Business insurance for the self-employed
If you have been self employed in some capacity, you will probably have considered some type of insurance cover for your business. i used to believe that my home insurance was adequate cover, when working as a freelancer. Luckily I never had to put this policy to the test, or else it could have been very embarrassing.
Office insurance cover is an absolute must, if you want to stay in business indefinitely. It is also a way of gaining credibility with your customers, as it creates the impression of a ‘level playing field’. It won’t be a case of one rule for one person and one for another. The law sees you as no different to the large corporate establishments employing 50,000 people.
Most contractors in my sector, the IT industry, are required by law to have the correct insurance in place. Even if you are a sole trader, you would have to set up a limited company. With this limited status, comes a need for special limited liability insurance, which has two clearly distinct areas to consider:
1. General liability: covers all damage that you may cause whilst on the employer’s premises, extending to injury or damage to a member of the public.
2. Professional liability: covers errors and omissions arising whilst in the course of the contract. Using my business as an example, cover may help me in the event that i made a mistake using an online library without a licence.
If you use a van for day-to-day business, you will need a different insurance cover. Specific business vans insurance is available and is tailored towards the insurance of the precious cargo contained within. Some of the benefits that you should expect are:
1. 24 hour breakdown recovery: covers the breakdown and recovery of your vehicle over a twenty four hour period.
2.Replacement vehicle: if you van is involved in an accident, it will be replaced as soon as possible.