2017-07-28

If you're self-employed, it is essential to ensure you have the correct cover to make sure you're protected should the least expected happen. After all, things don't always go to plan.

Why Do You Need Self-Employed Cover?

According to the Health and Safety Executive, in 2015/2016 1.3m working people suffered from a work-related illness and 621,000 injuries occurred in the workplace. 30.4million working days were lost due to work-related illness or injury and this caused an estimated cost of £14.1bn.

If you fall ill, are injured, lose a client or supplier etc. could you afford to take a pause and time off work - not many people could. The correct insurance will ensure, should an accident or interruption happen, there is no major disruption to your income or organisation.

What Insurance Do You Need?

The type of cover you'll need will differ depending on the type of business you have, where you work and if you employ any staff, however the basic cover you should consider investing in is:

Public Liability Insurance - This insurance covers you and your business should a client or any other member of the public suffer an accident or injury and make a claim for compensation. This will also cover you for any claims made for damaged property that the individual believes was your fault.

For example, if you're a plumber and you don't install an element correctly which causes a flood and consequential damage. Public liability insurance will cover the costs of the repair work and any legal fees.

Professional Indemnity Insurance - If a client believes you delivered a below expected service or bad advice that has caused them to lose money, you could end up being required to pay out a pretty penny in compensation and legal fees.

Professional indemnity insurance covers you for this instance, ensuring no major hit to your company finances and disruption to trading is minimised. 1 in 10 businesses have been forced to suspend trading at some point - don't let that happen to you; get covered.

Income Protection (including critical illnesses) - It does what it says on the tin. This insurance protects your income, whatever happens.

A long-term insurance policy, income protection provides support if you're unable to work because you are sick or injured. This is especially pertinent if you're self-employed and do not have staff, as there will be no one to cover you while you're off work.

Get Covered the Easy Way

If you're newly self-employed or simply want to ensure you're properly protected, give our experts a call on 0333 202 6240 and let us do the hard work for you. We can assess a huge variety of quotes from insurers and present you with the best deals that suit your specific needs.