Is Work-From-Home Covered by Insurance?
December 4, 2024

Since the world was taken by storm in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the percentage of Americans working from home jump from 5.7% to 17.9% in a matter of two years.
Even though we’ve recovered from the pandemic and can return to the office, about 25% of employees still work from home at least one day a week.
With this recent increase in Americans working from home, and the number only predicted to grow within the next ten years, there’s a lot to consider about your home office setup. For starters, when transitioning from the office to your home office, life becomes easier in a lot of ways, like wearing your comfortable clothes and skipping brutal rush hour traffic.
Definitely, working from home has its benefits and has actually been seen to increase employee satisfaction and productivity levels while decreasing turnover rate. All of these perks come with a variety of risks that could make or break your home office setup since it’s susceptible to theft, fire, and natural disasters. Now let’s take a further look at how to fill any gaps in your coverage.
Contents and personal property...
Personal property and content coverage (Coverage C) is a standard for most homeowners insurance policy. Each homeowner’s insurance policy may have different qualifiers for what is covered for those working from home. Moreover, carriers can establish limits of coverage per occurrence. So, if you have multiple items stolen at once, reimbursements are only paid to that limit. You should consider purchasing additional insurance with a schedule of work items.
What Does Your Policy Cover?
The first thing homeowners need to take a look at is what their current policy covers, a home office setup may be partially covered. Most standard homeowner policies cover other structures and personal property in cases like fire, natural disaster, and theft. A small percentage of other structures may be partially covered based on your dwelling policy, but if your home office setup operates out of a separate building such as a shed, garage, or storage container then you might want to add additional coverage.
Another standard policy is personal property coverage, this can include but is not limited to business equipment such as your laptop, cell phone, headset, printer, desk, and chair. While this may be enough to seem like full coverage, your personal property policy is typically capped at a certain dollar amount. Ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 for business-related items, with lower limits (as low as $500) for items used offsite or during travel. An option many insurers offer include raising limits or adding home office specific endorsements to increase your coverage.
Employer-Provided Equipment
If you’re a remote employee you probably received your work materials like your laptop directly from your company. In this case if any of your business equipment has been provided by your employer, you may not need to worry about adding additional coverage to your policy. In most cases employers will provide insurance for the work materials and equipment that they send to employees, not including additional purchases.
However there are a couple of exceptions to this general rule, the first is that taking the company equipment outside of your home may not be covered unless it’s specifically stated in the policy. Secondly, your company policy is not likely to cover any damages due to negligence or user error. Clarifying what materials are under your responsibility with your employer can help you identify any outstanding gaps in coverage.
Cyber Insurance - Is it Necessary?
As remote work increases and technology continues to advance, so does the threat of cyberattacks, malware, and hackers. Using a Cyber Insurance endorsement as a front line of defense is vital to protect your company's information and avoid the financial consequences of an attack. Identifying whether or not cyber insurance is your responsibility versus your employer's responsibility is a great first place to start especially if you work remote, hybrid, or manage sensitive information.
If there’s any gaps in your employer’s coverage or if you work with any personal devices, you may opt to purchase additional cyber insurance for extra protection.
Working remotely has amazing benefits and will continue to grow as technology progresses. From increased productivity to employee satisfaction and the convenience of working in your own home, you can’t deny that these are some amazing benefits. These great benefits also come with some high risk factors. If you’re not sure what’s covered in your home office, contact your employer and insurance broker to evaluate any gaps, gain peace of mind that you’re fully protected and can continue to thrive in your home office!
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At Nsurance Nation, our independent agents are licensed insurance professionals who do not work for a particular insurance provider. Similar to a financial advisor, they are trained to look out for your assets, compare coverages, and streamline the shopping experience. Contact Nsurance Nation to find out if personal cyber insurance or identity theft protection can be added to your homeowners, renters or condo insurance policy.