Insurance for starters: what's out there?
There are numerous options for insuring your own business. To get an overview, you can divide them into four areas. Protect your:
- Responsibility or liability as a self-employed person
- Physical assets, premises and vehicles
- Employees and yourself
- Future
In an ideal world, you would never have to resort to insurance, but as an entrepreneur, you already take risks. So for peace of mind, it certainly can't hurt to limit some of those risks.
Securex offers you a wide range of covers and insurance solutions to face the adversities of your life as an entrepreneur and to protect your business and your employees.
Liability insurance
In terms of liability, there are two types:
- Professional liability
- Civil liability
Some confusion over the names of ‘professional’ and ‘civil liability’ insurance may arise [in Dutch] because the industry uses the abbreviation BA [for both types of insurances]. The difference lies in the type of damage and conflict that is covered.
Professional liability covers contractual liability (professional misconduct), while civil liability insurance protects you during the exercise of your professional activity.
However, most insurers also extend their professional liability policy to include a number of civil liability options.
Professional liability insurance
Professional liability insurance protects you in the event of professional misconduct. It’s compulsory for liberal professions, such as doctors or architects, because an error often has serious consequences. Nevertheless, it’s of interest to all entrepreneurs to be able to carry out their work without fear of making mistakes.
Tip: Think about all the possible types of accidents that could happen in your business, or mistakes you could make, and ask your insurer how best to cover these.
Civil liability insurance
Civil liability insurance protects you while you are working. Depending on the activity, a civil liability (CL) policy covers a specific aspect:
- CL operation: for damage while working. For example, you walk around with a box or other material and scratch a parked car.
- CL following delivery of works: for damage caused by the delivered goods or works. Unfortunately, the shower that you didn't install properly caused water damage.
- CL entrusted goods: for damage to the item on which work is being done or which is used for professional purposes. You accidentally spill a cup of coffee on the laptop you were repairing.
- CL car and van: the professional version of motor insurance. Compulsory when using a vehicle on the job.
Make sure you have the right insurance, contact us.
Insurance for employees and for you as a person
If you start working with staff, you are obliged to take out an occupational accident insurance. Even if it’s only for one day. Furthermore, as a self-employed person, you don't have hospitalisation insurance through your work, so it's advisable to take care of this too.
Compulsory occupational accident insurance
Occupational accident insurance is a compulsory insurance that you take out for all your employees, because an accident can happen quickly. With such insurance, you ensure that your employees' medical expenses are reimbursed and you also protect a large part of their income.
Did you know that you can add a number of additional covers to the Occupational Accident insurance to protect your employees even better?
Our solutions for your employees.
Saving for your retirement as a self-employed person
The statutory pension for the self-employed is not very high in Belgium, currently averaging about 960 euros per month. Therefore, if you wish to maintain your current lifestyle, it’s wise to save up to provide for leaner times.
Thanks to interesting savings options such as the Free Supplementary Pension for the Self-Employed (FSPSE), you can build up supplementary pension savings and also enjoy attractive tax benefits.
Hospitalisation insurance and work disability
As an entrepreneur, it’s highly advisable to be prepared for difficult moments, such as if you or a family member were to be hospitalised, become incapacitated for work or even die.
- Hospitalisation insurance covers your hospital costs. With a company, you can arrange your hospitalisation insurance through your company. With a sole proprietorship, you choose an insurance policy as if you were a private individual.
- As a self-employed person, you can also use pension savings to protect yourself against accidents or illness, so as to do business free of worries.
- You can also opt for a replacement income for the self-employed to protect yourself against work disability.
That way, you secure your own standard of living and that of your family.
