Nowadays, working from home is growing increasingly popular, and with good reason! It allows for :
- Saving time on travel,
- Reducing office rental costs in sectors of activity that allow it,
- Accommodating employees for a better work-life balance,
- Or offering flexibility to a younger generation aspiring to a better quality of life.
But working at home has its challenges - and insurance is one of them.
Working from Home or Self-Employed?
If you work from home, it is important to let your insurance broker know. He or she will help you determine your exact status and suggest the coverage you need to practice your profession in complete security.
WFH : Your Insurance
Employees who work from home are still company employees. The only difference is that their work is done (part-time or full-time), from their home instead of the company premises. His/her professional equipment must be declared by his/her employer in order to be covered by the relevant extensions to the employer's property and equipment insurance in case of damage.
As an employee working from home, it is important to inform your home insurance broker of certain specificities:
- Does the insured receive clients at home?
- Does the insured work in a basement office? Civil liability could be triggered if an accident occurs (for example, a step of the domestic staircase comes loose and causes an accident with injury to a client or a colleague).
- Is the employee working from home a tenant?
Self-Employed : Your Insurance
The entrepreneur or self-employed person carries out an activity on his own behalf and must declare his professional income. They therefore need more specific insurance coverage.
It may be a given to those who manufacture products at home (seamstress, painter, cabinetmaker), but it is also relevant to service providers such as writers, hairdressers, telephone sales workers, bookkeepers, etc.
These protections usually come in the form of:
- Civil Liability Insurance related to its commercial activities (on and off the premises) allowing the insured to be protected for bodily injury and/or property damage that it could cause directly or indirectly in the course of its activities.
For example, a coffee machine distributor for company ABC (telephone sales) takes orders for coffee machines and has them delivered to customers. A fire is caused by the coffee machine at the home of one of his customers. The customer is at high risk of being sued along with the manufacturer of the coffee machine.
In conclusion, remember that people who work from home must mention their activities to their broker in order to avoid exposing themselves to damages that are not or only partially covered.
