Running a business from home in NZ: insurance questions to ask

Start with what actually happens at home

Working at a laptop for an employer, keeping stock in a spare room and welcoming paying clients to your home are different situations. If you run a business from home, describe the activity to your insurer before assuming household cover applies. Business.govt.nz explains that home and contents insurance does not automatically cover a business workspace or assets. ICNZ notes that a policy may treat ordinary remote office work differently from business visitors, equipment or stock.

A short, accurate description is useful: what you do, where you work, whether customers or suppliers visit, what you store, and whether anyone else works there. Tell the insurer when the activity changes. ICNZ's disclosure guidance includes business use of a house among matters to raise with an insurer.

Separate household property from business property

Make two lists: household possessions and the items used for work. On the work list, include tools, stock, customer property in your care and equipment you take away from home, if relevant. Record who owns each item and where it is kept. These notes help you ask about cover; they are not a valuation or claim decision.

Check the definitions, limits and exclusions in both your household and any business policy. ICNZ's common exclusions guide lists business assets and equipment among possible contents exclusions, subject to the actual policy. Ask whether a personal laptop used for work is treated differently from company-owned equipment, and whether property away from home needs separate terms.

Ask about visitors, liability and interruption

If clients, couriers or staff come to the property, explain that pattern to your insurer. Ask what liability cover applies to business activity and what is excluded. Do not infer that personal liability terms will respond to a business event. The answer depends on the wording and the activity.

Also ask what happens if the workspace cannot be used after an insured event. Business.govt.nz distinguishes temporary accommodation under some house policies from losses caused by a business being unable to operate. Business interruption is a separate topic to assess, with its own conditions; it is not an automatic addition to a home policy. Our business insurance overview explains the types of questions to bring to a discussion.

Read the answer back against the documents

Ask for the current policy schedule and wording for each relevant policy. Mark the insured address, description of business activity, insured property, limits, excesses and exclusions. Write down any point that does not match what you actually do. If the insurer proposes a change, request the revised documents and confirm when it takes effect.

Fictional example: someone begins storing products at home after previously doing only desk work. The useful question is whether the existing policies address that stock, its location and any delivery activity. This example does not say the stock is covered, excluded or eligible for a particular product.

Bring a one-page summary to the conversation

• What business activities, visitors and stock should I describe to the insurer?
• Which policy addresses business property at home or away from it?
• How are business liability and interruption treated, if relevant?
• What document will confirm any agreed change and its start date?

If you would like to explore these questions, contact James with a brief outline of the activity and ask him to confirm the relevant advice scope. Keep client data, policy numbers and detailed financial records out of the initial web message. For a later policy review, use the separate business renewal checklist.