Market traders insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why is market traders’ insurance important?
A collapsing canopy. A loose gazebo wire. A broken product with a sharp edge. In the bustling environment of the marketplace, you can’t always stop things from going wrong, but you can make sure you’re covered. Market traders’ insurance protects stallholders against the cost of the unexpected.
- Protection from big claims due to accidents and injuries at your market stall
- Peace of mind if you’re worried about legal expenses or personal accidents
- The cover you need, from your sales inventory to your equipment to your staff
What does market traders’ insurance cover?
The big one for market traders tends to be public liability, since you’re operating in a physical environment with a lot of footfall. And if you employ people, the law says you must have employers’ liability insurance. Beyond that, the choice is yours – we’ll guide you through your options to help you piece together the cover you need.
Public liability insurance for market stall
In case someone suffers injury or property damage as a result of your market stall.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for your market stall.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the products or materials you keep in stock.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to your business and office equipment.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs as the owner of your market stall business.
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
Public liability insurance for market stall
In case someone suffers injury or property damage as a result of your market stall.
What’s typically covered by market trader public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage caused by you to someone else’s belongings while you’re working, or caused by the products you sell at your market stall
- injury caused by you to someone else while you’re working, or as a result of the products you sell
- accidental damage or injury caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you're required by law to have employers' liability insurance)
For example:
- your stall canopy collapses and the steel frame falls on top of a customer’s head, giving them a serious head injury
- a pedestrian trips over a box of goods that your employee has left on the ground next to your market stall and breaks their wrist
- a customer complains that the food they bought from you gave them severe food poisoning, which meant they had to miss out on important work
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for your market stall.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an employee (including temp staff and casual workers) suing you because they fell ill as a result of being employed by you
- an employee suing you because they got injured as a result of being employed by you
**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 trips over loose gazebo wire at your market stall and breaks their elbow
- your employee cuts their hand open on a glass display item with a broken edge, leaving them unable to compete in a rugby final at the weekend
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the products or materials you keep in stock.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage or theft of the products you’re planning to sell to customers
- loss, damage or theft of the materials you use in the running of your market stall
For example:
- all the items you’ve been keeping in your sales inventory are stolen from your business premises, so you need to replace them
- several boxes full of products are stolen from your van while you’re attending a trade fair
Read more about stock 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?
- theft of the equipment you use to operate your stall, whether at your business premises or while you’re travelling to a market fair
- accidental loss of your equipment
- flood, fire, or accidental damage to your equipment
For example:
- your gazebo and your wooden product display unit are damaged in a fire
- your folding sack truck is stolen from your premises
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs as the owner of your market stall business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs your business may face, including resolving tax disputes, compliance disputes, and employee disputes
- the cost of legal claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass
- access to a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis communications support over the phone
For example:
- HMRC are investigating your tax affairs due to some discrepancies, or you’ve been selected at random for an audit, and you need help dealing with their enquiries
- you need to defend your legal rights after an employee you’ve let go accuses you of unfair dismissal
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?
- lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit due to injury or death – whether at work or elsewhere – for anybody you’ve named in your policy
For example:
- your employee runs over your foot by accident while you’re setting up your market stall
- you shut your hand in the car door on the way to the cinema at the weekend
Read more about personal accident insurance
How much does market traders’ 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
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 quotes, real prices
£9.98 /month
£79.82 /year
A local trader who has a stall a few days a week selling everyday household items
- 3-4 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Southampton
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
£24.35 /month
£216.46 /year
A small family run market stall with 2 employees who rent a hut a permanent stall
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Liverpool
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 03/03/2023). 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 |
|---|---|---|
Public liability | £100 | £2500 |
Employers' liability | No excess | No excess |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
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
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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?
Does market trader insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
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 market trader 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 private tutor insurance or caterer - excluding mobile vans
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
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
How do market stall insurance 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.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Example claim
Having market trader insurance through Simply Business has saved stallholders thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Jerome saved more than £4,000
When a defective cabinet fell on his employee’s foot, Jerome (not his real name) didn’t have to panic. He’d taken out employers’ liability insurance, which covered the claim she made against him because she was unable to work
Insurance payout
£4,058.63
Covering the cost of loss of earnings
Jerome’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Jerome’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.
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
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Market traders’ 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 market traders’ insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
If you employ people at your market stall – even casual workers – you’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover.
Aside from that, it’s a matter of choice.
Because being a market trader means being around other people (and their belongings), public liability insurance is an important type of cover to consider. It protects your business against the costs if you cause accidental damage to somebody else’s property or accidental injury. That’s why some marketplaces may insist that you have public liability insurance as a condition of your placement.
Do you rely on business equipment such as a gazebo or folding sack truck? You might also want to look into business and office equipment insurance.
Do you want to cover the products you keep in your sales inventory for your market stall? That’s what [stock insurance](/insurance/stock-cover] is for.
Do you want to safeguard yourself and others from the financial difficulties that can follow on from injury and illness? That’s what personal accident insurance is for.
Finally, do you want to cover your business against expenses following on from legal disputes, such as court costs and compensation payouts? You can take out legal expenses insurance.
Still feeling unsure if you need insurance for your market stall? Take a look at our guide on assessing the risks in your business.
The quickest and easiest way to get public liability insurance for your market stall is to compare quotes online. You could have your cover sorted in under 10 minutes, start to finish.
Using a service like Simply Business, you’ll start by simply entering a few details about your trade. You’ll then get a range of tailored options so you can choose the insurer that suits you best. Finally, you can buy your policy online, and your public liability insurance documents will be sent to you the same day.
Alternatively, you can take out a policy from an insurer directly, or from a high street broker.
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.
Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 043 8527 to update your policy before you take on this new work.
If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.
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.
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
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