Should I be expected to insure hardware belonging to my employer when going on a personal trip?

Question

I work remotely. I'm soon off abroad for a few months and will continue to work remotely while I'm away, taking the company laptop and possibly other similar hardware with me to perform my duties. The trip is my own choice.

My employer has asked if I could insure the hardware through my travel insurance, saying that he doubts the company policy will cover the USA (we're based in the UK).

As the hardware itself does not belong to me and is needed to fulfil my job (without any clauses covering insurance in my contract), is this something I can reasonably be expected to do?

Answer 1

It's a tricky issue.

1. The "overseas" aspect is not relevant. The issue at hand is just, "Do you have to pay for accidental damage to equipment the company supplied." This would apply whether you broke it in your house, commuting, in Patagonia or indeed even at the office.

2. My personal view is that the company just has to suck it up and pay.

3. Particularly in the wildly-paid, go-go world of software today ... it's hard to see that you can make a programmer do .. well, anything.

4. For me personally (only one example) if one of the folks smashes something or loses it, I just sigh, click to Amazon, and hand out another one :/ What are we gonna do, fire them and spend 3 months / 50k finding another expert in some obscure field?

5. Then again - some few companies have the explicit policy: "Wow! We give you $2800 a year against equipment costs!" (You see this sort of blather in a few job ads on OS, from companies trying to hire programmers cheap.) In that case, such a company would probably assert that "that's it"... if you lose the 2500 bucks worth of gear for that year, it's on you to dig up another laptop. However: Even at such an "explicit-yearly-budget" company, unfortunately for employers, points 3 and 4 probably apply. What are you going to do - "save $1200" and hence annoy every programmer there?

So one opinion, basically: "they should pay in almost all cases" as a general answer.

That being said,

6. In in this particular exact case. It sounds like you're getting a fairly "sweet deal" from your employer - they are letting you work remotely while you fool around in the US? If so .. my gut instinct is to "suck it up" and pay for it yourself.

Why? You want to avoid being in a position where you "owe them a favor on a minor point"; you want to avoid looking like you "Got every last dime on a minor point even in a situation where they were doing you a big courtesy".

NOTE: Put it in writing that as a courtesy you will be insuring the laptop when overseas, and do so.

(TBC: if however the company is "sending you to" the US on a project - then, flooglestick 'em. Of course, obviously, they have to completely pay the insurance/etc. End of story.)

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Even more information!

"It's my own choice and they've said they'd have no problem with it (since I work remotely anyway)"

One immediate fact:

• As a kind of broad general rule, if you work remotely then you pay for your own gear. This is not a firm rule, but it's a general rule.

And then,

Looking again at point (6). I have to say, I would treat this as a point 6 situation. They are being understanding taking the view that "they don't have a problem with it". {Aside: let's see what they say in a month when they realize the time zone issues.} Just one man's opinion then, you should "go the extra mile" and politely cover the danger yourself.

NOTE: Put it in writing that as a courtesy you will be insuring the laptop when overseas, and do so.

Answer 2

Firstly, check if your travel insurance covers business, or if it's just a tourist coverage.

Secondly... I'd be a bit suspicious of any company that requires me to insure their own property (you can't buy insurance on an item that you don't have any financial interest in), or any company that can't self-insure something as cheap as a laptop (even a Macbook Pro is pretty cheap in the scheme of things).

Answer 3

You have a little bit outside the box problem here.

1. You are voluntarily traveling, this is not for business, but yourself.
2. The company wants to minimize the obvious risk of losing their equipment while you are jetting around the world (their view, not yours)
3. Any insurance YOU buy is NOT going to cover something you do not own, period.

You need to have a conversation with your manager. Indicate that since the equipment belongs to the company and not yourself, you will be unable to obtain any insurance coverage for it on your own. If they would like to obtain additional coverage than what they normally carry, then you could have a discussion about having that additional expense reduced from your salary.

In summary this is how I see it.

1. You are voluntarily making this trip, it is not business related or directed.
2. The company owns the equipment though, so they need to make whatever arrangements they see fit.
3. You will have to decide if you can accept what they come up with or work out your own plan.

Additionally if you were to buy your own equipment and use it for work while traveling you would need to additionally indicate with the insurance company that you are using this equipment for work, they may reject a claim at some point if you did not indicate this.

