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Self Employment Insurance

Bespoke self-employment cover that’s easy to amend as your business evolves.

  • Trades packages for carpenters, builders, electricians, plumbers, to creative trades such as hairdressers, designers and digital trades.
  • Essential covers available including public & employers’ liability insurance & professional indemnity. 
  • Access your quotes, policies and renewals in your online account
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One of the UK's leading independent insurance brokers

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Overall service rating 4.6 / 5

Based on 4867 customer reviews

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Why choose self employment insurance with Towergate?

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Cover for self-employed individuals

Cover available for self-employed individuals across various professions including popular packages for tradesmen, gardeners, cleaners, hairdressers and many more.

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Bespoke self-employment cover

Access to our panel of insurers allows you to arrange a policy that meets your specific needs.

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Flexible self-employed insurance

We can help you adjust your cover when your business requirements change.

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Pay for your self-employment insurance by Direct Debit

We offer a quick and easy Direct Debit instalment scheme so you can spread payment over ten months. 

About self employment insurance

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Self-employed business insurance

There are many different types of business out there and each has its own insurance requirements. There are lots of variables within self-employment, such as where you work from, how many employees you have, what level of interaction you have with the public and whether you use equipment. These can all have an impact on the type of cover you’ll require. That’s why we like to talk things through with you and find the most suitable policy whether you’re a hairdresser or a carpenter.

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Our policies can grow with your self employed business

Just let us know how your circumstances have changed and we’ll adapt your policy accordingly. Your insurance should be in no way constricting so just keep us posted. It’s simple to amend your policy to make sure you still have peace of mind as your business changes.

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Choose from a range of features

Popular covers include public liability, products liability if you manufacture or sell products, employers liability if you have staff, property insurance if you have premises, contents, business interruption. We can also add specific options such as tools cove., your policy to make sure you still have peace of mind as your business changes.

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Self-employed insurance comparison

We've got a selection of trusted insurers who can cover the risks associated with being self-employed. What this allows you to do is choose from several quotes with different premiums and cover until you find the best fit.

When you need to make a claim, we'll guide you through the process and get your claim settled as quickly as possible.

  • Find your insurance documents and make sure you have all your information at hand, including your policy number.
  • Call the claims team on 0344 980 8367 and explain exactly what happened.
  • Provide photos if requested to help us understand what happened as quickly as we can.
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Ready to get covered?

  • Fill in our online quote form or call us
  • Select your insurer and price
  • Relax - you're covered!
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Self Employment Insurance FAQs

Whilst professional indemnity (PI) insurance is not a legal requirement, most businesses offering a design or advice service for a fee will need it. Allegations for errors and omissions can occur at any time and the legal defence costs can be very high, as can the compensation awards in the event of you being found to be at fault.

Public liability insurance can help protect your self-employed business from claims of injury or damage caused by your work. As a sole trader, having public liability insurance in place means you will be covered for the cost of settling the claim where you are at fault, including compensation pay-outs and legal defence fees.

Your need for Public Liability insurance protection depends on what level of exposure your business has with third parties – this can be the general public who you interact with or customers who visit your business premises, for example if you have a shop, pub, restaurant or hairdressing/beauty salon.

This will vary across different types of businesses. Towergate can offer public liability insurance policies with cover from £1 million up to £10 million or higher. The amount you need will depend on several aspects:

  • Your business activities
  • The type of locations and environments you are working in
  • The height or depth above/below ground level
  • The processes involved, particularly if these are of a high-risk nature involving any application of heat-work
  • The increasing court awards being made for personal injuries

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement if you have employees but other cover depending on your business requirements include public liability, professional indemnity, buildings insurance. Each self-employed business will have different requirements to protect the self-employed business from financial loss.

This is only a requirement if you have your own employees but if you do, then it is a legal requirement for you to have this insurance in place. The cover will protect employees and enable you to provide compensation for them if they have suffered an injury or illness, as a result of your negligence, during the course of their employment.

To help you spread the cost of your premiums, we offer a quick and easy direct debit scheme for spreading payment over ten months. Please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page to find out more.

If you would like to know more about our monthly payment option, please visit our dedicated Direct Debit page.

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Self Employment insurance articles and guides

How to be Self-Employed: A Guide

Starting your own business is one of the most exciting career moves you can make. Our guide looks at the key things to consider when working for yourself.

Read more

Guide to Rights and Responsibilities for Freelancers

Do you work freelance? Thinking of a move into self-employment? In this article, we'll help you prepare for life as a freelancer with all the vital facts.

Read more

What is the Difference Between Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance?

What is the difference between public liability and professional indemnity insurance? We define PL and PI insurance to help you decide if your business needs them.

Read more