the impact of a cyber breach. Find out about Cyber insurance.
- Public Liability Insurance –Do clients, customers or delivery people visit you at home for business? If so, then you should consider Public Liability Insurance. Public Liability insurance essentially protects you if a visitor is injured, or if their property is damaged due to your business’ actions.
- Products Liability Insurance – Product liability is where manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retailers, and others who make products available to the public are held responsible for the injuries or damage those products cause. Find out how Product Liability insurance can help.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance –Professional Indemnity Insurance can generally protect you, your employees and your business from litigation and associated costs arising from potential errors and omissions in the execution of your professional duty.
Get professional insurance advice – talk to a Cornerstone Risk Group Adviser
You can count on Cornerstone Risk Group to treat their client’s business like it’s their very own – understanding its potential risks and designing an insurance solution specific to their client’s individual circumstances.
The information provided in this article is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. If you require advice that is tailored to your specific business or individual circumstances, please contact Cornerstone Risk Group or one of our Authorised Representatives around Australia.