A lot of us have been working at home relentlessly since March and while some are stuck with sofas or the dining room table, others have set up home offices that are well-equipped to handle a workday. While lockdown is coming to an end, many of us are still at home, with others set to keep doing so permanently. With the benefits of no commute, no office rental costs and more, it seems like a no-brainer, particularly for the smallest office-based businesses. However, as with any office space, a home office could be at risk of a number of things, which is where office insurance comes in.
What Does an Office Insurance Policy Typically Cover?
Office insurance is a form of insurance that provides cover to all kinds of small offices, from doctors surgeries to offices in a block and more. The cover offers the same kind of support and reassurance as any other building or contents insurance associated with business, including cover for things like computers, networks and other equipment. Office insurance will usually provide cover in the case of fire, floods and other structural damage.
You can additionally make sure that you have cover for all the computers that you may use throughout the course of your work, this is especially important if, for example, you run a system using a network of computers, which without, doing your normal work may become very difficult.
Alongside physical damage, office insurance provides cover for any loss of productivity as a result of damage or failure of equipment or the premises, meaning that if something were to happen that meant you couldn’t complete your work for a period of time, you would be entitled to recover lost funds. This is known as business interruption insurance and would basically cover you if, due to an insured peril, you were unable to work and would therefore usually be losing money this would make it so that you were still able to claim something back so that it didn’t then put your business into financial difficulties.
Can I Get Insurance Cover for My Home Office?
If you are planning to work in your home office for the foreseeable future, you can cover this under an office insurance policy. This means that you’ll often receive the same protection and terms as with any other office space. It will cover any business-specific equipment, any items that are used in your home office, as well as any loss of power or connections for your phone or broadband connection that may result in loss of ability to work or incur excess costs.
Home office insurance cover also covers loss or damage of records or other documentation, which in some ways, could be at higher risk when within a home environment. The cover may offer the costs of replacing business documents, data and provide support for any liability that may arise.
Is Home Insurance Not Enough?
Office insurance provides excess cover where home insurance won’t. Not all home insurance policies will offer home office cover, meaning that any trouble you have relating to your business equipment or documents won’t fall under home insurance in most cases. Home insurance policies may cover some of the contents of rooms used as an office, but this won’t usually guarantee protection for some equipment or business-specific documents, or power loss.
If you are unsure about what is or isn’t covered by your home insurance, or by office insurance for your home office, check your policy documents or get in touch with a member of our team for advice, or to take out an office insurance policy.