Insurance...do I need it?!

[tobym]

Hi all,

I started contracting at the end of last year, and so far so good...one think that's occasionally occurred to me is "insurance - do I need some?!"

I notice that on this site indemnity insurance is offered, and having been knocked off my bike the week before last some sort of health insurance has seemed like it might be worth having. Is there anything I really should have, or anything that people would recommend?!

I'd be grateful for any advice people have, thanks in advance,

Toby

[TheFaQQer]

It's a good outside IR35 pointer, for a start.

[tobym]

It's a good outside IR35 pointer, for a start.

Ah, sadly I'm buried very, very deep inside IR35!

[blazzar]

For the relatively small cost (mine is about £250 pa) I think it is worth it for the piece of mind, I am with Hiscox.

[tobym]

For the relatively small cost (mine is about £250 pa) I think it is worth it for the piece of mind, I am with Hiscox.

Cheers blazzer - is this indemnity insurance you're talking about? I'm not even sure what that is for

Toby

[chef]

take a look here

i have 1 million PLI, 1 million Indemnity, 10 million ELI (it came with the package) and Equipment Cover for 3k through Randell Dorling being a member of PCG is a requirement I think. The above cost me £450 ish for the year. Might seem a bit steep but insurance is there for when you most need it and <£500 is a far better payment than the thousands when doris in Accounts trips over your power cable. IMHO

[Sockpuppet]

It may be specified in your contract that you need it. Possibly if it came to dispute they could ask to see if you maintained £x PLI etc and use that as an excuse to terminate etc.

[rootsnall]

It may be specified in your contract that you need it. Possibly if it came to dispute they could ask to see if you maintained £x PLI etc and use that as an excuse to terminate etc.

My contract specifies I must have it, I spent 6 weeks trying to get the clause removed without success but verbally have been told they won't check up anyway. On 1 weeks notice it's not worth getting on it on fear of termination.

[robnjc]

The short answer is YES.

Critical Illness. A friend has just been diagnosed with Parkinsons - he's well under 50 but is covered under his policy. It'll pay off his mortgage and provide a five figure lump sum. When he can't work any longer his Income Replacement kicks in.

Income replacement in case of sickness/disability - can be expensive but cost comes down
1) dependent on income required (you probably wont need as much as you do when working)
2) the longer you choose to defer benefits - i.e how long can you afford to be sick before you need to replace income. Mines at 6 months.
Make sure its for your specified occupation not a "suitable" or "any" occupation otherwise the insurer will refuse to pay up if you can still stack shelves.

Lots of others out there - PHI is a personal choice - do you leave yourself in the hands of the NHS? Life Assurance depends on your dependents & commitments.

Last word of advice - ask around for a reputable independent advisor before buying and ask them.

[thunderlizard]

I'd say get professional indemnity insurance at least. If you don't need much (e.g. £250,000 or even £100,000) it will only cost a couple of hundred quid.

robnjc,
Do you know which provider your friend got his Critical Illness cover from? That insurance is notorious for refusing to pay out, so it would be good to know of a firm that has done.