Essential insurance types for freelance graphic designers

Being a freelance graphic designer…it’s just one of those careers that sounds cool. You’re a creative genius and a tech whizz at the same time. You’ve got your finger on the pulse of the latest trends while also retaining an eye for classic principles of design – the things that never go out of style.  

And best of all, you get to do all this while working for yourself. You set your own hours and have the freedom to choose the most interesting project to work on. You’re not tied to an ad agency’s burnout schedules.  

Going it alone can also be a scary thing. Self-employment can feel less secure than a traditional job, and without the proper support in place, freelance graphic designers can feel vulnerable – both financially and professionally.  

Do freelance graphic designers need business insurance? 

If you don’t hold insurance, anything that goes wrong and the pay-outs associated with it (including legal costs) will all fall directly on you and your business. Even if you have some money set aside for emergencies, it’s likely this wouldn’t be enough to cover the cost if someone gets injured because of your work or if you are sued by a client.   

In this blog, we look at how insurance can be a safety net and companion to graphic designers, supporting you on your freelance journey as you build your business and make your mark on the world. 

Professional Indemnity insurance for freelance graphic designers 

Professional Indemnity insurance is insurance that protects you and your work. If a client isn’t happy with something that you’ve produced and thinks it has caused them a financial loss, they can try and claim these damages back from you. This could be things like mistakes and negligence, bad advice, defamation, copyright infringement or breaches of confidentiality.   

Example freelance graphic designer Professional Indemnity claim:  

You’ve used some stock images in a leaflet you designed for a client that you thought were royalty-free. The client has been contacted by the photographer claiming they are being used without permission, launching a copyright dispute. The client then tries to recover the costs and legal fees of this dispute from you, saying that you are responsible for the copyright breach. 

How Professional Indemnity insurance can help: 

Without insurance, you’d be left scrambling to find legal representation to defend against the claim, losing you precious work time. Your business could also find itself facing several thousands of pounds worth of compensation and legal fees.  

A Professional Indemnity policy, however, is designed to protect freelance graphic designers in situations like this. In many cases a team of experts will step in and deal with the claim on your behalf. Your insurance will also cover all the associated costs, up to the level of your cover, and there is no excess to pay. 

Public Liability insurance for freelance graphic designers 

While Professional Indemnity insurance is there to protect you, Public Liability insurance is there to protect those around you. Public Liability insurance is there for the times when someone else is injured or harmed, or their property damaged, because of the actions of your business. If you ever work in spaces outside your home – like clients’ offices, co-working spaces, or even cafes – then Public Liability insurance is recommended to protect you against the potentially high costs if an accident happens.  

Example freelance graphic designer Public Liability claim:  

You’re working from your local cafe for a caffeine injection to get you through the day. Just as you’re adding the finishing touches to an important project, your battery starts to die, so you plug your laptop into one of the wall sockets. While you’re busy tweaking your designs to the client’s exacting standards, a barista comes by and trips over the trailing cable. Their badly broken arm means they can’t work while they recover – and so they decide to sue you for compensation, alleging that your actions caused their injury. 

How Public Liability insurance can help: 

If you didn’t have insurance at this stage, you’d be worried. Injury claims can cost thousands of pounds, especially if the complainant must stop working. You’ve also got the stress and effort of finding decent legal representation to defend yourself and your business, all of which comes at a cost – both financially and in terms of time.  

With Public Liability insurance you’ll often be assigned a legal team to deal with the case on your behalf, and your policy will cover any damages that might be awarded to the other side to cover their medical costs or lost income, up to the limit stated. 

Business Equipment insurance for freelance graphic designers 

Every graphic designer needs a computer with a decent specification as many older or slower models just can’t cope with the huge files and RAM-eating software that you need to throw at it. The tools of your trade tend to be expensive ones: high-res screens, graphics tablets, smartphones, DSLRs. If these things got lost, damaged or stolen, business equipment insurance can step in to help you get your hands on replacements ASAP. 

Example freelance graphic designer Business Equipment claim:  

You’re travelling home from a client meeting when your rucksack gets swiped from under your seat on the bus. A momentary distraction and the thief is off, pounding down the pavement with your precious tablet, laptop and external hard drive, as the bus pulls away slowly. Can you afford to replace all that gear? And how are you going to explain to your clients that you can’t meet your deadlines because you don’t have any kit to complete their projects on? 

How Business Equipment cover can help: 

Business Equipment insurance for freelancers covers any gear owned by your business, almost anywhere in the world. If equipment gets lost, stolen or damaged, many policies will replace it with new models within a set timeframe or transfer the equivalent cash straight into your bank account, so you can get back to work straightaway. 

Cyber Liability insurance for freelance graphic designers 

With a list of clients, plenty of briefs and maybe even some confidential projects, freelance graphic designers are likely holding onto a fair amount of sensitive data. Without the infrastructure of a larger company, not only do smaller businesses have less support when things go wrong, but they can also find themselves targeted more often by cyber criminals. 

Graphic designers can’t afford to have their systems held captive until they pay large sums of money, like in the case of ransomware. These scenarios mean losing access to important design files and even being unable to work whilst your computer is held hostage.  

Cyber Liability insurance can help support your business if the worst does happen, such as help with ransomware demands, restoring your systems and recovering data, as well as regulatory fines that might be incurred.  

Example freelance graphic designer Cyber Liability claim:  

You are checking your emails whilst also speaking with a client on the phone. As you are distracted by the conversation, you click on a link on an email that looks like it is from your client. Unfortunately, after you click on the link it becomes clear that it is a highly sophisticated email, which results in ransomware locking you out of your Adobe software until a random demand is paid. You are unable to access your Adobe Photoshop and InDesign files, meaning you can’t continue working on several important projects which results in lost income for your business.  

How Cyber Liability insurance can help: 

Holding a Cyber Liability policy means having access to a 24-hour support line for instant support whenever and wherever a cyber-attack occurs. Cyber Liability cover may also provide financial help to improve your computer system resilience following a claim. Many policies also include Business Interruption to cover lost business income because of cyber-attacks. 

Why choose Kingsbridge for insurance for your freelance graphic designer business? 

Kingsbridge have been in the business of providing insurance to freelance graphic designers for many years. We have taken all our expertise to build a tailored policy package for graphic designers, so your insurance package has everything your business needs. 

We understand that many freelance businesses can struggle with paying for a large bill like insurance in one go, so we offer flexible payment options. Plus, we offer the ability to adjust your coverage as your business needs change. We also offer a Price Promise and will beat any like for like quote if you do find the same coverage elsewhere for less. 

Hopefully, this article has provided an overview of the types of insurance that you might need and the level of cover you might need for your freelance graphic design business. Contact us today for a quote either online or by ringing our team on 01242 808740.