Home Business & Work from Home Insurance

Specialist cover for professionals based at home from £5 a month*

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We provide specialist home business insurance for a wide range of industries, tailored to your requirements.

It’s a common mistake for self-employed people who work from home to think that they don’t need business insurance. The fact is, if you’re running a business from your home, the services you provide and the equipment and materials you rely on probably aren’t covered by your home insurance policy. This means that if something goes wrong, you could be left counting the cost.

At Markel Direct, we provide specialist work from home insurance that can protect your finances and give you peace of mind. We offer excellent value cover for a wide range of industries, tailored to your precise requirements.

Do I need insurance to work or run a business from home?

While specialist home working insurance isn’t a legal necessity, if you run a business from home, it’s a good idea to have this kind of protection in place.

For example, if you employ anyone as part of your business (and unless you meet specific exemption criteria), you will be legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. Also, depending on the industry you operate in, you might be required by a client or regulatory body to have professional indemnity insurance in place.

Other types of cover, such as business equipment insurance, may not be mandatory but might be highly beneficial when it comes to protecting your finances.

For more information, take a look at our guide to Why Homeworkers Need Business Insurance.

What is home business insurance?

Home business insurance (also known as homeworkers insurance) is designed to protect those who run a business from home. There are different types of cover available for home-based businesses, covering everything from specialist policies for business equipment to public liability should you interact with clients or members of the public. These policies are designed to provide protection where standard home or business policies may be insufficient.

Our business insurance for home-based business is available with a wide range of cover options so you can purchase the right policy for you.

What insurance do I need to run a business from home?

Whether you’re a craft seller or you run a tutoring business, if you work from home, there are a variety of insurance products you may need. As a starting point, you might want to consider public liability, professional indemnity, employers’ liability and business equipment insurance.

With different levels of cover available, you can fit your home-based business insurance to your situation. Here are some examples of scenarios in which the right insurance policies can protect your business against significant financial loss:

Theft of or damage to equipment

Whether you use standard technology like a laptop or have thousands of pounds worth of specialist equipment, our business equipment insurance can protect your vital tech.

Injury or illness suffered by employees

Our home business cover can be tailored to include employers’ liability insurance, which is legal requirement if you hire employees for your home-based business. It covers costs arising due to injury or illness suffered by your employees as a result of working for your business.

Injury caused to third parties

If you regularly interact with members of the public as part of your business, public liability insurance can protect you against allegations of injury (or damage to third-party property)

Allegations of negligence

If you provide professional services to clients, you may benefit from having professional indemnity insurance in place. This type of cover protects you against claims of professional negligence, such as giving wrongful or incorrect advice.

Cyber attacks

If you store sensitive data about your clients or employees on laptops, desktops, tablets and other internet connected devices, a data breach could have disastrous consequences for your business. Cyber insurance is there to help cover the costs you face in a situation like this.

Meanwhile, if you’re a cake maker who operates out of a home kitchen and you’re wondering “what insurance do I need for a home baking business?”, then take a look at our guide to this specific kind of home-working cover.

Home insurance when working from home

Do you need separate home and business insurance? Well, if you have a standard home insurance policy in place, the chances are you will need separate cover for your business. Business insurance for working from home is quite different, and more tailored to suit homeworkers. Check the details of your existing home insurance policy to see exactly what you are covered for and what types of financial protection you may be lacking.

Home insurance usually covers:

  • damage to the structure of your building from fires, storms and floods
  • theft of contents, such as furniture, clothing and electronics
  • fire or water damage to your belongings, such as furniture, clothing and electronics
  • vandalism of contents, such as furniture, clothing and electronics

Unfortunately, home insurance is unlikely to offer home workers the specialist protection they need. If you work from home, you may want to consider taking out personal possessions cover as part of your home insurance to protect you against the loss, damage or theft of items you may take out and about for work. Personal possessions insurance can cover a variety of items, including:

  • phones
  • tablets
  • laptops
  • cameras
  • musical instruments
  • sports equipment

In addition, if you run a business from home, you’ll need to make sure you have the right business insurance in place. For example, if you employ workers, you’ll need employers’ liability insurance. If you deal with members of the public, you should consider taking out public liability insurance, and if you give advice or offer a professional service in the course of your work, you’ll require professional indemnity insurance.

