Home contents or Business insurance..?

richimgd

Member
Alrighty,

I have a question about insurance...! Please, dont leave...!

Basically I am full time employed while also a sole trader for extra bits of design work I do. I need to get some home contents insurance but also want to check if it will cover the business activities / items rather than wanting to take out specialist business insurance - if possible since my actual business income is only quite modest since it is not my full time job.

The main expensive item I have is a new Macbook so need to make sure that its covered. I bought it for pure business use so need to check if the average home insurance will cover this as an option. Also I occasionally have clients round my place to discuss projects etc - i.e between 0-2 times per month, so hardly a full time type of business.

Does anyone know if this type of use could be taken care of with some kind of home insurance policy or would I need to take out additional business cover? I noticed on compare the market there was an option that I ticked which was if clients visit my home for business use - so I guess this might not require a separate business insurance policy... I've been in touch with one insurer and waiting to hear back from them. Since this is a bit of a minefield I thought I would see if anyone has any experience or recommendations?

Cheers
 
Hi Greg, cheers for the post.
Thanks - I've actually just been on that website but didn't see the home business page so will give that a read.

I will see what works out cheaper, getting regular home insurance and then separate business insurance or some kind of combination. The main thing is making sure everything is covered properly..!
 
Hey rich, I'm in a similar boat to you, although my freelance work is taking priority over my part-time job. Let us know how you get on and if you have any interesting discoveries :)
 
Hey Squiddy,

Yep I'm currently looking into it so will have to soon find out as I am currently uninsured :eek:

I think I might need regular home contents insurance which I would have to confirm covers studio gear and then take out extra public liability insurance, or home insurance and then public liability + studio equipment cover. There are a lot of options for other types of business liability which are the type of things that a solid contract should protect you against. Its just often some of my bigger jobs are so casual that I dont even use a contract. I dont think the types of clients I have are the sort that would sue me if they trip up when visiting me for a meeting!

I'll update this post with my findings...
 
I'm in the same situation, used to be full time freelance, and limited for while. Now full time employed but continue to do a bit of work in evenings for some of my loyal clients, occasionally taking on new clients through recommendation.

Tesco finest home insurance covers business equipment as standard, I guess this is to cover the number of people that take work laptops home etc. I think the cover is something silly like £100k. This would be all you'd need to cover your equipment.

However if you're inviting clients into your home you should technically have public liabilty insurance, it may also be a condition of your mortgage that they are aware of that part of the house is used for business purposes. If this is a dedicated part of the houes then you may be able to claim a portion of your bills as expenses, but this is getting into a whole other area.

If as you say you've found a policy on Compare, that sepcicially asks the question, do clients visit your house then this may be the route to explore.

If in doubt you definatley need to talk to someone. I've found the people at Tesco quite good, any company "even on compare" should have knowledageable people on the end of the phone. Find a good quite and given 'em a ring. If they're easy to get hold of and helpful then it's a good sign that if you ever need to claim they'll be good to deal with then.

General rule : If they're crap at new business write them off as they'll be a nighmare to deal with as a customer.
 
Hi, cheers for the reply,

Yep I've been looking into it some more and I've also found that business equipment can be covered as part of a home contents insurance policy. I've spoke to a couple of companies and the main thing that worried them was client visits. It is the risk of clients visiting me and then sealing from me apparently which is an issue, although with the liability risk presumably. It looks like I will need business public liability insurance as a separate policy. It was an insurance broker from Swinton who I have been speaking to. It seems so unlikely that I will ever need it. Most of my clients seem to be more like friends to me anyway so I doubt I would get into a situation where I would be getting sued - but I think it is a legal requirement to have it.

Regarding the Tesco finest insurance. When I clicked to get a quote, it requires agreeing to a series of statements including: "It isn't used for business other than childminding or paper work (clerical work)" and further down the page "If you can't say 'yes' to all of the above questions...Unfortunately we can't offer you home insurance at this time."
 
Well I've got some insurance sorted. I spoke to an insurance broker who found me something suitable for my home contents which also covers the macbook for business use both inside and outside my address, including accidental damage. I am not allowed to advertise my address as part of my business, i.e not in any advertising etc - which is fine. I need to take out additional public liability insurance for client visits. There is also professional indemnity insurance that I might get also just to cover my ass a bit more although I'm sure a decent contract will help prevent any issues to do with what that would protect me against...
 
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