Millions of Britons are at risk of invalidating their home insurance if they choose to continue working from home after the ease of lockdown rules to encourage people to return to the office.
Some 26 per cent of people plan to continue working from home on a permanent or semi-permanent basis as the coronavirus lockdown lifts, but seven in 10 are unaware they may need to inform their insurance provider of their change in circumstance, research has found.
This amounts to 9.7 million people whose home insurance may be affected.
In addition, over half of customers are confused about how working from home could impact their policy, with 43 per cent claiming they received no communication from their insurer and a further eight per cent saying information they received was unclear.
Early in the lockdown, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) made a pledge that customers would not need to inform their insurer if they work from home while government advice is to do so. But this pledge may no longer apply and could have a serious impact on people’s home cover, warned the report.
According to ABI, the pledge will be reviewed, but until then, home insurance “will not be affected regardless of the government’s advice to return to work.” However, the association is advising people to inform their insurer if they are able to return to work, but are choosing to work from home more often.
“If you will be receiving visitors to your home on business matters, you should check with your insurer,” it added. “Business equipment used is likely not to be covered. However, in most cases the employer would be liable for ensuring their equipment is insured away from the office.”
A lack of policy flexibility among larger, more traditional insurance companies could also put customers at risk of invalidating their existing home insurance, said Jimmy Williams, CEO of Urban Jungle.
The 5 most memorable claims we have hear about, include:
- A dog named Skyler accidentally turned the stove on when he reached for a one-year-old’s birthday cake that was sitting on the burner. Instead of eating the cake, he set it on fire. Fortunately, no humans or dogs were injured.
- While driving on country roads in a fancy red sports car, one man attempted to get a herd of goats out of the middle of the road by honking at them – which startled the goats so much they jumped on top of the car! One even battered his horns on the driver’s side door. Needless to say, this driver was thankful for carrying comprehensive coverage on his car insurance.
- A motivational speaker had to get their insurance company involved when a volunteer from their audience sustained injuries, after being encouraged by the speaker to break a board with their hands.
- We know that snakes love cool, dark places. In fact, one family had to have a snake removed from their plumbing after they saw its head peak out of the toilet! Shockingly, another 23 snakes were discovered under the home and around the plumbing system.
- Two brothers were distraught when their family’s £1.1K claim for a new 60” smart TV was denied, after an interactive video game caused one of the brothers to launch his handheld controller into the screen at the speed of a fast pitch.
