A laptop on the kitchen table feels harmless. So does a spare room turned into an office. From an insurer’s point of view, the moment work enters the home, the risk profile shifts. Sometimes only slightly. Sometimes enough to matter.
What counts is not the label on your job, but what actually happens inside the property.
Clerical and desk-based work
This is the category insurers are most relaxed about.
Emails, video calls, admin, screen-based tasks. No visitors. No stock. No tools. Many home insurance policies allow this without any change, although some still expect disclosure.
- Employer-owned laptops often insured elsewhere
- Low-value office equipment may fall under contents
- No impact on buildings insurance in most cases
This is usually where home insurance stretches comfortably.
Self-employed office work
Being self-employed changes the conversation.
Even if the work looks the same as employed clerical work, insurers may treat business ownership differently. Especially if equipment belongs to you rather than an employer.
Business equipment limits can be lower than expected.
Client visits and meetings
The first visitor is often the tipping point.
Once clients attend the property, liability risk increases. Trips on steps, loose carpets, shared entrances.
Many home policies exclude liability arising from business visitors.
Creative and professional services
Designers, consultants, therapists, tutors. These roles sit in the middle.
The work itself may be low risk, but the presence of visitors, specialist equipment, or confidential materials changes insurer expectations.
- Professional equipment may exceed contents limits
- Client data and documents are not insured assets
- Public liability often sits outside home insurance
The risk is rarely obvious until something happens.
Manual work and tools at home
Trades and hands-on work raise clearer flags.
Tools stored at home, even if used elsewhere, can fall outside standard contents definitions.
Some policies exclude tools entirely, others impose strict limits or security requirements.
Stock, samples, and deliveries
Stock changes the nature of a home.
Whether it’s boxes in a spare room or shelves in a garage, insurers see increased fire, theft, and escape of water risk.
Standard home insurance rarely includes business stock.
Workshops and adaptations
Converted garages, garden offices, treatment rooms. These adaptations matter.
Structural changes may need to be declared to buildings insurers.
The use of heat, chemicals, or specialist equipment can limit insurer appetite.
Working from home in rented properties
Tenants face additional layers.
Landlords may restrict business use. Insurance may do the same.
Tenant contents insurance often excludes business equipment by default.
Shared homes and home working
In shared properties, one person working from home can affect everyone.
Insurers may ask about the nature of occupancy, visitors, and equipment.
Joint policies can become awkward when only one occupier introduces business risk.
What insurers usually want to know
Questions tend to focus on activity, not job titles.
- Do clients visit the property?
- Is equipment owned personally or by an employer?
- Are tools, stock, or materials stored at home?
- Have rooms been adapted for work?
Clear answers make policy placement easier.
When commercial insurance becomes relevant
Commercial insurance does not replace home insurance. It sits alongside it.
It is often used to insure business equipment, liability, and stock, leaving the home policy to cover the property itself.
Trying to stretch one policy to do both jobs usually ends badly.
Common assumptions that cause problems
Most disputes come from quiet assumptions made early on.
- Assuming office work never needs declaring
- Assuming tools are household contents
- Assuming liability is already included
Working from home is normal now. Insurance still works, but it reacts to what happens inside the walls, not how ordinary it feels day to day.