Looking back over the years it was much rarer for businesses to trade from their home address. This is not to say that this didn’t happen, just less often.
I remember when John Birt was in charge of the BBC, this was the first time (to me) that a large organisation had gone through a major outsourcing project. Many functions that he thought were costly to the BBC were outsourced. Truth be told it was a bitter pill to swallow as a lot of outsourcing goes hand in hand with job cuts. Now, I am not saying he was the first, but it now much more accepted for businesses to outsource a lot of, mainly, clerical functions. Much of this outsourcing is being undertaken by the same people that did the job in the first place. It may cost the parent company slightly more, but when you add in the pension, tax, sickness and other associated staffing costs there is a financial reason why outsourcing goes on.
This has resulted in many thousands of people doing the job they have done for year’s but from their home address.
There is a common misconception that a lot of home insurance policies will automatically cover business assets. This is not true.
Firstly, you need to tell your home insurer that you are trading from home as most policies will restrict or even exclude cover where a business is carried on from the home address.
Secondly, you need to see if they will cover your business assets and/or liabilities. Chances are they will not, or if they do it will be a hefty additional premium.
If this is the case, you can look for a home office insurance policy. Many underwriters will offer these types of policies and the premiums are very, very low compared to the level of cover provided. Annual premiums for business assets and liabilities (excluding professional indemnity) for a clerical business will start at around £75.00.
They may be slightly harder to find than a standard office insurance policy, speak to a business insurance broker, over the net or local, and see what they can do for you.