Portable equipment insurance explained
Hiscox portable equipment insurance, sometimes known as business gadget insurance, will protect you against theft, loss and damage for laptops, mobile phones, cameras and other hardware as well as your tools. You can take it out as part of your office insurance, so you’re protected even when you or your staff are working away. You can also choose from worldwide, Europe or UK cover to suit your business needs.
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About portable equipment insurance
What does portable equipment cover do?
No matter how careful we are, accidents happen and there’s simply no way to predict whether we may fall victim to theft. When it comes to our portable work equipment, this could lead to a serious disruption to our business. Insuring it with the right cover means the peace of mind of knowing your equipment is protected should the worst happen.
When to get portable equipment insurance
Whether you’re a tradesperson who uses expensive tools, or you give your staff laptops and mobile phones, using any business equipment offsite leaves it vulnerable to damage, loss and theft. Your standard contents insurance may not protect you away from your work premises, so make sure you’re prepared for all eventualities by adding portable equipment cover to your policy.
How much portable equipment cover will I need?
To work out how much cover you need, you should check how much it would cost to replace all your tools or portable equipment if they were lost of stolen. You should then make sure you take out insurance for that amount. If you insure your portable equipment for less than the total replacement value, it could reduce the amount we pay if you ever need to make a claim.
Where portable equipment cover can help
Lost items
One of your employees leaves their bag on a train during a work trip, which held both their work laptop and work phone. Your company is small and the cost of replacing these comes as quite a blow. Our portable equipment insurance means you won’t have to fork out for the loss, allowing you and your business to carry on as normal.
Damaged equipment
You’re self-employed and rely heavily on a range of equipment to work. Whether it’s an expensive camera or a brand new laptop, all it takes is one spilled drink or a careless client to see the backbone of your business damaged beyond repair. When accidents happen, we’ll be there to cover the cost.
Stolen gadgets or tools
It doesn’t matter how careful we are, sometimes we just don’t see it coming. Theft isn’t always possible to avoid, which is why we’ll protect you if the worst happens. Keeping your van full of tools securely locked or your mobile phone hidden away is important, but it doesn’t guarantee they’re safe, so if thieves still get to them, we’ve got you covered.
What’s included in your portable equipment cover
We’ll cover you if:
- You’ve lost something. It happens – we’ll cover you for lost work equipment in the UK, Europe or worldwide depending on your policy.
- Your equipment gets stolen. Portable business equipment is more vulnerable to theft – we’ll cover the cost should the worst happen.
- Your work tools or gadgets break. Whether it’s your fault or not, we know accidents happen so we’ve got you, and your portable equipment, covered.
Need more details?
Download a summary of what our portable equipment insurance covers and the policy wording here:
Download property away and in transit insurance summary of cover (PDF)
Download property away and in transit insurance policy wording (PDF)
Media and technology portable equipment
At Hiscox we are experts in the businesses we insure. That's why we have created specialist versions of our portable equipment cover for Technology and Media companies.
Download property away and in transit insurance summary of cover for Media (PDF)
Download property away and in transit insurance policy wording for Media (PDF)
Download property away and in transit insurance summary of cover for Technology (PDF)
Download property away and in transit insurance policy wording for Technology (PDF)
We cover a huge range of different business types and sizes. We’ll tailor your quote to meet your needs.
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