Consultant insurance

Professional liability insurance for consultants

In case you make a mistake in your consultancy, or the client claims for a financial loss.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• professional negligence or breach of contract which causes your client a financial loss, including advice you’ve given which turns out to be incorrect

For example:

• your client alleges that your work has ignored significant sections of the brief, stalling their project and exceeding the budget
• the team miss an important deadline due to your personal circumstances, causing the client to push back their launch date and make a financial loss

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Public liability insurance for consultants

In case your consultancy causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• injury or damage to someone’s property, caused by you or as a result of your work
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

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

For example:

• you accidentally drop a client’s tablet on a stone floor, cracking the screen
• a client trips over your bag, breaking their ankle in two places

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an employee suing you because they’re injured or fall ill as a result of working for you (includes temp staff 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:

• one of your employees shuts their hand in the office door, which you’ve been meaning to fix
• your contractor falls down some steps in the client’s office, breaking their arm

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your laptop.

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

• theft of the equipment you use to run your consultancy (operational equipment, not tools of the trade)
• accidental loss of your equipment
• flood, fire or accidental damage

For example:

• your office hardware is destroyed in a fire, and needs replacing
• during a break-in, your phone and two laptops are stolen, along with a speaker you use for workshops

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your consultancy.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs that you’re responsible for, within your business
• property damage, nuisance or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
• access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation, as a trusted consultant

For example:

• a member of staff brings an unfair dismissal claim against you, and you need to defend your legal rights
• you need to engage a lawyer to help resolve a client dispute

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident, at work or off duty.

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:

• your contractor is playing rugby at the weekend and breaks their leg, keeping them off work for three weeks
• you’re in a cycling accident on your way to the office, dislocating your shoulder

Read more about personal accident insurance