Pledges by members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to support both those working from home due to the pandemic and drivers have been extended till 31 December 2020. The continued extra support could be of significant help to many of the UK’s 17 million home insurance policyholders and 27 million motor insurance customers, as:
- During June nearly half (49%) of people in employment were working at least in part from their home according to the Office of National Statistics.
- In April, according to NHS England, over 750,000 people signed up to be NHS volunteers in some way.
In particular:
Working from home. If you are an office-based worker and are working from home because of the pandemic, your home insurance cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover.
Use of your vehicle. If you have to drive to and from your workplace because of the impact of Covid-19, your insurance policy will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover.
Also, if you are using your own car for voluntary purposes to transport medicines or groceries to support others who are impacted by Covid-19, your cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover. This applies to all categories of NHS Volunteer Responders, including transporting patients, equipment, or other essential supplies.
The temporary pledges remain under review; the next review of home and motor insurance will take place in advance of 31 December. If policyholders have less temporary changes in their working at home or driving patterns that will continue into the next 12 months and are renewing their insurance policy, they should discuss these changes with their insurer.
Laura Hughes, ABI’s Manager, General Insurance, said:
“The extension of these temporary pledges underlines the commitment of insurers to helping customers through these continued challenging times. From pledges of extra support, paying over £1.8 billion in Covid-related claims, and donating through the Covid-19 Support Fund over £100 million to help the most vulnerable, insurers continue to do all they can to help their customers and wider society during the crisis”.
Full details of the current pledges made by home and motor insurers:
- Support those who need to make a claim. Insurers have implemented business continuity plans and work closely with service providers to do everything possible in these challenging circumstances to continue to handle claims and support their customers. We recognise there will be many customers who will need additional support and insurers will prioritise those in vulnerable circumstances.
- Support those who are working from home. If you are an office-based worker and are working from home as a result of the pandemic, your home insurance cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover.
- Support those who cannot work from home. If you have to drive to your workplace because of the impact of Covid-19, your insurance policy will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover.
- Support those who use their cars to help their communities. If you are using your own car for voluntary purposes to transport medicines or groceries to support others who are impacted by Covid-19, your cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover. This applies to all categories of NHS Volunteer Responders, including transporting patients, equipment, or other essential supplies.
- Support our key workers. If your work is critical to the national response to Covid-19 and you need to use your own car to drive to different locations for work purposes because of the impact of Covid-19, your cover will not be affected. You do not need to contact your insurer to update your documents or extend your cover.
-ENDS-
Notes for Editors
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