Self-employed insurance: You don’t know you need it until you need it
Don’t you just hate going to the cupboard to grab something you need only to find it isn’t there? It is something we all experience. On a larger scale though, imagine running into the same sort of scenario with your business.
As an entrepreneur and the owner of a start-up, the last thing you need is to reach for something you do not actually have. A good example is insurance for the self-employed. Self-employed insurance is something you don’t know you need, until you need it.
Insurance is one of those things many people don’t know they need until a situation arises when they actually need it. In other words, as morbid as it sounds, there are a lot of people who die without life insurance in place. They never knew they really needed it. Upon death, surviving family members know they need to replace lost income, but it will not be replaced by a life insurance policy.
The world of business is fraught with different kinds of circumstances that could threaten business assets. It is the way the world works. And for self-employed start-up owners who are not running large companies, some of those circumstances can threaten personal assets as well. Here is how you can protect yourself from the unexpected as explained by Sherpa, insurance specialists for the self-employed.
Protecting you against the unexpected
It is interesting to note that insurance was originally designed to protect people against the unexpected. But when you stop and think about it, the course of human history tells us to expect negative circumstances in life. We all know we are going to get ill, for example. The only question is how serious our illnesses will be.
As a business owner, you expect that at some point you are going to miss time from work as a result of injury or illness. But are you prepared for it? Lost income and critical illness insurance are two insurance products purposely designed for such circumstances. Private health insurance is a third insurance product capable of minimising lost time and income by giving you access to healthcare services outside of the NHS.
Death is something else we all expect. However, it is natural for us to just assume we will live well into our 70s or 80s – well beyond the time to still be working a business. But people still die during their working years. Entrepreneurs still die while their businesses remain on shaky financial ground. As previously stated, life insurance is the solution here.
Finally, there is liability. This may be one area in which it is reasonable to not expect issues. Liability claims are not something every business owner has to face as a matter of course. And yet, a liability claim can be financially devastating. You protect yourself and your business against such claims with personal and business liability cover. Household insurance is another option.
Insurance is about managing risk
Should you be spending money on insurance to protect your business? That is a question only you can answer. But as you consider your insurance options, know this: purchasing insurance is all about managing risk. And managing risk is something we do in nearly every aspect of life.
We manage risk every time we get in the car and drive. We manage risk when buying a house, taking a holiday, or committing to a relationship. The point is that risk is all around us. We manage it every day. So it should be no surprise that risk management is a part of business success.
The right self-employed insurance policies can help you effectively manage the risks your business faces. Be smart about your business and don’t wait to find out that you need insurance due to some circumstance that makes you painfully aware that you don’t have it.
