The Hidden Insurance Risks of Remote Work

Following 2020 and 2021, it felt like everyone across the world had the same realisation. The realisation that, perhaps, we don’t have to go to the office. We can stay at home and get the same amount of work done – sometimes more – and in doing so, save on a range of time commitments, commuting hassles, and costs.

As time has moved forward, this option has also become more accessible, especially since the widespread adoption of flexible workplace policies.

Not to mention, the fact that it’s become a lot easier to get cost-efficient VPNs – which make secure remote access simple – and with cloud-based collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, remote working is now a real choice for everyone, rather than just the ‘privileged’ employees. Are there any free VPNs nowadays? You would be surprised that getting a VPN right now is cheaper than ever.

But that’s not to say there aren’t challenges. In the insurance-verse, specifically, there are a number of unique hurdles to overcome – especially if you’re a small business owner or freelancer – many of which can catch you out if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

So with this in mind, we thought it was a good idea to let you know, listing out all the hidden insurance risks of remote work to ensure you don’t fall into any of the traps that can turn what should be a privilege into one big nightmare.

Home Office Liability

The first thing you need to be aware of is home office liability. Let’s say you’re working from home and a client or colleague visits your house for a meeting, only to trip over a loose cable and injure themselves. Alternatively, let’s say a piece of office equipment causes unexpected damage to a client’s property.

In such scenarios, standard home insurance might not cover the incidents, and you won’t have commercial property insurance on your side to sort them either.

This means you’re the one who’s personally liable. To avoid this becoming a reality, it’s essential that you ensure your policy explicitly includes business-related incidents, or you obtain a separate business liability policy that can protect you from these kinds of claims.

Cybersecurity Breaches

Okay, you might be using a VPN to secure your connection and protect your data, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the entire business is protected from cyberattacks or accidental data leaks. In the last five years, approximately 79% of small US businesses experienced a cyber attack, and the vast majority of them had 1,000 employees or less.

With small and medium-sized businesses being the main targets, it’s important for you to understand the risks and get the right insurance in place to protect yourself. This means having comprehensive cyber liability insurance, as well as ensuring all devices are secured with up-to-date antivirus and firewall protection.

Yes, you might not see the risk staring you in the face, but that’s why it’s so dangerous. Cyber threats can strike at any time, so by implementing strong insurance and security measures, you’re essentially taking a proactive approach to your safety and longevity, rather than a reactive one.

Health Risks

Another hidden risk involves your health and ergonomics. It might not seem like it, but spending all day in a home office can become an issue if you haven’t taken the time to set it up properly. Let’s say, for instance, you’re working on a laptop at a low table for several hours each day – over time, this can easily lead to neck and back pain, repetitive strain injuries, or possibly even long-term musculoskeletal problems.

Poor ergonomics, combined with extended screen time and limited movement, can also contribute to eye strain and fatigue, and it’s likely that none of these issues are covered under your standard insurance policies.

To avoid costly medical bills and long-term health complications, then, you need to not only ensure your home office is suitable for long-term working, but also get that coverage in place to protect yourself if something like this happens. Like our above point, the threat here is not immediately obvious, but over time, even minor strains can accumulate, leading to health problems that could have been dealt with if you had the right policy in place.

Conclusion

Those are just three of the hidden insurance risks that you need to be wary of, but there are many more. For instance, mistakes or omissions made while working remotely may not be fully covered if your professional indemnity policy assumes an office environment.

As well as this, increased use of electrical equipment at home can raise the risk of fires or water damage, and if your home network goes down or your office space becomes unusable, you might face financial losses that aren’t insured.

Whatever it is, you need to make sure that your remote working space is also a safe working space – a space that has all the protections necessary to keep your business running and ensure your future is secured.