Working from home has considerable advantages if you are looking for a flexible and potentially lucrative career. However, whether or not working from home is covered by insurance can be confusing. Follow this guide on what to look out for when considering this sort of career move and the coverage for work-from-home employees.
1. Work Insurance
The first consideration is whether your home-based job is covered. No matter the size, any company should always have work coverage to protect its position and company from potential legal or financial troubles. This is especially important for international companies whose employees can be out of the country anytime. The most common policies are medical, life, and accident. When you begin working from home, you may find that your company provides health coverage or that your state has a public health plan that provides all essential health benefits.
2. Small Business
If your company is a small business and you work from home, it is still essential to ensure that it has important coverage types, such as workers’ compensation. As the company owner, you are also expected to purchase medical and life insurance. A home-based business would also be well-advised to buy liability insurance, as it protects your company if your home is used for business purposes. If you have set up an office in your home, such as in your basement, you will have to get a separate policy.
3. Types of Employment
Working from home can be a great way to supplement your income if you are a freelancer. However, there are some severe drawbacks. Because you are not dependent on a company for your payment, there is no work coverage for your home-based jobs. Some countries and states have no laws about working from home. This can mean worker’s compensation does not protect your employer’s claims. You need to look for whether your work is classified as freelance or independent work. If it is freelance, you are not covered and you will be responsible for protecting your interests.
4. Home Insurance
Homeowner’s insurance does not provide compensation for loss of income. If you want to ensure that your work as a work-from-home employee is covered by insurance, you should seek out additional policies for this kind of employment. If you work at home, your property policy covers you if something else happens. Check with your company or private insurance provider to see what protection they provide.
5. New Policies To Expect
If you are considering a home-based job, you may wonder if there will be new policies and laws to consider. The jobs market has changed dramatically over the past few years, and there is no possibility that this trend will slow down. As such, there will likely be more coverage options for home-based workers in the future. Worker’s compensation policies and unemployment coverage are some of the most popular new policies for home-based jobs.
The best way to be sure that you are covered for all legal and financial issues is to find out what your company offers and make sure that it is up to date. There are coverage policies that a company can purchase to protect home-based employees as well. It is still a good idea to compare policies from different companies if you need to buy insurance yourself. Feel safe and covered no matter what work you do at home.
