Zurich advises home working Brits to check contents insurance

Written by Editorial Team

Zurich advises home working Brits to check contents insurance

27 September 2007

Britain is turning into a nation of homeworkers as the UK’s office-based workforce takes a more flexible approach, according to Zurich.

Research from the home insurance company has found that almost 30% of the respondents surveyed spend around ten percent of the working month at their home office, clocking up an average of 15.73 hours. One in ten of the occasional homeworkers surveyed claims to spend more than 40 hours each month away from the office and nearly one in twenty clocks up more than 80 hours working from home.

The most popular reasons for shirking the traditional working environment include avoiding the commute to and from work (66%), peace and quiet from colleagues (55 per cent), freedom to choose working hours (50 per cent) and lack of distractions (46 per cent).

And the trend seems to be growing in popularity as a third of British homeworkers believe they will get to spend even more time working from home in the coming year, and by August 2008 the average hours worked from home is estimated to be around 26 hours a month.

With such a rise in homeworking, many workers are investing in new office equipment with computers taking the top spot (88 per cent), followed by printers (47 per cent); then USB flash drives (35 per cent) and 21% have plumbed for a scanner.

The average replacement value of these items adds up to around £1,140.93 with one fifth of respondents claiming to have equipment estimated to have a replacement value of more than £1,500.

However, despite their investment, more than one in ten (12 per cent) fail to get their kit insured against loss, damage or theft on their home contents insurance.

Mark Searles, Zurich’s Managing Director, Retail comments: “We are going to see the popularity of homeworking rise and rise as both workers and employers seek a better work/life balance.

“However, those who have invested in their home office need to safeguard their working arrangements, should the worst happen. Making sure that office equipment is adequately insured as part of a home contents policy is crucial for those who rely on home computers and other technical equipment for work purposes.”

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