Freelance Insurance: Why it’s critical to your success

You never think you’ll need freelance insurance until it’s too late.

Here are some of the worrying phrases we hear all too often:

“I’m lucky enough to only work with established and well-respected companies as my freelance clients. So freelance insurance is not something I see myself needing right now”

“I have read about freelance insurance in the past and decided that I was probably ok without it and likely didn’t want the extra costs!”

“I work with the same regular clients so I don’t really need freelance insurance”

We get that if you’re just starting out or have not had any issues with clients yet that you’d rather save the money.

But the reality is that if you don’t have freelance insurance cover then you’re just leaving yourself vulnerable to crippling costs if projects fail and the client runs off without paying you.

Don’t think that will happen to you?

Well, the stats speak for themselves:

• 71% of freelancers have experienced client non-payment.
• 50% of freelancers have trouble getting paid on time.
• Non-payment costs freelancers an average of £4,928 a year.

This is why we’ve partnered with Dinghy, the first insurance company on the market that allows you to turn your insurance on and off as you need it, so you only pay for the insurance you’ve used. This means that you can reduce your premiums when you’re not working, so you only pay for the coverage you really need.

Their policies have no upfront cost. Interest-free monthly payments are taken at the end of the month, allowing you time to get your own invoices paid before you pay for insurance.

Not only that, their insurance cover starts from only 25p a day! Click here to see all of their plans.

Dinghy allows you to buy professional indemnity insurance tailored to you in under 2 minutes.

In all of their plans, at no extra cost, Dinghy also offers Freelancer Assist.

This is a game-changer for freelancers because if your clients aren’t paying you, they have a team of lawyers ready to help you chase clients for any unpaid invoices; they also provide expert tax specialists if you have an IR35 or other tax inspection, pay you for jury duty, and more. Here are just some of the benefits Freelancer Assist gives you:

Overdue invoices chased on your behalf

The bain of every self-employed person. If your invoice overdue date is disappearing over the horizon, your client isn’t responding, and you think enough is enough and it’s time to really chase that invoice then your Dinghy insurance will do that for you (as long as the invoice is more than £200).

Tax investigation cover

Got issues with HMRC or an IR35 dispute? Dinghy provide expert tax specialists if you have an IR35 or other tax inspection

• “Audit Assist” They’ll represent you if a dispute arises following a tax inspection by HMRC
• “IR35 Assist” They’ll represent you if a dispute arises regarding IR35
• “VAT Assist” They’ll represent you is there is a VAT dispute

Jury duty income protection

If you are called to do your civic duty they will also cover your lost earnings.

Crisis communication

If you get into a situation that causes your business significant adverse publicity or reputational damage, then Dinghy provides the following support:

• Legal defence
• Covering your business legal expenses (including motor offences).
• 24/7 legal advice helpline
• Business hours tax advice helpline
• 24/7 counselling helpline

Dinghy is radically changing the way freelancers become insured, by providing fairer, faster and cheaper protection to the fastest growing workforce in the world. Click here to get proper freelance insurance protection and help them to change the industry for the better.

We are delighted to offer Twine members a £15 Amazon Voucher when they purchase a policy. Click here to get started.