Management and business consultant insurance

Specialist cover for business consultants and services from as little as £5 a month

  • Fast, easy online quote in 90 seconds

  • 24hr legal advice helpline and legal hub

  • No hidden fees or cancellation charges

As a specialist insurer with over 25 years experience, we understand the many risks facing management consultants and business advisors.

Whether it’s business strategy, supply chain, finance, IT or another area that you specialise in, we cover all types of business consultants across a range of industries, from the charity sector to financial services.

Why do management and business consultants need insurance?

When you advise businesses on a daily basis, unintentional incidents can occur. An error in a piece of work, an accident whilst visiting a client’s premises or the theft of expensive computer equipment could have a serious financial impact on your business. Our specialist insurance for business consultants and management consultants can cover your organisation against these kinds of risks.

Additionally, it’s common for clients to require you to hold business insurance before they begin working with you. Arranging business consultant insurance with Markel Direct can be done online in a matter of minutes, with proof of insurance documentation issued instantly, enabling you to start work quickly.

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What does management and business consultant insurance cover?

Our management and business consultant insurance offers comprehensive cover that can be tailored to the needs of your business. From management consultants’ professional indemnity insurance to cyber and data risks insurance, our insurance is designed to protect you from the risks management consultants most often face.

This can include:

Poor advice

A client alleges that following your professional advice and changing their business strategy has caused them a financial loss. They want to make a claim against you for professional negligence. In this scenario, professional indemnity insurance would cover you.

With the job being based around providing advice, professional indemnity insurance is often considered essential for management consultants and business consultants.

An error in your work

Some calculations in your business plan are incorrect which causes your client to overspend on sales and marketing. Your client is holding you responsible for the mistake and overall loss of income they’ve suffered. In this instance, professional indemnity insurance would cover you.

Damage to third party property

While visiting a client’s premises, you accidently knock a drink over their laptop which leaves it unusable. Your client is expecting you to pay for the laptop to be fixed. Public liability insurance would cover this type of claim.

Data breach

You’re the victim of a phishing attack. Confidential client data gets into the wrong hands. You have to report the data breach and pay damages to your client. This type of incident would be covered by cyber insurance.

How much does management and business consultant insurance cost?

The cost of management and business consultant insurance differs from one business to another. The cost will depend on your personal circumstances, including:

  • the types of risks you encounter at work
  • the size of your business (your turnover and whether you have employees)
  • the type of insurance policies you purchase.

For example, if you are just starting out as a business consultant and are doing it on a part time basis, you may choose to take out a lower level (£50,000) of professional indemnity insurance. This would cost less than if you have a bigger business and required £5m of professional indemnity insurance cover.

At Markel Direct, insurance for management consultants and business consultants starts from only £5 per month.

With our insurance, you have the option to spread the cost of your policy over 10 interest free monthly payments. If ever you need to cancel a policy with us, there are no hidden fees or cancellations fees.

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How to buy management and business consultant insurance

Our simple quote system will ask about your business operations and build a policy around them, offering you the covers that may be of interest. You can choose to buy all or just some of the covers quoted, so you will only ever pay for the cover you want.

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Cover starting at just £5 a month

Build comprehensive management consultant insurance 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) and any compensation or damages subsequently awarded against you.

    Example of claims include:

    • You produce a report for a client on restructuring their operations to lower costs. The changes directly attributable to the recommendations you have made result in higher costs for the client and they take legal action against you for the poor advice.
    • You produce a strategy report for a client in relation to growing their sales, but the tactics end up losing them business. They take legal action against you to recover the lost income.

    This is essential insurance for all management advisors and business consultants and insurance cover is available with limits ranging from £50,000 to £5m.

  • Public and product liability insurance

    Public and product liability insurance covers the cost of defending your business (including damages awarded against you if unsuccessful) if someone is injured, or their property damaged, which arises from you going about your business or supplying products.

    Examples of claims include:

    • While visiting a client’s office, you accidentally spill a cup of coffee over their smartphone and laptop. You are sent an invoice for the cost of replacing them.

    • A client slips on a wet floor and injures themselves while visiting your workplace. They make a personal injury claim against you seeking compensation.

    If you regularly visit client premises as part of your consulting activities, you may need this cover. Limits range from £1m to £5m.

  • Employers' liability insurance

    Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement if your business has employees.  It covers your business against claims for injury or illness suffered by employees arising from their employment.

    An example of a claim would be:

    • An employee trips over a computer cable at your office and is unable to work for several weeks due to the injury. They make a personal injury claim against you seeking compensation.

    If your consultancy employs staff, you need this cover. 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.

  • Office insurance

    Office insurance covers your office buildings, office contents and computer equipment against accidental damage (including theft) whilst on your business premises. You can also choose 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.

