by Rachel Smith
21 May 2014
What insurance arrangements do other home-based freelancers have for their equipment (laptop, phone etc)? Just regular contents insurance, or business-specific insurance? I’m thinking my gear wouldn’t be covered under a regular contents policy since it’s used for business purposes. T
You’re right that many home insurance policies don’t cover electronic equipment or home office furniture. And, it’s a great idea to consider specific business insurance rather than just crossing your fingers and hoping your home and contents policy will cover you – because if you are running a home business without your insurer’s knowledge, it may invalidate your home owner’s policy, from what I’ve heard*. Scary thought if something happens (like a robbery or house fire!)
As a starting point, I’d disclose to your home and contents insurer that you have a home office and check if your existing policy provides the cover you need, or can be amended to include cover in respect of home office content and activities. From what I’ve read and depending on the insurer’s package, business insurance may cover anywhere from $1000-5000 for tools of trade and $10,000-20,000 for home office equipment. That essentially covers your computers, printers, devices such as phones and ipads and office furniture (although make sure you check exactly what it does cover).
You might also want to consider public liability insurance if you’re often holding client meetings out of your home office. Your existing policy may cover you partly for this (always good to check). If it doesn’t, you’ll need to talk to a broker about it; public liability can cover you in the event of anything from a client spilling hot coffee on themselves to having a serious accident on your property. If you have sub-contractors working out of your home office you may need to also look into workers’ compensation (you’re not eligible for this one if you’re a sole trader with zero employees).
Also, I’m seeing more freelancers being asked to take out extra insurances – especially subs going to work in-house, and also if you do work for government agencies certain insurances are becoming non-negotiable. I personally had to take out public liability and professional indemnity when working with a government agency, even though I was working from home as a contract copywriter.
List members: do you have business insurance for your home office or do you just work on an existing home and contents policy? If you do have business insurance, do you just cover your gear or does your policy include liability covers as well? I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
