This sentence is the most common first reaction to liability insurance – and it's entirely understandable: if you've worked for years without a claim, the risk feels abstract. This article isn't here to alarm you; it offers guidance instead: three questions that reveal whether the need is real in your situation – and two situations where the question is no longer yours to decide.
- The main question isn't how likely a claim is, but the size of a possible loss relative to your reserves.
- If a client, chamber or tender requires it, the question is already settled – all that's left is getting the cover right.
- “I've never had a claim” is a strong argument at pricing time – but it won't protect you from the next one.
Question 1: how big could the worst realistic loss be?
Don't look at the average scenario, look at the big one: what happens if your work leaves flats waterlogged, someone gets hurt, or a client picks up a serious fine? A compensation claim in that case doesn't scale with your revenue – it can exceed the business's entire annual turnover. So the question isn't whether it's “likely,” but whether your reserves could absorb a claim like that. If not, that's exactly what insurance is for. A separate article looks factually at the consequences of going without cover: if you have no insurance and a claim happens.
Question 2: does your work affect others physically or financially?
If you work on someone else's property, near their equipment, or with their finances, your work affects other people by its very nature – that's the source of liability risk. For hands-on trades the effect is physical (breakage, water damage, injury); for knowledge-based service providers it's financial (a fine, a loss). If your answer is “yes, but I've been lucky so far” – that's exactly the situation insurance is for.
Question 3: who would pay the lawyer for an unfounded claim?
Liability insurance doesn't just settle legitimate claims: when a claim is disputed, it also stands behind your defence under the policy terms. Without cover, you're on your own even against an unfounded claim – proving you're in the right costs money too.
When the question isn't yours to decide
In two situations, “do I need it” is no longer a judgement call: when the applicable laws or your chamber's regulations require insurance for your activity (when it's mandatory) – check the current rules of your chamber or professional body – and when a client's contract requires proof of cover (client expectations). Both are becoming more common – it's worth sorting out in advance, rather than scrambling at the first request.
The next step
If any of the three questions left you unsure, the 2-minute self-check helps structure the picture – and the precise answer emerges at a free consultation, with no obligation. I assess your needs and explain the options – the decision is always yours.
Worth writing down before you decide
A simple exercise helps you see clearly: write down the three biggest values you work close to (the client's property, the data and figures you handle, people), and next to them, your business's free reserves. If any item in the first column is bigger than the second – and it almost always is – then transferring the risk makes sense. This isn't a marketing trick; it's the same calculation large companies' risk managers run, just done on paper. After that, the premium is simply a pricing question – decided by competition among insurers, not by fear.
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