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Home insurance during the Covid-19 pandemic

If you are an office-based worker and will continue to work from home, it will remain the case that you don’t need to contact your insurer unless any of the following applies:

  • You have visitors to your home on business matters, for example, if you have a face to face client meeting.
  • Your business makes or sells goods from your home or you store any of these items at your home, particularly if valuable or includes hazardous or flammable material (such as gas cylinders or fireworks)
  • You’re offering any other services from your home. For example, this would apply to jobs such as providing beauty treatments, hairdressing, child minding, dog grooming or being an exercise instructor.
  • You’ve adapted your property (i.e. using an outbuilding as your home office or undertaking any major renovation works) or acquired new business equipment that belongs to you.Cover for any business equipment (i.e. laptop) will usually be the employer’s responsibility but check with your employer if unsure.

Anyone who has established, or is planning to establish, a business from home during the pandemic, or has moved the running of their business to their home premises, should discuss the cover required with their insurer or broker.

It is important to make sure that your policy documentation is accurate, and your policy cover remains right for you. If you are not sure, you should contact your insurer or broker to check.

For more information you can read our commonly asked questions here:

My property has suffered damage (from a fire, flood or other named peril) and it’s uninhabitable. I am self-isolating, so will my insurer help me find alternative accommodation?

Insurers’ priority is the safety of their customers and the wider community. Insurers will continue to provide cover for customers as promised in the policy - including funding the cost of alternative accommodation - whilst acting in accordance with the UK Government’s advice at that time.

It is vitally important that you contact your insurer to discuss your claim further, as each one will be managed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that customer interests are best protected.

Do I need to continue to make regular visits to my unoccupied home?

Changes to government advice means you should be able to travel to your second or unoccupied home to undertake necessary checks. Restrictions will differ between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and you should check you are adhering to the law and guidance of the relevant administration.

If you are unable to visit your unoccupied home, due to government advice, insurers have waived the requirement for individuals to check on a property regularly, as long as the property is suitably secure.

Will home insurance cover the cost of a deep clean to my property should it become contaminated by COVID-19?

Most standard home insurance policies do not provide cover for the costs of cleaning a property.