Most people know the “joys” of commuting to work every day: high gasoline prices, traffic jams, pollution from auto exhaust, parking hassles, to name just a few. However, there are some very fortunate people who are free of these joys, and they are known as telecommuters.

Telecommuting is a business arrangement whereby an employer allows an employee to work at home, or some place other than the primary business location, and sometimes outside normally scheduled business workday hours. This has benefits for the employer and the employee alike. But it also has risk exposures that insureds need to consider and manage. Among these exposures are claims pertaining to workers' compensation and general liability insurance coverages.

The commercial general liability (CGL) coverage form of the insured employer considers employees to be insured for acts within the scope of their employment or while performing duties related to the conduct of the employer's business. It may very well be that the at-home employee has a customer come onto his premises to discuss a business deal, attend a sales presentation, or sign a contract. What happens if the employee's dog bites the customer? What if the customer trips over a box of files and falls in the home office area or while walking to the office area? What if the employee accidentally spills hot coffee onto the customer and the customer receives serious burns? The employee is responsible for the bodily injury suffered by the customer, and he was performing duties related to the employer's business, so will the CGL form apply to the claim filed by the customer?