Being self employed means you have the same responsibilities for insurance as if you ran your own business. As a self employed person you could be working in people’s homes or offices, on building sites or in workshops. Working in all of these places is a risk and insurance will cover you for these risks.
Why is self employed insurance so important?
Self employed insurance protects you for risks that might occur whilst you are carrying out your work. For example, let’s say you are a Plumber working on someone else’s property. You might accidentally break a pipe in that persons home which causes a leek and damage. That person may then make a claim against you for the damage you have caused. If you have insurance this would usually cover the cost of the claim so you don’t have to pay it yourself.
Your customers may even ask you if you have insurance because if you do cause any accidental injury or damage they know that the insurance company will be able to pay for the cost of their claim. If you don’t have insurance you will have to pay the costs and if you don’t have the money they won’t get their claim paid.
When you are employed you are normally covered by your employers insurance so you generally don’t need to think about taking out your own insurance but it should be a priority when you first become self employed.
If you are in the UK self employed insurance will usually consist of some core cover depending on the type of business you are in. These covers can be:
Public Liability Insurance- This is a cover that protects your business for any damage or injury you might cause to another person or their property. If another person makes a claim because of accidental damage, your insurance will normally cover the claim.
Professional Indemnity Insurance- If you are a self employed consultant you might be in the business of giving advice to your customers. If the advice you have given accidentally causes a customer to suffer a financial loss you could be liable to pay for any claim made against you. With Self employed insurance your insurance would cover the costs of the claim.
Employers Liability Insurance- Being self employed the chances are that you don’t have employees but if you do you are required by law to have Employers Liability Insurance.
Additional Extras- You may have specific needs for extra insurance cover that the core policies don’t cover such as tool and equipment insurance or van insurance. There are various others you can add that will cover you for different tasks that you do.