How much does home business insurance cost?

At Markel Direct, we offer home-based business insurance from £5 a month for £1 million worth of public liability cover*. When it comes to insurance, the cost varies from business to business depending on;

  • The size of your business - your turnover and whether you have any employees
  • The level of cover you choose
  • The types of projects you work on and the equipment you use

To get a clearer idea of how much you’ll pay, simply get a quote online.

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Cover starting at £5 a month

Tailor your homeworker insurance with these specialist covers

  • Professional indemnity insurance

    Professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of professional negligence (such as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice) and any compensation or damages subsequently awarded against you. This is vital protection for all homeworkers and insurance cover is available with limits ranging from £50,000 to £5m.

  • Public liability insurance for working from home

    If members of the public visit your home for business purposes, then you should consider having public liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance safeguards your business against compensation claims, and the associated legal costs, if a third party becomes injured or their property is damaged due to your work.

    For example, if a customer visits your business to collect an order and slips on a wet floor, you could be held liable for compensation. Similarly, if a dressmaker ripped a client’s wedding dress while making alterations, they could be responsible for paying damages.

  • Employer’s liability insurance for working from home

    If you employ workers, you are legally obliged to have employers’ liability insurance in place - whether they work from home or not. You must take out this cover as soon as you become an employer and your policy must cover you for at least £5 million. Employers’ liability is there to protect you should an employee sustain an injury or develop an illness because of the work they do for you. There are however situations in which this cover isn’t necessary. For example, if you only employ a family member or someone who is based abroad, you may be exempt.

  • Legal expenses insurance

    Commercial legal expenses insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided for the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.

  • Directors and officers insurance

    Directors and officers insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided in respect of the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.

  • Office insurance

    Home office insurance covers your office buildings, office contents and computer equipment against accidental damage (including theft) whilst on your business premises. You can also choose to cover your business equipment (such as laptops and mobile phones) on a worldwide basis, and insure your business against loss of income and/or additional trading expenses following events such as damage to your property.

  • Occupational personal accident insurance

    Occupational personal accident insurance provides a weekly payment if you are unable to work due to temporary total disablement (subject to a 14-day deferment period) due to an accident at work, or when travelling to and from work. In the event of loss of limbs, sight, speech, hearing, permanent total disablement or death, a lump sum would be paid out. You should consider this cover if you would struggle to maintain an income following an accident that left you unable to work. Limits from £100/week to £500/week for temporary total disablement (£25k lump sum to £100k lump sum for permanent total disablement).

  • Cyber and data risks insurance

    Cyber insurance pays the costs of restoring data and equipment, informing clients, meeting ransom demands and loss of your net profit following a cyber-attack. It also pays your legal defence costs and damages you are legally liable to pay to other parties. If you hold confidential information about your clients and their projects on computers and other internet connected devices, you should consider to this cover.

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Frequently asked questions

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Cover starting at £5 a month

Frequently asked questions

  • Does my home insurance cover my garden office?

    If you use a garden office for recreational use, your home insurance package should provide the cover you need. However, if you use it for business purposes, you may require commercial cover in the form of homeworker’s insurance.

  • Do I need business insurance if working from home?

    Yes, regardless of whether you work from home or not, if you work as a contractor, freelancer or if you run an SME, charity or community group, you should have the appropriate insurance in place.

    For example, you may require employers’ liability insurance if you have employees, public liability insurance if you come into contact with members of the public or professional indemnity insurance if you provide advice or a professional service.

    At Markel, we can create a home worker’s insurance package that is tailored to your specific needs and covers the risks you face.

  • Does working from home affect my car insurance?

    If you use your own car in the course of your business activities, you might need to amend your car insurance to cover the miles you travel on top of non-work driving.

    Your current policy may only cover social, domestic and pleasure (SDP) use, also known as ‘social only’ use. This covers things like going shopping, visiting family and friends and going on days out. You may also have cover for social, domestic and pleasure including commuting (SDP+C) use.

