A new survey showed that more than half of freelancers think they don’t need any coverage.
Fifty three percent of freelancers, independent contractors and small business owners feel they don’t require self employed liability insurance, said a new Qdos survey.
Moreover, over half of those who think they don’t necessarily need it don’t have any coverage at all.
The Qdos survey showed that 29 percent of those freelancers and independent contractors had no self employed liability insurance at all. That said, clients are coming to understand the importance of coverage and are demanding it on a rising basis. It is becoming more commonplace for clients to require a self-employed person have liability coverage before they will hire the contractors.
The reason is that clients want to know that they will be able to be compensated if they face a situation in which a liability suit is required. Independent contractors and freelancers frequently do not understand their liability exposure and the difference insurance can make. It is designed to protect against potential lawsuits and possible financial losses.
The survey showed that many freelancers don’t understand how self employed liability insurance protects.
Qdos CEO Seb Maley explained that many self-employed people face liability exposure every day they do business. However, those independent contractors, freelancers and small business owners are not aware of these exposures. He added that they are often issues over which the contractors have no control and that can cause unexpected problems.
“Self-employed workers are exposed to all kinds of risks on a daily basis – many of which they have no control over and cannot see coming. When running a small business, there’s no escaping the fact that you might have an accident and not be able to work, make a mistake for which you’re liable or even be investigated by the taxman,” said Maley.
He also underscored that the wrong self employed liability insurance could leave the freelancer or independent contractor personally liable. As the cost of a liability suit is frequently more than self-employed people can afford, this type of issue can be financially devastating and force the closure of the businesses.