Insurance’ (c) 2007, Alan Cleaver. Used under a Creative Commons license.
Hello all!
I’m afraid, after last week’s somewhat preachy post, we will be continuing the trend of seriousness here at the Cafe. See, even before I decided to write about how to keep safe when you are your own boss, somebody sent me (well, my nephew) this article, which advises about insurance when carrying out freelance jobs – and yes, in case you were wondering, that does include self-employed courier jobs.
So what does this article say that can be of use to my darling readers? Well, plenty, actually. I don’t think I need to tell you why it’s important to contract insurance in any situation; but what this article does admirably is explain why it won’t do to just have any old insurance policy. It then advises those with self employed courier jobs (or any other freelance jobs, really) on how to go about picking the best one to suit their needs.
Basically (and I’m speaking as a total laywoman here, as I don’t know the first thing about insurance!), the article’s advice is based on two different types of policies: workers’ compensation and supplemental health care insurance.
The first type makes sure that freelancers – for example, drivers or cyclists working self employed courier jobs – are properly compensated in case of an accident or any other misfortune (this ties in to my previous post on road safety, so if you haven’t read it, make sure you do so!) Supplemental health insurance, on the other hand, takes care of your more mundane health expenses, as well as of any interventions you might need. The article also mentions supplemental accident insurance, although this type is seen as much less important than the other two.
Another thing I like about this piece is that they are not just trying to push insurance on freelance workers. They actually advise those with self-employed courier jobs and other independent lines of work to consider carefully whether or not they need all the different types of coverage each policy offers. According to the author, sometimes a bargain can actually be a waste of money, if you end up only using a few of the perks it offers!
All in all, I liked this article, and I think my darlings working on self-employed courier jobs could do worse than to read it. I’ll certainly be passing it on to owner-drivers and bike couriers I know, and Stevie told me he would do the same. If each of you also passes it on, we can make sure this advice reaches as many people as possible!
Until next time, ta-ra!
Gertie
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