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.
More information
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 caused 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*
*Survey data of 1,089 buying customers from 30th October – 12th November 2024
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, including attached garages and conservatories, if you need to rebuild or repair it following an insured loss. Also covers permanent outdoor structures such as driveways, patios and boundary walls.
£1 million
(more cover available if you need it)
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
Covers the cost of alternative accommodation for you and your pets, together with reasonable expenses (e.g. travel, food, laundry) if you can’t live in your home (or where you’ve been advised to evacuate) due to an insured loss.
up to £85,000
Home emergency
Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies, such as uncontrollable water leaks, that require immediate corrective action to prevent or limit damage to your home, or make your home secure. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £500
Family legal protection
Covers legal costs following an insured loss. There must be reasonable prospects of winning and the incident must have occurred during the policy term. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £25,000
Trace and access
Covers the cost of detecting the source of a water or oil leak to your home or outbuildings. Includes reinstating any wall, floor, ceiling, drive, fence or path removed or damaged during the search (up to the claim limit).
up to £10,000
Outbuildings cover
Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (e.g. detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses) that are within the boundary or a communal area you’re legally responsible for, if you need to rebuild or repair them following an insured loss.
from £20,000
Liability cover
Covers damages and claimants’ costs and expenses for your legal liability in the event of accidental death, injury or illness to a third party, or damage to property belonging to a third party. 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
Covers items likely to be worn, carried or used by you away from your home (e.g. bags, clothes and sports equipment) in the event of physical damage or theft. Cover provided anywhere in the world.
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), valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery), equipment (e.g. hearing aids) and other expensive or high risk items that you take out of your home.
Optional
Accidental damage
Covers sudden, unexpected and unforeseen events around the house (e.g. spillages or breakages) that result in physical damage and which was caused by you, your guests, a third party or wild animals. Two levels of cover are available. No cover is provided for any area of the home used by paying guests.
Optional
Your Questions Answered
If you’re running a business from home you’ll need specialist home insurance, however if you are simply doing office work from home there is no need for specialist cover.
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.
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?
Find answers to some of your questions here. Your latest policy documents are also available to view and download.
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 …
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.
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 …
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