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Personalised insurance for running a business from home

You decide what's in your policy and what's out, so you only pay for what you need.

Get a quote Retrieve a quote

or call us on 0345 878 5603

Call us on 0345 878 5603

Join over 500,000 businesses who trust us with their insurance.

  • Get 10% off business insurance if you’re already a Direct Line customer.

    Discount applies to your new business insurance policy. Subject to minimum premiums.

  • Insure your business and your home on one policy.
  • No admin fees if you need to make changes to your policy.
  • 0% APR on your monthly direct debit payments in the first year.

    New customers only, over 18s, subject to eligibility.

  • We won't be beaten on price. We'll beat your new business insurance quote or renewal premium from any other insurer.

    New customers only. Cover on an equivalent basis to ours. Qualifying criteria apply. Terms & Conditions.

The right insurance for your home business

It's a common misconception that being self-employed and working from home means you don't need business insurance. If you're running your business from your home, the equipment and materials you use for work, as well as the services you provide, probably won't be covered by your home insurance. So, if something goes wrong, the only way to be sure that your business is covered is to hold a business insurance policy.

Precise cover designed by you

At Direct Line for Business, we understand that a home business may run a little differently to other types of businesses. That's why we provide flexible business insurance that you can customise yourself.

Only you know what your business needs to thrive. Our simple online quote tool allows you to pick and choose the different types of cover that your business needs. So you could insure your stock and equipment, cover your business against cyber security threats or take out insurance to protect against legal action relating to your services. Whether you design websites or bake cakes, you'll be able you to create a truly personalised policy that is just right for your business.

Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5603
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5603

Your cover options

Add any of the following covers to your home business insurance policy to get the precise cover your business needs. These covers are subject to policy conditions and limits.

  • Professional indemnity

    Professional indemnity insurance covers your legal costs and compensation costs if a client accuses you of professional negligence. For example, if you're a consultant based at home and you give your client advice that causes them to lose business, or if you are an architect and you produce incorrect plans.

  • Public and product liability

    Public liability insurance covers you if you damage a client's property or someone injures themselves on your premises or because of your business activities. If you work from home but visit clients for part of your job, you'll want public liability in case of any accidents caused by you. For example, if you spill your coffee on your client's laptop or they trip over your laptop lead.

    Product liability insurance covers you if you supply a product that makes a customer ill or causes injury. If you sell to the public, it's important to have product liability cover, as your product could cause harm to the customer months or even years after the product was purchased.

  • Employers' liability

    Employers' liability covers the costs you are liable to pay if an employee becomes ill or injured because of their time working for you. Employers' liability insurance is compulsory for employers, even if your employees work at your home. There are a few exceptions to this rule which you can read about on our employers' liability page.

  • Buildings insurance

    If you choose to insure your home and it becomes damaged, this policy will cover the costs of repairs. The damage would need to be caused by an insured event, such as a fire or flood, and can help pay for debris removal and architect fees.

    Equipment breakdown cover (for items that form part of the building) is featured as standard. This covers the cost of repairing or replacing damaged items, such as a boiler, fire or burglar alarm. However, the damage must not be due to wear and tear.

  • Contents and stock cover

    When you work from home, you may want to cover your stock and business equipment. This policy will cover the cost of replacing stolen or damaged stock, electrical equipment, business furniture, art and documents. When you insure stock at your premises or home, you'll also get an extra 25% of stock covered for two months of your choice as standard, ideal for your busiest periods.

    We can insure the key pieces of equipment that your business depends on, whether that's pottery kilns, computer equipment or fabric.

    We also offer a cover option that allows you to insure these items on the go, so if your work laptop fell on the ground (for example) and broke, we'd cover the cost of replacing it.

    As long you've insured your business contents or stock with us, we'll also give you the option of insuring your household contents and personal belongings too, so you can insure everything in your home on one policy.

  • Business interruption

    If your home suffers an insured event such as a flood or fire, your home and work life is turned upside down. While our buildings cover would take care of repairing the damage and making sure you've got somewhere to live and work, our business interruption cover makes sure you're not working at a loss due to the disruption your business suffered. We'll pay for the costs of setting your home business up elsewhere, and cover the money you've lost in the time you couldn't work.

    Our business interruption cover can insure you if you or one of your key employees becomes seriously disabled and is unable to continue work. We will cover the incurred costs, up to £25,000, to minimise any interruption to the business.

  • Cyber cover

    Cyber cover addresses the ever-evolving cyber security risks that come with running your business online. Whether you're holding customer data on the Cloud or making and receiving payments online, cyber cover is essential for businesses that rely on digital technology.

    Cyber insurance covers the costs that you have to pay because of cyber crime or a data breach, as well as defence and compensation costs if you download and subsequently transmit a virus. It also covers loss of income following a cyber attack and the cost of responding to investigate a cyber ransom demand.

    Following a cyber incident, we provide access to specialist support for public relations and crisis management, identity theft assistance and specialist advice designed to prevent recurring viruses or hacking attempts.

  • Theft of takings

    If your work involves taking a lot of cash in hand, or even cheques, this policy will cover you in case of theft from you, your home or anyone working for you.

    We cover up to £1,000 of takings at markets and pop-ups, provided the cash is securely locked away when not completing a transaction and not left unattended. You must also keep copies of all receipts issued to your customers.

  • Legal expenses

    This cover pays the legal costs of providing specialist lawyers and taking action against many common legal problems, for instance disputes with suppliers or clients.

Get a quote
or call us on 0345 878 5603
Get a quote call us on 0345 878 5603

Policy documents

If you have an existing quote or policy with us, you can view and download your policy documents from the My Account page.

We tailor all our policies, so your documents only show what you’ve chosen to cover.

Below is a summary of a generic policy, from 15 July 2018 until 31 March 2019, which shows the main covers and exclusions in our policies.

Below is a summary of a generic policy, from 1 April 2019 onwards, which shows the main covers and exclusions in our policies.

We're on it

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Direct Line insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, registration number 202810. The Financial Services Register can be accessed through www.fca.org.uk. Calls may be recorded.