Being self-employed can offer numerous benefits, such as flexible hours and the opportunity to work with a wide range of people, but self-employed workers can also face financial vulnerability. There are various insurance policies that can help offer self-employed workers protection against unforeseen events such as illness or injury, and to help make their financial futures more secure.
Insurance for self-employed workers
What insurance do I need if I’m self-employed?
- Professional indemnity: This covers the cost of compensating clients for loss or damage resulting from negligent services or advice provided by a business or an individual. Some professions are required to have PII by their regulators (see which ones here), while many companies choose to have it. PII is especially useful for companies who:
- Offer advice and provide consultancy
- Offer an expert service such as designs or calculations
- Hold client information and data
- Income replacement: Income protection insurance will pay a tax-free monthly income while you are unable to work due to illness, injury and / or suffer a reduction in salary for a prolonged period.
- Critical illness cover: Critical illness cover gives you financial protection against certain illnesses and medical conditions of a specific severity.
Your cover will provide you with a tax-free lump sum cash payment which can be used to help you and your family. For example, it could help you pay off your mortgage, pay for treatment to help you recover or pay your household bills.
- Private medical insurance: Health insurance means getting through the health system quicker through a speedy diagnosis and reduced waiting times. It also helps to pay for some, or all, of the treatment that you need. This can help you get back on our feet (and back to work) faster.
Do I need insurance if I work from home?
Find out more about insurance if you are working from home here.
Have your thought about your retirement?
You may wish to consider setting up a personal pension to save for your retirement. The state provides a basic pension in retirement, but most people will need to save money on top of this to enjoy the same standard of living in retirement as they had while they were working.
You can set up a personal pension directly with a provider, or you could seek the assistance of a financial adviser. You can find out more about these schemes from the Pensions Advisory Service here.