Do Business Owners Need Work From Home Insurance for Remote Staff?

In today’s business world, having employees work from home is common. Employees appreciate the flexibility, and businesses have discovered they can get similar or even more productivity from their remote teams.?

However, as a business owner, it can be difficult to know what insurance coverage you need when your team works from home. Do you still need a regular business owner’s policy? What other types of insurance should you consider?

Here’s what you need to know about work from home insurance when your staff is remote.

A Business Owner’s Policy (BOP)

As a business owner, you still need a business owner’s policy even if your team works from home. Employees’ homeowners insurance generally excludes home-based business activities and equipment, so in order to cover business losses, you need a BOP.?

A business owner’s policy includes general liability coverage, which includes injuries or property damage that result from something your employees or company did or failed to do. The liability coverage also includes libel, copyright infringement, and more.

The property insurance in a BOP covers business equipment used by employees when they work from home. If your team members use company-owned laptops or cell phones, for example, you’d need a business owner’s policy to cover them. The property coverage will also apply to the company’s physical office, warehouses, and other commercial buildings.

Cybersecurity Insurance

When your employees work remotely, business data travels over computer networks on a daily basis. Having strong cybersecurity processes and enforcing them is essential, but it’s also important to take another step and get cybersecurity insurance.

An incredible 83% of organizations suffered multiple data breaches in 2022. Data breaches are generally excluded from the general liability portion of a business owner’s policy, so having separate cyber coverage is a vital part of protecting your business.?

An experienced insurance broker can help you sort through the wide variety of options and choose the right coverage for your business. Generally, cybersecurity insurance covers costs to restore damaged computer systems and recover compromised data, as well as legal fees and expenses from liability claims. The coverage can also help your company notify customers of the breach and restore the identities of any customers who are victimized.?

Worker’s Compensation Coverage

Even though employees are working from home, the company is still responsible for injuries that happen during work. That means having worker’s compensation is essential — in fact, it’s legally required.

If a remote worker is injured and files a worker’s compensation claim, they must prove that the injury happened during work hours while they were performing work duties. Once they do, worker’s compensation covers medical bills and lost wages while they get treatment and recover.

Worker’s compensation is required for full-time employees, not contractors or freelancers. Make sure you’re accurate about this classification, as there can be significant penalties.

Get the Work From Home Insurance Your Business Needs

The fact that your team works from home doesn’t change the fact that you need standard business insurance coverage to help your business recover from losses related to liability, property damage, and more.?

Working with an experienced broker can help you get the insurance coverage your business needs. Contact me today for affordable, customized quotes.?