Self-employed insurance
For anyone who owns their own business, whether you’re a lone wolf or have employees. Custom build your policy with only the cover you need — no overstuffed bundles here.
Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.
Why buy business insurance if you're self-employed?
As a self-employed person, you call the shots. But being self employed also means that you'd be solely responsible if something goes wrong. Business insurance can be a source of security and protection for those times.
The nature of your setup means the work you do and the people you work with probably changes regularly. Superscript's customisable insurance allows you to choose the cover you need and alter it at any time.
- Choose from £1m, £2m or £5m of public liability cover
- Customise your policy to suit what you need
- Change your policy at any time without fees
- Option to add employers' liability and business equipment cover
- Plus personal accident cover and legal protection for peace of mind
- Get cover online in as little as 10 minutes
- Five-star rated claims support
Be quote confident
We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
What is self-employed insurance?
Business insurance for self-employed professionals provides cover for those who work for themselves. This includes sole traders, freelancers and business owners. It's designed to protect you from the specific risks that could affect you and your business as well as incidents and accidents that could arise as a result of your work.
Depending on the cover you choose, this could include legal and compensation costs, the repair or replacement of your business contents or equipment, as well as financial loss due to business interruption.
Do I need business insurance if I'm self employed?
Some businesses may require you to have a certain level of cover in order to work with you, such as public liability cover and professional indemnity insurance. With Superscript, you can be insured in under 10 minutes, so you never miss out on an all-important job.
If you employ someone, even a temporary worker, you're usually legally required to have employers' liability insurance in the UK. The only exception to this is if you only employ family members. You can read more about the rules for various business types and more details of the exemption in our 'Do I need business insurance?' guide.
What types of cover do self-employed professionals need?
Professional indemnity
Clients pay for your skills, knowledge and expertise, but what if you make a mistake? If your advice doesn't work out as expected and your mistakes cost your clients time and money, you could face a lawsuit, with legal costs and compensation to pay. If that happens, professional indemnity cover (PI) will ensure you're protected.
Public liability
Our public liability insurance (PL) for self-employed professionals will protect you if you cause injury or property damage to a third party, either at your home office, at a client's office, or when out and about.
It's also worth bearing in mind that some of your clients, or even suppliers, might ask you to have public liability cover, so it's important to make sure your minimum cover limit meets their requirements as well as your own. With Superscript, you can choose from £1m, £2m or £5m of cover.
Business contents and equipment cover
Whatever kit you rely on, whether that's a laptop, filming equipment or more technical machinery, having it lost, stolen or damaged could leave you high and dry. With our business contents insurance and business equipment cover, we'll pay to replace or repair your gear and have you back up and running in no time.
Cyber insurance
If you work remotely and handle a lot of sensitive client information then you could be at risk of a cyber attack or data breach. Cyber insurance will protect you for a breach of data protection laws (where insurable by law) and your liability for handling data, as well as cover for extortion, system rectification costs, plus PR expenses and financial loss due to system downtime.
Plus, if you are the victim of a cyber attack, then before you even begin your claim you'll have access to a 24/7 breach response service where you'll be provided with industry-leading legal, IT security and PR support to help you deal with the incident.
Accident and sickness cover
By being self-employed, a sudden serious injury can bring your business to a complete stop. Add Accident and sickness insurance to your business insurance policy to ensure that you are financially compensated in the unfortunate event that you are seriously injured and left unable to work. This cover comes in three parts to cover you if you're aged between 16-69. Firstly, it’s designed to provide financial support for up to 50 weeks if you are signed off by a doctor on long-term sick leave. It can also provide financial assistance for up to 180 nights if you were hospitalised. And finally, a lump sum benefit of up to £50,000 can be paid out if you suffer a serious injury or up to £25,000 in the unfortunate event that you were to die.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.
Boost your cover with legal protection insurance
Being self-employed, you're unlikely to have an in-house legal team like larger businesses often do.
Legal protection insurance covers compensation awards, professional fees and legal costs associated with a range of legal disputes so you can enjoy peace of mind knowing you're covered from a legal perspective.
Types of self-employed insurance claims
No two self-employed people are the same, which means the type of claim you may need to make will be unique, depending on the type of self-employed work you do. Here are a few examples of claims where you could be liable.
A stolen laptop
You rent an office to work in and someone breaks in and steals you laptop as well as a camera and lighting equipment you use to take product shots. Your business equipment insurance would cover the replacement of the stolen items.
A costly mistake
You accidentally make a mistake on a crucial report for a client, costing them time, resources and money to fix it, so they suing you. Professional indemnity insurance would cover your legal and compensation costs.
A broken ankle
You're working in a cafe and someone trips over your bag, injuring themself, and leading them to make a compensation claim against you. Your public liability insurance would cover the legal and compensation costs.
Ransomware attack
You open a malicious email and download ransomware onto your laptop, locking your files. Cyber insurance covers the ransom demand to unlock your files and covers profits lost during the interruption.
How do claims work when you're self employed?
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything which you think may be covered by your insurance.
A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there's an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.
We'll get on the case
We'll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you'll receive email confirmation of your claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We'll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We'll let you know if your claim is successful or not. If your claim isn't covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within five working days.
Self-employed insurance FAQs
Do you need insurance if you're self-employed?
Business insurance isn't a legal requirement for anyone - with the exception of employers' liability, which is mandatory for employers in the UK who employ anyone other than their family members. However, may find that certain clients will require you to have specific covers in order to work with them. For example, public liability insurance is often required by clients.
How much does self-employed insurance cost?
This all depends on the types and level of cover you select to protect your business. Our quote journey, which takes less than 10 minutes, will take you through your options to help you determine which covers you need.
Do I need to register as self-employed?
If you’re working as self-employed and have earned more than £1,000 from self-employment during any given tax year, you’ll need to register with HMRC as a sole trader.
How do I register as self-employed?
To register as self-employed in the UK, you’ll need to head to HMRC to register as a sole trader.
What if I change from being a sole trader to being a limited company?
You may decide that you you wish to change from being a self-employed sole trader and set up as a limited company. In this case, you just need to get in contact with us and let us know about the changes in your business, including if you are adding any employees, and we'll adjust your insurance policy without any fees.
Are Superscript insurance policies annual or monthly?
With Superscript you have the flexibility to pay for your insurance monthly or yearly, depending on what works best for you.
You can also amend your policy any time, without fees, so you can keep your cover up to date as your business changes during the policy period.
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Authorised by the FCA
The FCA supervises UK financial services firms to protect consumers. We are directly authorised and regulated by the FCA and our Firm Reference Number is 656459. These details can be confirmed on the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk or by calling the FCA on 0845 606 1234.
A-rated financial strength
Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).
Protected by the FSCS
If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.