    Some comprehensive policies cover business use as standard but you should check your policy. If you drive for business reasons, for example to deliver an order to a customer or to go to a client meeting, and you don’t have suitable cover in place, you’re breaking the law and risk being fined and getting points on your licence. You could even be disqualified from driving.

  • Do I have to tell my insurer I work from home?

    It’s important that your home insurer has as full a picture as possible of your circumstances so it’s a good idea to tell your insurer if you work from home, even if it is just on a part-time or occasional basis. You must tell your insurer if any of the following apply:

    • You’ve moved a business to your home or are planning to
    • You make, sell or store goods at your home
    • Members of the public visit your home for business reasons
    • You’ve adapted your home for business purposes
    • You’ve purchased equipment that belongs to your business

  • Does home insurance cost more if you run a business from home?

    If you run a business from home, your insurer will need to take this into consideration when calculating the cost of your premium. You may find that your premium increases, especially if you have regular visitors to your property for business purposes or you store valuable goods or hazardous equipment for work at your home.

  • What’s considered ‘business use’?

    Business use is usually defined as any activity performed in a repeated or continued way for financial gain.

  • How is Markel regulated?

    Markel is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FCA registered number 202570). You can find out more on the Financial Services Register.

Specialist services available to Markel policyholders

Our policyholders receive access to these unique services designed to make your life easier (included as standard with certain covers).

24 hour legal helpline 24 hour legal advice helpline

When you insure with Markel, you'll benefit from 24/7 telephone access to a qualified solicitor at no additional cost. Expert legal advice can be costly when you're working for yourself and it's difficult to know who to turn to for a trustworthy answer. Whether it's a question on health and safety, employment law, legal structures for your business or how to handle a difficult client, an experienced team of solicitors are on hand day and night to help you with any business-related legal queries. Included as standard with all policies.

Legal hub access Markel Business Hub access

In addition to our 24 hour legal helpline, you'll have access to the Markel Business Hub - an award winning online resource of legal and business guides, templates and content written and created by our team of expert solicitors. Instantly download ready-made contracts, policies, procedures and guidance you can use for your business - without paying any expensive legal fees. Included as standard with all policies.

Fee dispute service

Customers don't always pay on time and chasing fees or invoices costs time and money. Mindful of the impact this has on your business, we offer our policyholders access to a unique fee dispute helpline operated by one of the UK's leading law firms, who will provide specialist legal guidance and support on fee dispute issues. Included as standard with professional indemnity insurance.

Discounted IR35 contract reviews

Falling within IR35 legislation - which determines that an individual is avoiding tax by using a limited company to disguise employment - is a huge concern for contractors and consultants, with the fees and penalties due to HMRC eye-wateringly high. Our policyholders receive an exclusive discount on IR35 contract reviews from Markel Tax (a Markel company), who have over 20 years experience advising individuals and businesses on their tax status. As part of the service, Markel Tax will review your contract, along with your working practices, to determine whether or not you are operating outside of IR35, and you'll receive a written report with suggested contract amendments where appropriate. Policyholders can access this service by calling 0345 223 2727 or emailing contractreviews@markel.com, quoting 'MKLD' and your policy number.

Public relations crisis management service

In today's 24 hour news culture, public relations disasters can occur at any time. Having to deal with the press whilst managing a difficult situation can be hugely stressful as well as being a potential minefield. When there is a risk to your business as a result of negative press attention, our specialist public relations crisis management firm, The Counsel House, will work with you to help manage allegations of fraud, injury caused to employees or the public, and official investigations into your company's affairs. Included as standard with professional indemnity insurance, directors and officers insurance, cyber and data risks insurance and legal representation and employment disputes insurance.

Cyber response helpline

If you're the victim of a targeted cyber attack, our cyber response helpline provides access to specialist solicitors and information security experts who will give expert legal and technical IT security guidance on the issues arising from cyber and data protection risks. Included as standard with cyber and data risks insurance.

Cover starting at £5 a month

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