Bookkeeper insurance

Specialist cover for bookkeepers from £5 a month*

  • Fast, easy online quote in 90 seconds

  • Interest free direct debit

  • No hidden fees or cancellation charges

Markel’s specialist bookkeeper’s insurance has been designed to provide expert cover to bookkeeping professionals. It can be tailored to meet the regulatory requirements of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB).

What is bookkeeper’s insurance?

Insurance for bookkeepers protects you in the event a mistake happens. No matter how much you check your clients’ books, there is a chance you may miss something. Having the protection of professional indemnity insurance in place is highly recommended to cover your work. Unlike many bookkeeping insurance schemes that offer a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy, we offer a range of different cover options that can be built into your ideal protection plan.

Why do bookkeepers need insurance?

Recording the financial transactions of your clients is a significant responsibility, and an unexpected event could have a knock-on effect that costs your business thousands of pounds. This could include:

  • An allegation of poor or incorrect accounting
  • A visitor tripping and injuring themselves at your offices
  • Theft of a laptop or data containing confidential client accounts.

Any of the above could be devastating for your business. Our bookkeeper’s insurance can provide the cover you need against these risks and more.

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What insurance do bookkeepers need?

Obtaining professional indemnity insurance should be a priority as this covers you for errors made in your work, and if your client feels you have been negligent. It pays for your legal fees as well as any compensation which you may be found liable for. Additionally, bookkeeper’s professional indemnity insurance is a legal requirement for various professional bodies.

Public liability (PL) is another important type of insurance that will provide cover should a third party make a claim against you for accidental injury or for property damage that you are alleged to have caused.

How to arrange bookkeeper’s insurance

You can apply for bookkeeper’s insurance in minutes using our simple online quote system. It will ask you about your business activities and offer you covers which may be of interest. This means you can pick and choose which covers you feel are most suitable - or you can choose to buy them all. The benefit of this is that you will only ever pay for the insurance you need.

*'From £5 a month' price is based on a bookkeeper requiring £1 million of public liability (including products liability) insurance.

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Cover starting at £5 a month

Tailor your bookkeeping insurance online with these covers

  • Professional indemnity insurance

    Professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of professional negligence (such as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice). If your defence should be unsuccessful, it also covers the cost of damages awarded against you. This cover is essential protection for bookkeepers, and insurance is available with limits ranging from £50,000 to £5m.

    If you make an error during your record-keeping which causes your client to lose money, you could be liable for a claim made by your client.

  • Public and product liability insurance

    If someone is injured or their property damaged as a result of you going about your business or supplying products, public and product liability insurance covers the cost of defending your business (including damages awarded against you if unsuccessful). The legal fees alone could cost your business thousands of pounds. Limits range from £1m to £5m.

    If you use a client’s laptop or phone and damage it, you may face charges to pay for it to be repaired or replaced.

  • Employer’s liability insurance

    Employer’s liability insurance is a legal necessity if your business hires employees. It covers your business against claims for injury or illness suffered by employees arising from their employment. Cover for £10m.

  • Legal expenses insurance

    Legal expenses insurance pays your legal costs and expenses for contract disputes, tax enquiries (including IR35), attending jury service, debt recovery, personal injury, as well as any award you are required to pay following an employment dispute with an employee. There is a limit of £100,000.

    If a client takes legal action against you because of an error you have made, this cover can prevent you from needing to use your own finances to cover legal expenses.

  • Directors and officers insurance

    Directors and officers insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts, and any damages subsequently awarded against you. This type of cover also remunerates the holder in respect of the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.

  • Office insurance

    Office insurance covers your office buildings, office contents and computer equipment against accidental damage (including theft) whilst on your business premises. In addition, you can opt to cover your business equipment (such as laptops and mobile phones) on a worldwide basis, and insure your business against loss of income and/or additional trading expenses following events such as damage to your property.

    If your laptop is stolen and prevents you from doing your clients’ bookkeeping, you can get a replacement swiftly, so work isn’t delayed any longer than it needs to be.

  • Occupational personal accident insurance

    Occupational personal accident insurance provides a weekly payment if you are unable to work due to temporary total disablement (subject to a 14-day deferment period).

    In the event of loss of limbs, sight, speech, hearing, permanent total disablement or death, the cover would pay out a lump sum.

    If you would struggle to maintain an income if you were unable to work following the accident, you should consider having occupational personal accident insurance to help ease the financial burden. Limits from £100/week to £500/week for temporary total disablement (£25k lump sum to £100k lump sum for permanent total disablement).

  • Cyber and data risks insurance

    Cyber and data risks insurance pays the costs of:

    • restoring data and equipment
    • informing clients
    • meeting ransom demands
    • loss of your net profit

    in the aftermath of a cyber-attack. This insurance also pays your legal defence costs and damages you are legally liable to pay to other parties. If your business holds confidential information about your clients and their projects on computers and other internet-connected devices, you should consider this cover.

    You’ll be handling sensitive financial data belonging to your clients, so if it is stolen you will want added protection in place to prevent long-term damage.

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Frequently asked questions

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Cover starting at £5 a month

Frequently asked questions

  • What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

    A bookkeeper records financial transactions such as sales, purchases and payments. An accountant provides business owners with financial advice using the insights from the data bookkeepers collate.

    Some tasks can be done by either an accountant or a bookkeeper. These include preparing sole trader self-assessment forms and providing basic tax advice, but there are some tasks which only a bookkeeper does (processing invoices, issuing sales invoices and document management) and some that only an accountant does (specialist tax advice, preparing business plans with cashflow forecasts and corporation tax etc.).

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  • I need proof of cover to start work, do you provide this?

    Yes. We provide a dedicated 'Confirmation of Liability Insurance' document which gives full details about the cover you have with us. This gets emailed to you once your policy is purchased.

  • Is there a limit of cover I should choose?

    Many industries state that you need a minimum level of cover before you can undertake any work for a client, so be sure to check this before you take out any cover. If you're unsure, or it's the first time you have arranged cover, consider the worst-case scenario and what costs could be involved in putting your mistake right.

  • Why should I choose Markel’s insurance?

    With over 25 years of experience insuring contractors, consultants and self-employed professionals, Markel has proven experience in ensuring you have the cover you need. We insure over 200,000 micro businesses and are highly rated by our customers at Feefo.com.

    We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer.

    To discuss your insurance requirements and better understand what cover we can provide, call us on 0371 705 3182 or get a quick quote online.

  • How are Markel regulated?

    Markel International Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Find out more on the Financial Services Register.

Access specialist business services as part of your policy cover

As a specialist insurer of bookkeepers, we provide a range of useful services for you to access, included as standard with certain covers:

24 hour legal helpline 24/7 legal advice helpline manned by qualified solicitors

Access to our fee-dispute service to assist with unpaid invoices

A specialist cyber response helpline for help in the event of a cyber attack

Legal hub access Legal templates and resources with Markel's Law Hub

 Discounted IR35 contract reviews with your policy

Expert management of public relations crises with The Counsel House

Discover more about help services

Cover starting at £5 a month

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