This will NOT be travel insurance, that is for if you get sick etc. and have to cancel your trip. You need to look into a 'personal articles' policy (US terminology your local agent can help you determine the right UK coverage). This is insurance that covers a specific item. I have it on several computers, my wife's expensive jewelry and a few other items easily lost, damaged, or stolen.

Answer 4

Given that you already work remotely and the equipment is not already insured, you should not be required to insure this equipment just because you are going to a separate remote location.

If the company would like their equipment insured, they should do it themselves.

Answer 5

I do not have sufficient reputation to comment, hence writing this as an answer.

You say you work remotely. Does your contract explicitly mention this? If yes, does it impose any limitations to the place you can work remotely from (e.g. to the UK)?

If no, then I would see the responsibility of getting insurance at your employers side.

Answer 6

If it's a work trip (i.e. they are sending you) then it's their responsibility, if it's a personal trip it's reasonable to expect the employee to cover it.

Answer 7

TL;DR

Yes, the employer can have good reasons and might request you for such additional insurance. However it's best to check all details first.

Full answer

Let me address this question from a perspective of a person with some experience in insurance industry.

There are two factors to consider. In general you are usually liable for the property of your employer however this is usually limited to some degree. So if you leave your laptop in a car and it gets stolen you may be liable for its loss as this is in general something you should not do. On the other hand if you accidentally drop the laptop at your home it's usually insured and it the insurer takes a liability on this.

Yet the insurance has its limitations and details depends on the insurer's product and employers choice (and for large companies negotiations). If the company is based in UK and doesn't expect their employees to travel outside the country the company may buy an insurance limited to UK only (that in general will be cheaper). On the other hand they may as well have coverage for trips abroad, albeit it can be limited, e.g. to EU/Europe only or to business trips ordered by the employer only. As you can see both cases wouldn't apply if your laptop gets damaged in the US which essentially means the liability is on you then.

So yes, the employer might request you to additionally insure the laptop.

What I would suggest is to ask the employer to check details about the insurance coverage they have. They probably have some specific person responsible for that inside a company and/or a broker who is responsible for handling their insurances. Ask about two things - to check if your specific situation is covered and what should be the conditions of the insurance to match those normally covered cases. If it is covered you're clear and good to go.

If not, you should ask if it is possible to extend the insurance for the laptop and on what cost (to be covered by you as a reimbursement to your company, you'll probably need sign some extra agreement on it).

Then go to insurance company/agent and ask if it is possible to include such insurance. It can be already included (unlikely), an additionally paid extension or a separate insurance. If the insurer of your choice doesn't have such option, ask other insurers as well.

Now you have a clear situation and know the costs. It should be up to you to choose one, however check with your employer if they are happy with your choice of insurer. There may be some crappy companies as well and employer may say they won't accept such insurance.

Another approach is that you agree to cover the loss if the equipment is lost or damaged and it's not covered by the insurance. You have probably agreed to that already but if not then again - there should be some formal agreement. Now unless the agreement clearly says you are obliged to insure the equipment (two sides can agree on almost anything) it's up to your discretion if you look for some kind of insurance to cover that risk or you just accept the risk on yourself.

Answer 8

First, understand that you are asking your employer for an accommodation. You wish to travel to the US and you wish to be able to work while you're traveling.

You won't be able to get insurance. You do not own the property and you, as an employee, are not liable to your employer for theft of the employer's property. So you don't have an insurable interest.

There are really only a few options:

1. You could decide not to take the trip.
2. You could agree to cover any losses to your employer's property during the trip.
3. You could get your employer to purchase insurance that covers their property in the US at their own expense.
4. You could get your employer to purchase insurance that covers their property at your own expense.
5. You could get your employer to agree to take the risk that the property is stolen and they have to replace it.

What option you take is open to negotiation between you and your employer.

Normally, I would say that your employer should just accept this risk as a cost of doing business. But here, they are offering you a generous accommodation, allowing you to work while you travel so that you don't lose pay. I can tell you from experience that remote employees generally get less work done while they're traveling because they spend more time sightseeing and so on so having an employee traveling for months might be something they're accepting only grudgingly. Keep this in mind as you negotiate. It may help to reassure them that you will be responsive to work needs.