All sorts of contingencies can occur which affect the already risky adventure of being self-employed. For this reason, we’re going to take a look at the different insurance formulas designed to help the self-employed deal with unforeseen events.
Compulsory insurance
Although a self-employed worker is only entitled, in principle, to social benefits through the payment of the self-employed social security contribution, this changes if the professional concerned has employees, if their activity takes place in commercial premises, or if they need a vehicle to do their business. In these cases civil liability insurance is mandatory, which is intended to protect the self-employed person in the event of damages caused to third parties by their business activities.
Non-compulsory insurance
Some 72% of self-employed people are afraid to take sick leave due to the loss of income that this entails. Taking out sick leave insurance, as well as accident insurance for freelancers, is an interesting option to mitigate the effect of this type of unforeseen event. On the other hand, more and more freelancers are choosing to take out private health insurance, since by using the private system they can shorten waiting times for diagnostic tests or surgical interventions.
During lockdown, with the increase in online business, many freelancers have been forced to diversify their business through the Internet, which has led to an increase in cyber risks. This has meant that taking out cyber risk insurance has become very common.
Finally, looking to the future, retirement insurance is an interesting alternative for these professionals: this insurance reflects the fact that most self-employed people pay the minimum social security contribution, so by the end of their working life their pension may be too low. This insurance complements the economic capacity of the self-employed professional when it comes to retirement.
As you can see, the insurance industry is constantly innovating to ensure that self-employed professionals, who account for more than 90 percent of Spain’s business sector, can continue to operate in the event of any unforeseen circumstances.
