Over the last few months, Covid-19 has impacted us all.  With restrictions continuously changing in an attempt to stem the virus, consideration should also be given to your home insurance policy, should you need to make a claim.

Niall Quinn, property insurance claims expert and Director of Gullion Ltd said, “Whilst theft claims have reduced, with more people working from home, accidental damage claims have risen during the pandemic.

“If you are working from home on computer based work, any equipment that belongs to your employer should be covered under their business insurance. However if you’ve bought furniture, equipment etc. for working from home, you may have to increase your contents cover limit.  Additionally for any business which is now housing stock items at home, they should notify their insurance provider immediately to ensure that they have the appropriate cover in place.

“Covid-19 restrictions have also encouraged some homeowners to move into another property leaving their old home technically ‘unoccupied’.  In insurance terms an unoccupied property, even if it is furnished, is a building that has no one living there generally after a period of 30 days or 60 days.  Unoccupied homes present more of a risk to insurers than ones that are lived in, and as the length of time you can leave a property unoccupied varies between providers, you would be advised to contact your insurance company to check your cover, if any.

“These measures are paramount should you need to make a claim for storm damage, subsidence, fire damage, burglary, or water damage etc.  At Gullion Ltd, as loss assessors we can only negotiate your claim based on the legal contract bound by the terms and conditions of your insurance policy.”