Office Equipment Insurance

What is office equipment insurance?

Looking after the equipment in your office is a big part of running a business. Without vital tools of the trade or specialised equipment, you could end up letting your clients down, or be unable to perform the work required.

Office equipment insurance protects you if your business equipment is lost, damaged, stolen or out of action. It gives you the confidence to know that finding the cash to fork out for replacements is not going to be a worry if something goes wrong.

Why would I need it?

When everything in your business is running smoothly, it can be hard to imagine that anything would ever go wrong. But unfortunately, your office contents could be damaged by circumstances way beyond your control.

• The office upstairs could have a burst pipe, which floods your office, meaning you are unable to work.

• You could suffer a break-in, and have all your computer equipment stolen, costing thousands to replace.

• A faulty fridge could cause a fire, destroying your office and its contents.

What level of cover should I take out?

When insuring the contents of your office, it’s important to have enough cover so that you could replace all your items. When calculating this number, you’ll need to use the price of replacements, not the current market value – for example, your laptop maybe 5 years old and so not worth as much as a brand new one.

You could choose to insure only certain expensive items in your office. It’s vital to make sure that you have an appropriate level of cover in place though. Trying to scrimp on insurance premium costs could end up costing you more in the long run if you ever have to make a claim.

Insuring office equipment in other locations

Depending on the nature of your business, you might need to take your office equipment on the road. If staff work from home and take home their laptops, or travel to see customers with expensive tools or equipment, then it’s important to make sure you are still covered.

Check with your insurer about getting cover extended to outside your office premises. Many companies will extend cover for named items on the move as long as they are specified in your policy, for example, phones or laptops.

It’s also important to make sure all staff are aware of any restrictions to keep items safe, for example never leaving items unattended, or in an unlocked vehicle.

Insuring office equipment when you work from home

If you work from home, you should still make sure that the contents of your office are insured. Dealing with a break-in is stressful enough without the added worry that you are not properly insured.

Many house insurance policies will not be valid if you are using part of your home for commercial purposes. You may need to add on home office insurance to your policy to ensure you’re fully covered.