Coronavirus and Home Insurance
When COVID-19 first hit the shores of Trinidad and Tobago, the government instructed all non-essential businesses to shift to working remotely. With the majority of employees working from home, we got asked a lot of questions about how being home impacts your home insurance policy.
Will working from home affect my home insurance policy?
The Government has instructed all businesses that can do so to encourage people to work from home.
This shouldn’t affect your home insurance if you’re just doing clerical or admin work. Normally, you would need to tell your insurance provider if you were working remotely regularly. However, the government has stated that it expects insurance firms to treat customers fairly and not see their ability to claim affected by circumstances over which they have little control. If you are receiving business visitors to your home, however, you will definitely have to inform your insurance provider.
I’m a landlord. What should I do if my tenants are having problems paying rent because of coronavirus?
Many rent-guarantee insurance policies depend on tenants being evicted before you can claim, and the government has moved to discourage evictions during the pandemic. You should contact your insurance provider to check your cover.
Given the sensitive nature of the situation, you should definitely speak to your insurer or broker before making any decisions.