  • 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. Cover is also provided in respect of the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. If you are a director of a business or management consultancy, you may want to consider this cover. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.

  • 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, a lump sum would be paid out.

    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 and loss of your net profit following a cyber attack. It also pays your legal defence costs and damages you are legally liable to pay to other parties. If you hold confidential information about your clients and their projects on computers and other internet connected devices, you should consider to this cover.

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Frequently asked questions

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Cover starting at just £5 a month

Frequently asked questions

  • I need professional indemnity insurance to secure a contract - do you provide proof of cover?

    Yes. If you purchase your policy with us, your documents are emailed to you instantly and include a dedicated 'Confirmation of Liability Insurance' document (detailing the cover you have with us) which you can present to agencies and clients as proof of cover.

  • Is my past work covered?

    We cover past work if you have held professional indemnity insurance uninterrupted prior to arranging your policy with us.

    If there was a period of time where you did not have professional indemnity insurance in force (for example, you have never arranged professional indemnity insurance before, you chose not to renew a previous policy or you cancelled a previous policy at the end of a contract) we are unable to cover past work.

    If you require further clarification, don't hesitate to call us on 0800 640 6600.

  • What limit of cover should I choose?

    Many clients and industry bodies with regulatory requirements will require you to have a minimum level of cover in order for you to undertake a contract, so it's worth checking this before you arrange cover. If you're unsure, or it's the first time you have arranged cover, give some thought to a worst-case scenario and the likely costs involved in putting your mistake right. We offer a range of limits on insurance, so you're sure to find the right cover for your business.

  • What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?

    Professional indemnity insurance covers against allegations of professional negligence - which means it would cover you if you were to make an error or mistake in a piece of work (such as a project or report) for a client.

    Public liability insurance covers against allegations of injury or illness caused to third parties by your negligence. This includes many of the slips, trips and falls that are associated with personal injury claims. In addition, public liability insurance covers against damage to third party property - for example, if you were to damage a client-owned laptop or smartphone.

    As they insure against different scenarios, it's important you consider arranging both types of cover to ensure you are properly protected.

  • Why should I choose Markel’s insurance?

    Markel has over 25 years of experience insuring contractors, consultants and self-employed professionals. 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 and London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £1.09bn in 2020.

    To talk about your insurance requirements and better understand our cover, call us on 0800 640 6600 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.

Insure with Markel and access these specialist services for your business

As a specialist insurer of management and business consultants, we've developed a range of unique services (included as standard with certain covers) that are designed to keep your business running smoothly at challenging times and to make your life easier.

24 hour legal helpline 24 hour legal advice helpline

When you insure with Markel, you'll benefit from 24/7 telephone access to a qualified solicitor at no additional cost. Expert legal advice can be costly when you're working for yourself and it's difficult to know who to turn to for a trustworthy answer. Whether it's a question on health and safety, legal structures for your business or how to handle a difficult client, an experienced team of solicitors are on hand day and night to help you with any business-related legal queries. Included as standard with all policies.

Legal hub access Markel Law Hub access

In addition to our 24 hour legal helpline, you'll have access to the Markel Law Hub - an award winning online resource of legal and business guides, templates and content written and created by our team of expert solicitors. Instantly download ready-made contracts, policies, procedures and guidance you can use for your business - without paying any expensive legal fees. Included as standard with all policies.

Discounted IR35 contract reviews

Falling within IR35 legislation - which determines that an individual is avoiding tax by using a limited company to disguise employment - is a huge concern for contractors and consultants, with the fees and penalties due to HMRC eye-wateringly high. Our policyholders receive an exclusive discount on IR35 contract reviews from Markel Tax, who have over 20 years experience advising individuals and businesses on their tax status. As part of the service, Markel Tax will review your contract, along with your working practices, to determine whether or not you are operating outside of IR35, and you'll receive a written report with suggested contract amendments where appropriate. Policyholders can access this service by calling 0345 223 2727 or emailing contractreviews@markel.com, quoting 'MKLD' and your policy number.

Public relations crisis management service

In today's 24 hour news culture, public relations disasters can occur at any time. Having to deal with the press whilst managing a difficult situation can be hugely stressful as well as being a potential minefield. When there is a risk to your business as a result of negative press attention, our specialist public relations crisis management firm, The Counsel House, will work with you to help manage allegations of fraud, injury caused to employees or the public, and official investigations into your company's affairs. Included as standard with professional indemnity insurance, directors and officers insurance, cyber and data risks insurance and legal representation and employment disputes insurance.

Cyber response helpline

If you're the victim of a targeted cyber attack, our cyber response helpline provides access to specialist solicitors and information security experts who will give expert legal and technical IT security guidance on the issues arising from cyber and data protection risks. Included as standard with cyber and data risks insurance.

Cover starting at just £5 a month

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