Does Having Work-From-Home Employees Change Your Business Insurance Needs?

Small business owners are responsible for providing employees with safe work environments. All home-based workers have the same workers’ compensation benefits as in-office employees. Accidents happen during work, and they can just as easily occur in the home.

Below are some steps to protect your work from home employees and your business:

• Require that employees comply with the health and safety policies of your business.
• Take a photo of the office space for your records.
• If possible, assign the employee to a specific room or area of their home for working..
• Require employees to check if their homeowner’s insurance will provide property coverages in the event of damage done during working hours.

You may be able to add coverage to your business insurance policy that helps protect your business equipment not being used on your business’s property. However, if work-related damage occurs to the employee’s home, your policy may not cover the loss if that property is not listed as a location on your insurance policy.

It is also important to ensure that all employee devices including laptops, tablets, and desktops are protected from intrusion. Have an IT professional set up a secure connection from the employee’s home to your company network.

Talk you your agent at Professional Underwriters to ensure you have the proper coverages in place.