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Web designer insurance

Join over 1,100 web designers like you with cover from £3.19 per month*

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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

Why do you need web designer insurance?

Your clients count on you to turn their hopes and dreams into results. And despite every effort, projects and meetings don’t always go to plan, especially in a world of increasing tech complexity. Rather channel your energy into the task at hand than stressing endlessly about curveballs? That’s where web design insurance comes in.

  • Protect yourself against big claims due to mistakes, accidents and negligence
  • Cover what you need, from your employees to your expensive business equipment
  • Enjoy peace of mind by guarding against unexpected legal and medical costs

Start your quote

What does web designer insurance cover?

We can help tailor your insurance to meet the needs of your web design business. Whether you’re worried about intellectual property disputes or accidental injuries, you can choose from a range of key covers to build yourself one flexible policy.

Public liability insurance for web designers

In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your web design business.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • damage caused by you to someone else’s property over the course of your work as a web designer
  • injury caused by you to someone else as a consequence of your work
  • accidental damage or injury caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you must have employers' liability insurance – it’s a legal requirement)

For example:

  • you’re at a client's office for a project planning meeting and you drop a heavy bag on the client’s mobile phone by accident, cracking the screen
  • a member of your client’s team breaks their wrist after tripping over your laptop cable while it’s plugged in
  • your assistant spills coffee over your client’s laptop, so it needs to be replaced

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • - any injury or illness you experience yourself while working – this would be covered under personal accident insurance instead

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee falls ill or hurts themselves while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • your employee suing you for damages because they got injured or became unwell as a result of carrying out their work

**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:

  • you ask an employee to visit a client’s office to give a demo of the new website, and they shut their hand in the car door on their way in, breaking a finger
  • an employee gets food poisoning from a team lunch you’ve organised

Professional indemnity insurance

In case you've made a mistake in your work or provided a service that didn't meet the expected standards.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance for web designers?

Claims against your business for:

  • web design advice you’ve given that turns out to be incorrect
  • any other professional negligence on your part, which leads to financial loss for your client

For example:

  • you’ve designed a website for a client and they’re holding you legally responsible for costing them money because you failed to meet the brief
  • a flood at your business premises leaves you unable to access the data on your laptop for two weeks, meaning you’re late on a contract and your client loses income as a consequence

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to your business and office equipment.

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

  • the equipment you use to run your web design business (specifically operational equipment rather than specialist tools) while stored at your business premises
  • theft of your equipment
  • flood, fire, or accidental damage to your equipment

For example:

  • a fire at your place of work damages your IT equipment (such as your laptop, your mobile phone, touch pads and any other electrical equipment you use to carry out your business activities as a designer), so you need to replace these items
  • your laptop is stolen in a break-in at your home office

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • any piece of business equipment where the value exceeds the limit in your policy – for instance, if your laptop cost £2,500 and your single article limit is £1,500

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Portable equipment insurance

In case something happens to your portable equipment.

What’s typically covered by portable equipment insurance?

  • loss, theft, or accidental damage of business equipment such as laptops and mobile phones while you’re out and about

For example:

  • your laptop gets damaged at a networking event
  • your business mobile phone is stolen from your coat pocket while you’re at a client’s office

Legal expenses insurance

In case you have to pay legal costs while operating your web design business.

  • resolving tax and compliance issues you’re faced with as the company owner
  • resolving disputes with your employees
  • help from relevant experts – including advice over the phone to support you through tax and legal issues, and crisis PR expertise if an event takes place that could harm your company’s reputation
  • legal claims and associated costs that arise from property damage, nuisance, or trespass

For example:

  • your web design company is being investigated for suspected tax evasion and you need an accountant to assist you with HMRC’s questions about your business tax accounts
  • you’ve delivered a piece of work as agreed in the contract and the payment is now several months overdue, so you want to engage a lawyer to recover the money the client owes you

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

  • claims due to injury or death (outside of work as well as at work) for any person you’ve chosen to name in your policy
  • lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

  • you trip over the curb while you’re on your way to a business lunch with a potential project partner, causing you to fall and break your arm
  • your employee twists their ankle at a charity sport event over the weekend, so they’re unable to drive to any client meetings for a fortnight

Read more about personal accident insurance

How much does web designer insurance 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 web designer insurance quotes, real prices

chiswell insurance

£14.67 /month

£126.73 /year

A start-up web designer just having completed their degree

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

    £1,000,000

  • Employers’ liability insurance

    Not included

  • Professional indemnity

    £50,000

chiswell insurance

£39.23 /month

£348.69 /year

Small web design agency with 2 members of staff and no office premises

  • 4-5 years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 2 employees
  • Based in Brighton
  • Public liability insurance

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability insurance

    £10,000,000

  • Professional indemnity

    £1,000,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 30/03/2022). 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

Business and office equipment

£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 web designer 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 Web marketing or Marketing agency?

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 web designer insurance through Simply Business has saved web designers thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Bonita saved more than £1,700

A client accused Bonita’s web design company (not her real name) of spilling a drink on one of their business laptops. There was no way around it – the laptop had to be repaired or replaced. Luckily she’d taken out insurance to cover her.

  • Insurance payout

    £1,728.00

    Covering the cost of accidental damage

  • Bonita’s costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in Bonita’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

    Documents arrive today

  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

  • Here to help

    Help from UK-based experts

  • 24/7 claims

    Make a claim any time

Web designer insurance FAQs

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 Web designer insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • Not all web designers share the same concerns or run their business the same way, so it’s a good idea to start with an assessment of the risks you might face.

    Do you have people working for you? You’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover.

    Do you come into contact with clients or members of the public over the course of your work? Public liability insurance is worth thinking about too.

    Do you make recommendations within your web design work – and are you keen to protect yourself against claims to do with negligence or incorrect advice? You may see professional indemnity insurance as essential.

    Do you rely on equipment such as a phone or laptop? You might also want to get business and office equipment insurance. This is a key cover for lots of web designers.

    Other covers for web designers to consider include:

  • 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 installments.

  • 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 0146 683. 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 web designers

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16 Oct 2019 • 5-minute read

How to become a freelance graphic designer: 5-step guide

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