Business Insurance for the Self-Employed

What type of insurance does a self-employed person need?*

Being self-employed can be a satisfying way to make a living: you can choose your clients and how often you work as well as being sure that you will be rewarded for your efforts. It’s important to remember, though, that you can no longer rely on the protections that you had when you were employed. One of the most important of these is being properly insured. An unexpected event such as an accident or professional error could leave you with a significant financial loss. Therefore, it is vital that you have the appropriate insurance in place as a self-employed person.

The type of insurance you need will depend on the type of work that you do. For certain industries and occupations, for example, a self-employed person may be legally required to have certain types of insurance in place. Some government departments and large commercial clients may also require insurance coverage up to a specified amount before you can enter contracts with them.

Appropriate insurance is an important way for self-employed people to protect themselves against the unexpected. Without it, you and your business could suffer significant losses if a legal claim or lawsuit goes against you. Following are some common types of insurance you may need if you are self-employed, a sole trader or an independent contractor:

• Business Insurance
  Business insurance may be one the most important types of insurance to have in place. This type of insurance may compensate you for damage or loss to your offices and the physical assets you rely on to conduct business. Depending on the level of cover you choose and the terms of the insurance policy it may also cover you for any financial losses that you incur when your business activities are interrupted by events beyond your control.
• Public Liability Insurance
  Public liability insurance may protect you from financial losses when a third party suffers property damage or physical injury that is caused by your business activities. This type of insurance is well worth having in place – even if you feel you work in a low-risk environment. A simple accident that results in property damage or physical harm to a member of the public could lead to a significant claim for damages which, even if you are not at fault, can be costly to defend.
• Professional Indemnity Insurance
  This type of insurance may protect you in cases where a client undertakes legal action against you for losses they have suffered as a result of negligence on your part when performing work for them or when providing professional advice. It could involve not completing a contract on time as well as professional malpractice which resulted in losses to the client.
• Personal Accident Insurance
  For an agreed period of time Personal Accident insurance may pay part of your expected normal income in certain circumstances – such as when you are unable to work because of an accident or illness.
• Cybercrime and Technology Insurance
  This type of policy may cover you against the loss or theft of electronic items as well as the potential disruption to your business from cybercrime and illegal access to your users’ data.

Self employed business Insurance*

Below are just some of the self employed trade based occupations we may be able to source cover for:

• Plumber
• Landscape and Gardener
• Carpenter
• Electrician
• Scaffolder
• Handyman
• Construction Workers
• Labourers
• Painters and Decorators
• Bricklayers
• Concreters
• Tree Loppers
• Glaziers
• Plasterers
• Pest controllers
• Welders & steel fabricators
• Flooring installers
• Carpet layers
• Lawn mowers
• Mining contractors
• Tilers
• Floor sanders and polishers
• Ground workers
• Gasfitters
• Boilermakers
• Furniture Removalists Insurance

Public liability for self employed contractors*

Trade based self employed contractors usually will need at least need Public & Products Liability Insurance.

They may also need Products Liability or a ‘Business Pack’, which combines several insurance policies into a cost effective insurance package for trade based sole traders and self employed contractors.

Whether you are an electrician, carpenter, plumber, bricklayer or scaffolder, if you are self-employed we are to help you find insurance cover the SMART way.