Since December 2000, the number of self-employed workers in the UK has risen from 3.2 million to 4.35 million – peaking in 2020 at 5.03 million before the emergence of COVID-19.*
Whilst two-thirds (62%) say that their household is solely reliant on their income, fewer than 7% have the necessary cover in place to protect themselves in the case of being unable to work.**
What are the main reasons behind this?
Alarmingly, four in ten self-employed workers mistakenly believe that they're not eligible for income protection insurance.**
Not having the right information leaves a vast number of the working population at risk.
Over the course of the pandemic, the self-employed have been one of the hardest hit demographics, with 46% struggling to pay for basic expenses.***
This situation has given rise to the obvious need for better protection plans in place.
Why is insurance essential for self-employed workers?
Risk exposure increases to a high level when you work on your own, meaning that should a mistake be made that has negative consequences on a client or third party, such as incorrect advice or damage to a client’s public image, then you could be left without any protection in the event that you are sued.
Mistakes happen and they can frequently be out of your control. Some examples of the sort of scenarios you could find yourself in as a self-employed worker include:
- Professional negligence (e.g. a small mistake on work for a client)
- Loss of data and documents
- Libel and defamation
- Loss of goods or money
- Unintentional breach of copyright or confidentiality
Professional Indemnity Insurance can help
PI insurance is a type of cover designed to offer protection for companies and businesses of all sizes with exactly the scenarios detailed above.
To learn what protection plans and insurance solutions are needed for your unique situation, please contact our team today.
*Statista
**Cover Magazine
***London School of Economics