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Our cover

Home Business Insurance

Home insurance with business use for the modern worker  

  • We cover homes with full-time, part-time, and hobby home businesses.
  • Business equipment covered.
  • Underwritten by AXA Insurance.
David Joyson

Written by

David Joyson

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Libby Goodsearles

Reviewed by

Libby Goodsearles

Head of Marketing

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 12 Mar 2024

Home Insurance with business use

Home insurance cover that takes the impact of your business into account

Whether you’re a childminder, counsellor, retailer, or any other type of home-based entrepreneur, running a business from home is a great option for professionals seeking advantages such as greater flexibility, reduced overhead costs, and the additional perks of working from the comfort of their own home.  

However, it’s important to be aware of the unique risks that can come with operating a business from home. Starting a home business introduces new risks to your living space, security, business equipment, and any visitors coming to your home.   

At Homeprotect, we recognise that not every home business looks the same, which is why when it comes to home business insurance, your contents insurance policy can be tailored to meet your needs according to the type of business assets kept on your premises. However, if your work includes travel, don’t forget to get cover away from the home for valuables like cameras, laptops, mobile phones and baggage. As a home business owner, you may also have lots of different people visiting your home. Public liability insurance protects you from claims made by third parties for accidents or injuries sustained on your premises.  

Home and contents insurance with business use: key points

  • You must inform your insurance provider if you are running or plan to run a business from home. 
  • Choose a policy that covers your business equipment, including laptops, office furniture and stock. 
  • Check your mortgage or rental contracts to make sure you aren’t breaking any terms by starting a business from your house.  
  • If you have employees, you are legally required to have employer’s liability insurance. This is separate from your domestic home insurance.  

Home Insurance with business use Reviews

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What’s covered by HOME insurance with business use?

Home insurance provides financial protection if you need to repair your home or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.

It comes in two parts: buildings insurance (cover against damage to the property itself) and contents insurance (for damaged or stolen items within the home). These can be combined or bought separately, so the first step is deciding which option is better for you.

What we offer

Quick home emergency response times

Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.

Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated buildings cover

Our building insurance has been given the highest rating by independent financial research companies, Defaqto and Moneyfacts.

Repair guarantee

Any buildings work we undertake is guaranteed for 24 months following a claim and any contents repair work we undertake is guaranteed for 12 months.

New for old

Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.

Legal advice

We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.

What isn’t included?

Damage cause gradually, or by wear and tear, or by failure to fix a known issue.

Faulty design or poor workmanship.

Theft, vandalism or accidental damage caused by a paying guest.

The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.

Lost items.

Business stock.

Recommended by our customers

72% Saved money when they switched to Homeprotect*

Home Insurance with business use Cover Levels

Our home insurance is designed to protect your home against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.

Buildings cover

Covers the main structure of your home if you need to rebuild or repair it.

up to £1 million

(eligibility criteria applies)

Contents cover

Covering the value of all your possessions in the home, on a new for old basis. Business equipment (e.g. desktop computers, photocopiers, printers, office furniture) is covered up to £3,000 per claim (a higher claim limit is available if you need it). Laptops and mobile phones worth less than £1,500 each are covered as standard inside the home – more expensive electronic gadgets can be covered as an optional extra.  

from £25,000

Alternative accommodation

For you and your pets, in case you can’t live at your home while it’s being repaired after an insured event.

up to £85,000

Home emergency

Covers emergencies that occur in your home like uncontrollable water leaks, electricity failure, faulty locks and vermin infestation. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £500

Family legal protection

Provides a 24/7 legal advice helpline and up to £25,000 cover for claims involving contract disputes and property damage. For a claim to be successful, there must be reasonable prospects (more than a 50% chance) of winning the legal case. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £25,000

Trace and access

Covers the cost of detecting the source of a water or oil leak and repairing any damage caused in the process.

up to £10,000

Outbuildings cover

Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (such as detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses).

from £20,000

Liability cover

Liability cover involving accidental death, bodily injury or illness or property damage that you are legally liable to pay. There is a claims limit of £100,000 for incidents arising out of the supply of food and drink to paying guests.

up to £5 million

Personal possessions

Cover for portable items that you take out of your home, like bags, clothes and sports equipment

Optional

Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home

Cover for electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc), bikes (including electrically assisted bikes) and valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery) that you take out of your home.

Optional

Accidental damage

Covers situations when unexpected accidents happen, such as spillages on the carpet, breakages around the house or drilling through hidden pipes. Two levels of cover are available. No cover is provided for any area of the home used by paying guests.

Optional

Your Questions Answered

Yes, you need to let us know if your home is undergoing renovations valued over £20,000.  

If you don’t, you may find your policy invalid in the event of a claim. This applies whether or not you continue to live in your home while the work is being done. This is because the risk of something unexpected happening to your home and its contents increases considerably during renovations.   

In most cases, they are covered up to a certain maximum per claim if you make sure the value of these items are included in the value of contents to be insured. You can find out more about our garage insurance here, and our shed insurance. Please note that there are some items that we can’t insure such as boats and water skis, please refer to the policy booklets for full details.

Public liability insurance can cover damages and claimants’ costs and expenses for your legal liability in the event of accidental death, bodily injury or illness to a third party, or damage to property belonging to a third party that is not in the custody or control of you, your family or domestic staff.

If you are operating a business and have staff then you must take out Employer’s Liability Insurance. This can cover you in the case of claims relating to illness or injury of staff as a direct result of their employment in your company. Up to £2,500 in fines per day can be charged if you do not have this form of insurance in place. Sole traders are exempt from this.

Yes, business equipment is covered as standard under a Homeprotect Contents policy – up to £3,000 per claim. A higher claim limit can potentially arranged following referral to our underwriting team.

We define business equipment as equipment used to run your business, such as desktop computers, keyboards, monitors, office furniture, photocopiers, printers, routers.

Laptops, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets are also covered under a Homeprotect Contents policy, though these are not subject to the £3,000 claims limit.

Business tools (e.g. professional lawnmowers, kilns, power tools) and business stock are not covered as standard under a Homeprotect policy, though they can be potentially covered following referral to our underwriting team.

Most insurance policies exclude property that is used for business. This is why we have developed our policy for people who run a business at home, specifically for you. The policy includes the cover you need for business equipment, public liability cover and in some cases a certain amount of insurance for your business stock. Find out more about our home business insurance.

View more FAQs

New Customer?

If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.

Existing Customer?

Additional Cover Options

Accidental Damage

The Homeprotect policy includes the option of Basic Accidental Damage, which covers electrical home entertainment equipment (such as desktop computers and monitors, DVD and Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, home cinema systems, sound systems and TVs) up to £1,500 per claim. An upgrade …

Learn More

Legal expenses cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Legal Expenses cover which provides up to £25,000 for legal fees you may face for disputes associated with your home; such as ownership of the insured property; and the sale or purchase of the insured property. You can upgrade to Full Legal Expenses cover.

Learn More

Home emergency cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Home Emergency cover which provides cover for common home emergencies including burst pipes; failure of the domestic power supply (gas or electricity); and removal of pests or vermin. You can upgrade to Full Home Emergency to include cover for roof …

Learn More

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