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Interpreter insurance

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Rated 4.7/5

Based on 39,755 reviews

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Claims paid in 24 hours

For 80% of settled claims

What's on this page

  • Why is insurance important?
  • What does it cover?
  • How much does it cost?
  • How do I choose insurance?
  • How do claims work?
  • FAQs
  • Helpful articles

Insurance for interpreters – why is it important?

Freelance interpreter insurance or cover for a small limited company, whatever your business set-up, language professionals often prioritise public and indemnity insurance when building protection for their business. If a client held you responsible for a financial loss and raised a claim, professional indemnity insurance can help cover the costs, getting you back to business as quickly as possible.

  • professional indemnity insurance for interpreters, UK claims and contact team
  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
  • optional personal accident cover for your own injuries, or anyone on the policy

Start your quote

What does interpreter insurance cover?

Insurers often start with professional indemnity cover, a key protection for freelance interpreters and small companies. From there, you can choose to add in public liability insurance, designed to protect you against third party accidents like a trip and fall or property damage. From there, you can also factor in employers’ liability cover and equipment or personal accident protection – just tell us what you need.

Public liability insurance for interpreters

In case your business causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • damage to someone’s property, caused by your interpreter business
  • an injury or illness caused by your business activities
  • accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees

For example:

  • your work bag falls from an overhead locker onto a member of the public, causing a graze and bruising
  • while pouring a client’s tea you splash boiling water onto their hand, causing a burn

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

  • your employee cuts her hand on a blunt knife in your office kitchen, and needs stitches
  • a trainee you’ve hired slips down the steps at the back of your office, injuring her lower back and elbow

Indemnity insurance for interpreters

In case there’s a claim for loss-causing errors or issues with your work.

Professional indemnity insurance for interpreters – what’s typically covered?

Claims against your business for professional negligence or a loss-causing breach of contract. This can include:

  • advice which turns out to be incorrect
  • mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

  • you send documents to your client which include an error, delaying their project and causing a financial loss
  • an employee sends confidential information to the wrong person, and your client incurs costs while sorting out the damage

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to the equipment you use to run your business.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

  • theft of the equipment you use to operate, from your laptop to your recording kit
  • loss of your equipment
  • flood, fire, or accidental damage

For example:

  • a flood in your office damages essential equipment, including a fax machine and photocopier
  • your phone and laptop are stolen from your car while you’re paying for petrol

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you have to pay legal costs while running your interpreter business.

  • legal costs associated with day-to-day operations, like an employee dispute
  • property damage, nuisance, or trespass and associated legal costs
  • HMRC, tax, and compliance issues, if they come up
  • includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your professional reputation

For example:

  • you need to raise a legal case when your client refuses to pay an invoice
  • three employees brings an equal pay claim against you, and you need to pay for legal representation

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

  • injury or death of anyone you’ve chosen to cover in your policy – whether this happens at work or elsewhere
  • lost income, hospital bills, or other medical costs associated with the accident

For example:

  • you break your collarbone while playing rugby, and need time off work for hospital treatment
  • an employee you’ve covered slips on the office floor and breaks her elbow, keeping her off work for a week

Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Insurance for interpreters – how much does it cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £3.19 per month

Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote

10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Example interpreter insurance quotes, real prices

chiswell insurance

£8.82 /month

£68.20 /month

A self-employed interpreter working with face-to-face and telephone interpreting specialiasing on arrival interviews

  • Less than 1 years' experience
  • Sole trader
  • No employees
  • Based in Derby
  • Public liability

    Not included

  • Employers’ liability

    Not included

  • Professional indemnity

    £50,000

hiscox insurance

£51.28 /month

£455.84 /month

A small interpreting agency that supports charities and non-governmental organisations

  • 5+ years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 4 employees
  • Based in G12 8BL
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Professional indemnity

    £250,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 17/04/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Professional indemnity

No excess

£2500

Public liability

£200

£750

Contents

£100

£750

Portable equipment

£100

£500

Employers liability

No excess

No excess

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

  • Pick what goes into your policy

    Only pay for what you need

  • Get prices from a range of insurers

    Choose the best fit for you

  • Buy online in minutes

    Get your documents the same day

Start your quote

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How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Does interpreter insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider copywriter insurance or journalist insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

Other types of insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

£39 million in claims paid out in 2022

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022

Example claim

Having interpreter insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

John saved more than £1,300

Having interpreter insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

  • Insurance payout

    £1,356.40

    Covering the cost of legal expenses

  • John’s costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in John’s policy terms

Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

  • Compare and buy in minutes

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  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

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Interpreter insurance FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about indemnity insurance for interpreters and other popular covers. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a plumber, you may also do building work on certain jobs – you’ll need additional cover for this, but you can have it all on the one policy. When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy. If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 043 8527 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.

  • Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

  • You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

    • one-off credit or debit card payment
    • BACS payment
    • Direct Debit

    If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

  • If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.

  • This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

    If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

    There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Helpful articles for interpreters

Womanusing laptop and phone to work on taxes

20 May 2021 • 6-minute read

Self employed expenses: what can I claim on tax returns?

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