In brief

We do not open accounts and do not issue cards. For that you go to a bank or payment institution. See also business account and, for credit, business finance. A credit card with a spending limit is a form of credit: Please note: borrowing money costs money. Compare providers on the annual percentage rate of charge (APR), because that includes not only the interest but also the fixed costs of the card. What we do advise on is the insurance cover attached to such a card. That often takes the form of travel cover, purchase protection or excess cover on a hire car, and those covers are narrower than their names suggest.

The most important limitation is the payment condition. Card-linked travel cover normally only applies where the trip was paid for wholly or largely with that card. If you book a flight through a client, a customer or another account, the cover falls away without anyone pointing it out. On top of that, the cover is usually limited to the cardholder alone and sometimes to a set number of travel days per trip.

For a self-employed professional the gap lies mainly with work. What you take with you in order to work is not luggage but business equipment: laptops, cameras, measuring instruments, samples and trading goods are excluded on virtually every travel cover. Liability is not included either. Anyone working on location needs liability insurance for self-employed professionals, and anyone advising or designing needs professional indemnity insurance.

This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on SME insurance package.