Insurance for Professionals in the UK - Covers Explained

Perks Of Having Insurance Coverage For Self-Employed Professionals

There are many perks to being self-employed like for example a person is the master of hid time. He is able to arrange his job commitments in a way that suits him best and not as per what a company or an individual wants. He can also work as hard as he wants and take a day off if he does not feel like working provided he has no professional commitments on that day. These advantages are valid for self-employed people in all professions like architects, engineers, doctors, contractors, builders, beauty therapists etc.

But along with the perks also come the risks. Hence self-employed people are much more vulnerable to risks since:

·      They have a much smaller outfit which makes it easy to target them and

·      Their financial stability is also relatively much less than any professional organisation.

However, having one or more insurances as required by the demands of the profession adopted by self-employed, is indeed a great way of combating claims and litigations which can otherwise cripple the business. Thus the need for insurance for these professionals is felt since insurance helps them to deal with the financial loss they would otherwise have to suffer when:

·      Accidentally they damage someone else’ property,

·      Cause accidental injury to a third party,

·      Need to contest a claim in the court of law and

·      Also need to tide over a few lean months in their profession.

Hence getting any of the following insurances is always a feather in the cap of the self-employed professional.

·      Professional indemnity insurance: This is most appropriate for professionals who provide services to customers and clients on a regular basis. This insurance provides financial protection in instances wherein claims are raised by the client due to either a breach of professional duty, negligence on the part of the self-employed professional or just a simple human error. It is the professional indemnity insurance which provides the strength to carry on business even after a small human error has got escalated to quite a big miscalculation of judgement thereby causing harm to the client or its property. 

·      Public liability insurance: Like the professional indemnity insurance, this insurance too provides crucial financial help. Hence combatting claims and settlements become easier with the help of this insurance and even though it is not legally compelling to get this insurance, it is pure common sense to opt for the same. This insurance provides the much needed and crucial financial help, which can be used to settle genuine claims without having much of a crippling effect on the finances. For claims which are not genuine or the amounts are very high, the professional can also contest the same in the courts of law. This confidence is due to this insurance which provides financial help to deal with the court fees and other legal fees involved till such time as the court case for the same is active and in progress.

·      Employer’s liability insurance: This insurance is legally binding on all professionals who employ people to help out in the various aspects of their profession. The penalties for not having this insurance for professionals employing other peoples are quite high and there is also quite a lot of hassle involved.

Other optional insurances which may be needed based on the day to day functioning of a professional are:

·      Equipment or tools insurance: This helps to replace equipments and tools of a professional self-employed in case they are misplaced, lost or damaged beyond repair. But there are certain conditions and rides attached to it, which, if not followed lead to the rejection of claims raised against this insurance.

·      Commercial vehicle insurance: This becomes legally important to have for all individuals who use vehicles in order to make their profession run smoothly. There are again legal penalties involved if the same is not purchased.

The advantage of getting financial help in times when the professional is either out of work or unable to get work for various reasons, is perhaps one of the biggest reasons for getting an insurance. The need for any kind of professional service goes through lean periods whereby it becomes difficult to get work. There are many seasonal factors involved in the same but the fact remains that the demand for any profession does not remain the same always. Hence it is always better to opt for an appropriate insurance.