Self-Employed Workers Exposed To Unnecessary Financial Risk

Updated on

A large number of the UK’s self-employed workers could be personally exposed to the various risks associated with running a business, exclusive research carried out by self-employment insurance specialist, Qdos, has revealed.

The insight suggests that nearly one in three (29%) self-employed workers surveyed do not hold insurance at all, with over half of this group stating they do not believe they need it. This group of workers (83% of whom are sole-traders) do not hold insurance for the following reasons:

Get The Full Series in PDF

Get the entire 10-part series on Charlie Munger in PDF. Save it to your desktop, read it on your tablet, or email to your colleagues.

Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc

  • 53% do not think they need it
  • 25% believe it’s too expensive
  • 17% have never considered it at all
  • 8% are looking to buy it
  • 1% can’t find the right policy
  • 1% say they are self-insured
  • 5% stated ‘other’ reasons

Of the 71% of individuals who hold at least one form of insurance, the most common policy is public liability insurance (64%).

Higher earners (£50k+ annual turnover) are more likely to have insurance in place (95%), while those earning under £50k a year are less likely (63%).

Seb Maley, CEO of Qdos, a self-employment insurance provider, commented:

“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.

“Sole traders do not have the luxury of being protected by their limited company either. This means that if an incident does happen, they will be personally liable should they not hold insurance. Given challenging HMRC, for example, can cost individuals thousands of pounds, the old adage it’s better to be safe than sorry has never been truer.”

Qdos Contractor CEO Seb Maley is available for comment and interview. Please contact Ben Smith on 07496736688 or at [email protected]. With over 25 years’ experience, Qdos Contractor is a specialist contractor tax, IR35 and insurance advisor, and has saved self-employed individuals over £35million in tax. The research was produced in partnership with Research in Insurance. 400 self-employed participants took part in the survey.

Leave a Comment