[Closed] COVID19 - working from home. Insurance & mortgage implications?

You don't need different insurance necessarily. You just need to tell them. If its office/admin work then it shouldn't make any difference. My insurers are fully aware, but I mostly work from home. I'm not aware of any mortgage issues. I suppose there might be an issue if there are restrictions in the deeds.

I’m not aware of any mortgage issues

They have loaned money for the purpose of a residential property, not a business. In essence it’s fraud

In most peoples cases you're not actually operating a business, you are simply working from home. There's a big difference between operating a business and wfh.

I dont think most people need to worry about it.

Depends if you are working from home for an employer - essentially just a desk and PC - or using the property to run a commercial business, with suppliers, clients, stock etc

I am not an expert

Pedantic and wrong. No insurer or mortgage company cares about working from home.

They do care if you are trading a business from home

They have loaned money for the purpose of a residential property, not a business. In essence it’s fraud

Over simplistic and vague statements generally not helpful.

In this case, as so many (especially in legal and financial matters), it depends.

Depends on your mortgage, your job, other factors too maybe.

The only real answer here is “it depends on the terms and conditions you agreed to when you undertook the commitment.”

They have loaned money for the purpose of a residential property, not a business. In essence it’s fraud

you're confusing working whilst at home with using your home as a business premises. If you were a hairdresser and cutting people's hair in the lounge  for instance - thats running a business from your home. Correstponding with your employer and colleagues from home isn't that.

You're insurers would be quite happy to hear you're working from home. It less time that the house is routinely empty and vulnerable to break-ins, leaks etc

Temporarily working from home due to COVID is the last thing on the bank/insurers mind. Feel free to contact them both to check, but 99% of the population wouldn’t even think about it.

You could ring your insurer and your mortgage provider....or ask the internet.

Seriously?!

I would imagine force majeure would apply in most cases.

In most peoples cases you’re not actually operating a business

Is my point, you are WFH for an employer not selling services on your own behalf.

Seriously? +1

Get a ****in grip.

Sanctimonious guff fail.

Insurers and mortgage companies didn't care when I was operating business from home for 10 years.

Pedantic and wrong.

Summed up perfectly in just three words.

Maybe this is actually the OP’s “what three words” home address.

Really not an issue for 'self-employed' type businesses. Insurance company should be told but it makes no difference to the premium (Katie has separate business insurance for her furniture restoration business and the two seem to happily co-exist).

Insurers concern is about the number of visitors (they don't want you running a shop) and the normal caveat is that you're not covered for theft while visitors are on the premises (unless there is evidence of a break in).

As long as you make some personal use of the business spaces as well no issue for Business rates. I'm guessing things would get more complex at the point the business had a completely separate, lockable, part of the property and you had employees on site.

Working from home is so normal I'm pretty sure it's in the standard T&Cs of household policies.

Ok 2 seconds of googling, taken from admiral website

Do I have to tell my insurer I work from home?

In short, yes. You may not need additional cover, but it's best to check - if the worst were to happen, you could be left uninsured because you've invalidated your policy. You'll need to inform your insurer what your work situation is. If your work situation changes in the middle of a policy, make your insurer aware as not doing so could invalidate your insurance.

Direct Line

Working from home
Working from home can affect your mortgage, your home insurance and your tax situation, so it's well worth having a look at a checklist we've prepared before starting

I was kind of thinking that there may be some people who work in the industry who would respond, not just idiots 🙄

Think some of the responses were a bit harsh. Yes, you should tell them, no, it probably won't make any difference.

Our home insurance explicitly permits working from home if office / admin stuff; pretty sure most other ones we've had over the years did as well.

Can't comment on mortgage as we don't have one....

2 seconds of google tells you they as temporary measure it’s fine.

http://www.remortgagetips.co.uk/how-working-from-home-can-affect-your-mortgage/

Why not just call your mortgage / insurance provider?? It’ll probably take less time than writing in here / reading the responses. Strange concept I know.

A bit harsh? With high horsery like this?

In essence it’s fraud

🤣

I was kind of thinking that there may be some people who work in the industry who would respond, not just idiots 🙄

I do work in the industry.

I may also be an idiot. But ...

In essence it’s fraud..

🙄

They have loaned money for the purpose of a residential property, not a business. In essence it’s fraud

I doubt the banks will give a damn provided you keep paying the mortgage.

Wouldn't be at all surprised to see a temporary hold on mortgage payments for everyone this summer. Country doesn't work if everyone with a mortgage becomes homeless.

I've worked from home (as in very rarely ever visit the office, less than once per annum on average) for the past 22 years and never felt the need to tell either the mortgage or insurance Co - I do however get a minor tax break to cover extra heating costs 😂

OP ought to check Planning use classification for the property, and also any restrictive covenants on the title, as both likely restrict operating a business from the premises.

Hope that helps 🤯

Maybe this is actually the OP’s “what three words” home address.

There is a Pedantic Land Wrong is Kasakhstan....

Ours says:

"You also need to tell us if you plan to let your home or use it for business (except office work)"

I think we're in the clear.

Insurance-wise it’s when you have customers visit your premises that insurers start to get twitchy. Straight WFH is usually fine. Also define WFH - many of us respond to work emails or phone calls out of hours at home so how is that different?

Again no mortgage company on Earth is going to be bothered about home workers, again particularly where there are no customers visiting.

All reminds me a bit of the Bill Bailey sketch about having to run to the shed to write a joke down...

Also wouldn't there be a difference between having a contract as home based and being sent to w@h because were all doooomed?

The whole insurance things is news to me, it's not something that crossed my mind. I suspect this however:

Also define WFH – many of us respond to work emails or phone calls out of hours at home so how is that different?

... is the wrong question. We don't have to define "working from home" but rather "being a home worker" and fortunately that's already defined for us by HMRC. Your main office is whichever you spend most time at, be that a company branch or at home. I believe it's to prevent tax dodging on travel expenses - without it I could be designated as a home worker by HR but still claim for commuting expenses to and from an office five days a week. The home workers at our place who still come into an office semi-regularly have to be very careful about this, if they come into the office for three days in a week then they're no longer home-based.

Think the main concern for insurance companies is who covers laptops etc. My work insurance expressly covers equipment provided for people WFH, rather than rely on the users own insurance.

Think the main concern for insurance companies is who covers laptops etc.

I'm fairly sure you can't insure something that doesn't belong to your household & I'm pretty damn sure you can't insure anything twice.

I work in the insurance industry and work from home as do the vast majority of the staff. As an organisation we have approx 80,000 staff globally and a significant proportion of those have home working facilities and have done so for over a decade.
Anyway, the company has been on the front foot regarding Corona Virus, reducing travel and ensuring wfh is happening as much as possible, lots of emails from our CEO, but not one email has said “check your home insurance policy”.

I’m fairly sure you can’t insure something that doesn’t belong to your household

yes you can. Household policies often cover the personal belongings of visitors for instance

I’m pretty damn sure you can’t insure anything twice.

yes you can - but you can’t put in duplicate claims with different insurers for the same loss.

To insure something you need to have insurable interest in whatever it is you’re insuring. Ownership is the most common way of having such an interest but not the only one.

If work said if anything happened to the laptop whilst in your care you had to pay for it then you have insurable interest.

If they cover it or will otherwise replace it the whole thing is something of a moot point.

I don’t think your home insurer cares one way or the other. Most people have more valuable contents than a battered under-specced work laptop!