What insurance does a self-employed person really need? How do you adequately protect yourself as a startup? Studies have shown that around 90 percent of people who start their own businesses believe their business is well protected, yet only about half actually seek comprehensive advice. Not a good decision: there is no general answer to the right insurance, the needs are too individual, the companies too diverse. Then you should definitely seek advice. Here are some important basics so you can find the right and important insurance for you.
The most important insurances for self-employed workers and entrepreneurs
Recommendation for starter cooking:
In particular one pay for sickness as well as protection with a disability insurance you should include in your plan. A further pay for sickness you take it from the insurer Ottonova. And with that Wage protection savme insures your income for up to 24 months in the event of unemployment or incapacity for work.
#1. Health insurance for founders
THE Health insurance is required by law, even for the self-employed. Legal or private insurance is possible and a combination is also conceivable. Insurance should be chosen based on your situation.
Founders: private or legal insurance?
If you were previously covered by statutory health insurance, you can continue to be insured there as a founder – then voluntary by law insured. However, you should know that the Private health insurance only for founders few advantages takes with him. For example, you can save money by paying only for the services you need. You can compose your insurance coverage individually and Advantages of private health insurance enjoy, such as treatment by a primary hospital or higher quality medical care.
- The main difference between private and legal KV: In private, monthly contributions are based on your age, gender, and existing illnesses/risks. The legal ones are based on your income.
- In addition, you can minimize the contribution to the private sector by agreeing to a deductible for medical expenses. This is especially useful for young and rarely sick startups. Statutory health insurers do not offer such savings through deductibles. New businesses pay 14.9% (without daily sickness benefits) or 15.5% (with daily sickness benefits) of their income.
- And: people with compulsory health insurance must be prepared for a tax audit, health insurance companies usually want to know the actual income.
- Another disadvantage of legal insurance: you don't pay for everything you need, but only a part of the standard services. So it can quickly happen that you pay for most of the expensive prosthetics yourself.
By the way: whether private or statutory health insurance, your efforts to improve your health will be rewarded. So ask about bonus programs and retirement offerings before making your selection.
#2. Founders Disability Insurance
One in four Germans will sooner or later no longer be able to work. This The risk becomes very common both employees and self-employed underrated. In order not to take risks, you should therefore take out disability insurance as soon as possible. The younger you are, the lower the premium you have to pay the insurer.
In the Getsurance Job loss insurance For example, you will receive a monthly payment from 3 months of illness. With the Salary protection from savme your income is guaranteed for up to 24 months in the event of unemployment or incapacity to work. It's a traditional disability insurance also offers the cosmosDirekt.
The insurance comes into effect if you can work less than half your working hours at your previous job. Then you will be paid a monthly pension, which is ideally about 75 percent of your previous net salary.
A fundamental insurance especially for entrepreneurs. Because even a sizable cash fortune cannot guarantee the asset value of your workforce.
Important regulation of professional liability insurance in small print
- Abstract reference: The insurer should refrain from doing this. Otherwise, the agreed BU pension can be refused “referring” to another profession.
- Semi-annual forecast: The insurer should recognize an occupational disability if a doctor has foreseen it for six months.
- retroactivity: If a medical prognosis for the probable period of incapacity is not possible, but the insured person has been incapacitated for six months without interruption, the pension must be paid retroactively from the first month.
- Five years: The BU insurer should be able to withdraw from the contract for up to five years if the customer has breached his “pre-contractual notification obligation”.
- Insurance coverage: It should exist all over the world.
- post-insurance: In the event of certain events, such as marriage or the birth of a child, it should be possible to increase the insurance coverage or extend the insurance period without having to undergo another health check.
Important tips on how to find the right disability insurance for you can be found here: “5 tips on disability insurance for founders and the self-employed”.
No. 3. Business/Professional Liability Insurance for Founders
Small company – small losses? This is a dangerous mistake, because damage claims can be enforced by customers, suppliers or other third parties, which can easily become a nightmare for you as a small business owner. That's what professional indemnity insurance is for.
