Business Insurance Advice for the Self-Employed

With the UK’s ranks of self-employed people having swelled to 4.86 million as per a Business Advice report, it’s clear that financial protection is necessary for a large proportion of the country’s workforce. After all, the self-employed comprise 15% of UK workers due to its many advantages.

However, if you have recently entered self-employment yourself, the world of corporate insurance could feel like a minefield. That’s why we have decided to provide guidance on this matter.

Employers’ liability insurance

As a self-employed person, you might effectively be your own business, meaning that you haven’t yet extended to employing anyone. That’s fine, but if you do employ someone in the UK, that person will need – by law – to be covered by what is known as employers’ liability insurance.

Buildings and contents insurance

Your corporate productivity could obviously be severely interrupted if your workplace premises are damaged to the extent that they are no longer usable. Having to shell out for their repair wouldn’t be convenient, either – but you wouldn’t have to if you have buildings and contents insurance.

The level of this insurance for which you should opt will be affected by – among other factors – whether you own or merely lease those premises. However, if you work from home, your existing home insurer might not pay out for business-related claims, the Money Advice Service cautions.

Equipment insurance

The smooth, unhindered running of your business could depend on your use of specialist equipment. That could include machinery and IT equipment, but if either were to cease functioning, this could necessitate you paying to get it replaced – unless you have equipment insurance.

You can opt to take out insurance for either just your most crucial work equipment or the rest of your corporate equipment as well. However, tradesmen’s tools might be eligible for coverage under public liability insurance, a type of cover which we will now define in detail.

Public liability insurance

If, in carrying out your business responsibilities, you make a blunder that injures or damages a customer or member of the public, you might need to pay compensation to that person.

This could happen if, for example, you run a shop in which a customer has tripped and picked up an injury as a result of a spill that was on your shop’s floor but hadn’t been pointed out by a sign.

Therefore, it can be worth having public liability insurance to ease your payment of the compensation. This insurance is legally required for some UK firms, like horse riding stables. Public liability is one of the many forms of cover available through the broker Be Wiser Business Insurance.

Health insurance

The same broker also offers health insurance, the safety net of which can be too easily overlooked. In fact, 93% of self employed people in the UK lack health insurance or critical illness cover. Hence, if they become so sick that they need to take long-term leave, they could face financial ruin. Health insurance can help you plug financial gaps opened by spells of illness.

If you are a self-employed person who has passed up health insurance, you might also not have stopped to consider how stakeholders and associates connected to your work could be affected if you had to take a break. Nonetheless, you could be drawn to taking out health insurance once you realize its broad reach, as it can account even for your dental costs.

Be Wiser can help many of the UK’s self-employed people find health insurance at an appealing price. This broker can quickly compare an array of quotes for your benefit.