Hi Guys,
Does anyone know a good company to use for professional indemnity insurance as a freelancer?
I’m just starting out and want to make sure I am covered!
Felix
It’s probably not worth it when you are starting, but what you want is business liability insurance. At least that’s what it’s called in N. America. You should really talk to an agent to discuss what kind of coverage you need as there are many different types with different exemptions.
On the positive side, I remember the liability insurance at a previous job being ridiculously cheap.
I’m no expert here but when i set up independent shop i worked with an accountant and a lawyer to get the business properly structured.
The main advice was to set up an LLC, bank accounts, credit lines, talk to my insurance company, etc. to establish a clear differentiation between personal and business assets. When i talked to my insurance company i think they added a line to my personal home policy that helped clarify a difference between personal and business assets but we didn’t set up a different business policy, it’s been a while but i think that decision had to do with the income level and specific earning thresholds that still left me in a small entity category that offered some intrinsic protections. I guess the indemnity insurance depends on what exactly you are providing and taking responsibility for but i always built a product liability and indemnity clause in to all my contracts that required my clients to cover me under their own insurance policy.
I’m not sure what the specifics are in the UK, and I’m not a lawyer, but 4 things I recommend are:
- a very good umbrella insurance policy
- a very clearly written indemnification clause in all contracts (and always have contracts)
- file with the government as an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation)
- a very strict division of assets and finances. In my case we obviously have separate accounts for all business transactions but also put all personal assets into a trust further protecting them