NORTHERN Ireland has fallen in love with working from home.
It seems no amount of Zoom interruptions by children, pets or delivery drivers calling at the door during important presentations can put us off wanting to leave the office behind.
According to new data from job site NIJobs.com and the Ulster Bank, the number of people searching for ‘working from home’ jobs in Northern Ireland has more than doubled in the last year.
There is a growing feeling that the office environment, as we knew it, is unlikely to return with some now viewing the need for office working as totally redundant.
It’s now a full year since the first lockdown and new working practises have been embedded, with some business owners now confident of what works and what doesn’t for them. Many are thinking the extra expense of an office base is simply not worth it.
Of course, this is not the case for everyone and for a lot of people they miss the interaction with colleagues and the feeling of togetherness this brings, not to mention the creativity and productivity it can spark.
If a more permanent move towards working from home is now in place there are insurance issues to bear in mind, especially for those businesses who are traditionally customer-facing.
As the vaccination programmes continues at pace, we all have our fingers crossed that more normal times are just around the corner. Additionally, as the restrictions on movement are relaxed there will be insurance considerations if you are welcoming customers into your home for business reasons.
Public liability insurance covers your business against claims of injury or property damage to a third party and with cyber crime on the rise, a cyber security policy is worth considering especially if home systems are not as secure as those in the office.
All things considered it is the perfect time to do a spring clean of your existing insurance policies and identify areas where you may need to focus due to your new working arrangements.
The best insurance brokers wouldn’t expect you to do this alone. They will have teams who help you audit your policies in line with your new business needs.
As Northern Ireland’s largest insurance broker, AbbeyAutoline’s dedicated team of experts will help you assess any additional elements of cover you may need, so you have a tailored package that safeguards you and your business.
They will guide you through the many industry specific legal regulations and obligations you may also need to consider and connect you with a large panel of insurers across the UK and Europe to ensure you get the policy that is right for you.
:: Angela Stewart is account manager at AbbeyAutoline (www.abbeyautoline.co.uk)
