Starting a business from home can be a marvellous thing, the beginning to a massive venture that could see your life change forever. From web design companies, to small maintenance and repairs, to catering and cooking – home businesses come in various shapes and forms. After all, Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon started his company from a rented home in Seattle, working day in and day out from a converted uninsulated garage. The past few years have seen small home businesses rise to 2.9 million companies – an increase of over 500,000 since 2010. Collectively, home businesses contribute around £246 billion in turnover to the British economy whilst 70% of all new businesses in the UK are started at home.
Britain’s homes are alive with the sound of business
UK Government
Hosting your business from home can be a great thing, but it is important that there are a few legal requirements that you should look into first. One of the major necessities is having the correct insurance to protect your business from any complications or obstacles it may encounter.
Employers’ liability insurance: All companies are normally required to have employer’s liability insurance if they’re planning to take on additional employees, the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 enforces this. If your company for the foreseeable future is to be a one-man (or woman) band then you won’t need to worry about this cover as this insurance only protects additional staff members. You also do not need to worry about this if the person you’re set to hire is a family member of whom is closely related to you. Employers’ liability insurance covers for the health and safety of the employees working for you in case an accident occurs at the workplace, accidents can range from a staff member tripping or falling over work equipment to repetitive strain and back injuries from computer desk work.
Ashburnham provides up to £10 million of cover for legal costs and compensation, comparison of quotes from trusted insurers and instant policy documents after purchase. Interested? Get a quote with us now.
Public liability insurance: Although fairly optional, this may be something to look into. Public liability insurance covers you for any injury that may be caused to a member of the public whilst at your property. If you work from home and nobody ever enters your home business, then this wouldn’t be something you’d need to worry about. However, if you owned a business where members of the public will be on a regular basis entering your home, such as a photography studio in your garage then it may be in your best interests to be covered for public liability insurance.
Ashburnham provides public liability insurance from as little as £40 for £1,000,000 cover but this may increase depending on your type of trade, how much cover you require and how many people are in the business. We are happy to give a quotation on this, so if you’re interested in learning more, then please contact us.
Professional indemnity insurance: This should be a vital piece of coverage for your home business as it’ll insure your organisation will pay out for claims of poor advice or work that a client believes they have received from you. Typical businesses that we would recommend insuring themselves with professional indemnity insurance include those who are in the health and educational profession such as personal trainers, life coaches and teachers, the construction and design profession – designers, handy-man or architects, medical profession and clerical profession – physiotherapists, freelance counselling. There may be many more businesses that we recommend getting covered for, but we’ve listed just a few for you to get a taster of the kind of company.
Getting insured for professional indemnity insurance is simple, through our online quotation form we can tailor your policy to suit your requirements. You can also call us on 0800 169 6137.
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Buildings insurance: Although not necessary, you may be interested in looking into buildings insurance to protect your home and your home office. This would protect it from the likes of a fire or a flood – especially useful if you live in an area which has a high flood risk.
We hope this blog post has helped you understand the kind of insurance policies you may need to take out as a home business owner and we wish you success in your venture. If you have any additional questions related to the kind of insurance policies mentioned here, feel free to call us free on 0800 169 6137 or fill in our form on our website for a prompt reply.