Insurance package for self-employed professionals starting out

Public and employers' liability insurance is the starting point for almost every self-employed professional, and for advisory or design work professional indemnity insurance is added. If you drive for business, third-party liability cover is required by law. The rest depends on your equipment and on how long you can manage without income. Beyond that third-party liability cover, nothing else is legally compulsory.

Often yes. General terms or hire agreements regularly contain a requirement for liability insurance with a minimum sum insured per event. Ask for that requirement in advance, so that the limit and the described capacity on your policy match it. You can usually send a policy schedule the same day.

Yes, and for most starters that is sensible. Begin with liability and the equipment you really need. Add legal expenses, business interruption or cyber cover as soon as your turnover, client base or dependence on systems grows. Report changes as they occur, otherwise the cover no longer matches your work.

As a self-employed person you build up no right to continued payment of wages. The options are disability insurance, a safety-net variant, joining a bread fund (broodfonds) or your own reserves. Watch the waiting period, the end age and the exclusion of conditions you already had when you took out the policy. The earlier you arrange this, the more generous the underwriting usually is.