- Pay attention to the co-insured: You yourself as contractor, your legal representatives, persons who supervise the operation or parts of it, employees in carrying out their business activities, assisting spouses and family members as well as company vehicles up to 6 km/h that they must not have license plates – all this should be ensured,
- Basis for calculating contributions: Important factors are the number of employees, the gross turnover of the previous year, the gross annual salary, the construction costs (in the case of builders' liability insurance) or the gross annual rental value (in the case of builders' liability insurance). things). But be careful: even with the same insurer, the calculation can differ significantly depending on the type of liability. Have all factors explained to you – sometimes you can rule out risks that don't concern you.
- Special service for start-ups: You can certainly enjoy discounts of up to 40 percent off the regular rate, which are then reduced year on year.
N. 4. Pension insurance for the self-employed
You should also provide for your old age as soon as possible. As a founder, you are no longer necessarily obligated to pay into the statutory pension fund, unless you work as an artist, midwife, teacher, trainer or nurse, for example. However, you have the option of voluntarily making contributions to the statutory insurance.
Also, you should protect yourself in other ways. Take out a so-called Rürup insurance policy or look for private pension insurance. It's important that you don't wait too long.
#5. Unemployment Insurance – Bankruptcy Insurance
The need is clear: founders often put everything on one card. And the project can still fail. In order not to fall into ALG II, i.e. Harzt IV, you should pay unemployment insurance as voluntarily as possible.
It is not always possible to get unemployment insurance as a founder. You must have worked in compulsory insurance for at least 12 months in the last 30 months. Then you can apply immediately after your foundation. If accepted, you may receive unemployment benefits if your business has not been successful. More voluntary unemployment insurance you can find here.
#6 Accident Insurance – Covered for the unexpected
As a founder, you can first secure yourself with a trade association. This protection therefore corresponds to the conventional statutory accident insurance. However, if you are exposed to greater dangers in your business, you should think about private accident insurance. Here you enjoy much greater protection. However, depending on the job you have to pay higher contributions. So it's up to you to compare and weigh.
#7. Property/Contents Insurance or Contents Insurance
Your fancy office furniture goes up in flames, someone clears out your warehouse, or your computer with all your data falls victim to a sprinkler system. Property and property insurance helps here. It is, so to speak, the equivalent of private household contents insurance.
- Insured risks: Burglary, electronic damage, fire damage, mains water and storms are probably the classics, in addition to assembly insurance and technical insurance. Some insurance companies also cover motor insurance, business interruption and freight risks.
- Pay attention to the place of insurance: In principle, the insurance cover only applies at the place of insurance, i.e. at the business, commercial and storage premises specified in the contract. Newly added company premises are automatically insured, but only up to a certain indemnity limit and only for a certain period of time.
- fees: In case of damage, you can also be held responsible for your efforts to restore or replace all office technical and business equipment, electronic devices, software and lost data, work books, files, as well as for cleaning and protection measures and interim measures security measures require performance.
#8. Loss of Earnings / Business Interruption Insurance
If there's damage that cripples your business, then you're in for a lot of trouble. If in doubt, you cannot continue to produce or trade. This is where loss of income insurance can help you in the event of a business interruption. In some cases, this is included in the contents insurance.
- How the damage is calculated: It's not easy at all… On the one hand, you don't want the insurance to take effect, so you don't want a business interruption. On the other hand, you don't know in advance how long and how completely your business will be down. And third, you can only guess what profits you are missing out on. Therefore, the determination of an insured sum is problematic here. There are various models for solving the dilemma, and you should have explained them in detail. In most cases, compensation is limited by a maximum compensation per claim.
- holding time: This is usually 12 months, during which the insurance pays for the loss of earnings.
- For freelancers: By the way, there is also an equivalent, tax loss insurance.
N. 9. Legal Protection – Protection of the Founder in the event of litigation
Some disputes are resolved in court. However, the costs for lawyers, expert opinions or litigation can be quite expensive. You can protect yourself against this with legal protection insurance. She pays the costs incurred if you have to plead yourself in court. However, you should carefully compare the offers here.
#10. Protect digital infrastructure with cyber insurance
The digital world is getting bigger and bigger and internet crime is growing with it. New types of cyber insurance can protect you from possible harm, such as if someone has hacked into your system and stolen your data. Also, you should generally ensure a secure IT infrastructure within your business so that such incidents don't happen in the first place.