20th April 2023 | IN DESIGN ADVICE | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedIn No matter how careful or experienced you are, working as an interior designer carries certain risks. Business insurance is designed to protect you from these risks, but it can be difficult to know how to get the right cover. To make things a bit easier, we created this guide together with our insurance partner, Superscript. Here, we walk you through the basics of insurance for interior designers, outlining all the things you need to consider when choosing cover or renewing a policy. SBID members can save 15% on business insurance with Superscript! Head to the Superscript website to find out more about the insurance solutions they offer and get in touch to redeem your exclusive discount today! What does business insurance cover? Business insurance is an umbrella term for a range of covers, each designed to protect you from different risks. Some risks are more common in certain industries or sectors, while other risks are shared by most businesses. The risks you face are likely to change as your business grows – and they can even vary from project to project. It’s therefore important to think about the risks involved with your work and to make sure you have the relevant covers in place at the right time. Here are some common covers you might want to consider: Professional indemnity insurance A must-have for SBID members, professional indemnity insurance is designed to protect you if a client claims they lost money because of problems with your work, your mistakes or negligence. This cover can pay your legal fees, as well as compensation awarded to the client. It can also protect you against claims of copyright infringement, unpaid client fees and reputational damage. You might see professional indemnity insurance referred to as PI or errors and omissions insurance. Public liability insurance In-person consultations in your office, visits to clients’ homes, trips to shops and showrooms – working as an interior designer often involves coming in close proximity to members of the public. If you accidentally cause an injury or damage someone’s property while you’re working, public liability insurance can cover the cost of compensation claims and legal fees. Employers’ liability insurance If a member of staff gets injured or ill because of the work they do for you, employers’ liability insurance can cover your legal costs, as well as compensation awarded to the employee. In the UK, this cover is a legal requirement for most businesses that employ other people – whether those staff are contractors, apprentices, full- or part-time employees, temporary or permanent workers. Business equipment insurance From everyday essentials to specialist gear, every interior designer relies on their equipment. Business equipment insurance can cover the cost of repairing or replacing your kit if something gets lost, stolen or accidentally damaged. It can cover items that stay in one place (such as machinery), as well as portable equipment like laptops and smartphones. And if you have employees, it can also cover their items too. Cyber insurance There’s a common misconception that only large tech businesses are affected by data breaches, cyber attacks and hacking. In reality, these are risks for any business that uses technology and the internet. Designed to protect you from these risks, cyber insurance can cover your legal fees, compensation claims and costs related to notifying those affected. It can also provide protection in the event of extortion, breaches of data protection laws and financial losses caused by system downtime. Do interior designers need to get insurance? There are two main reasons for needing certain types of business insurance: membership requirements and legal obligations. Firstly, like many other professional bodies and trade associations, the Society of British & International Interior Design has specific insurance requirements for its members. As outlined in the SBID Code of Conduct, all members must have professional indemnity cover. So if you want to join the SBID, it’s essential that you get the right insurance – and maintain your cover throughout your membership. Secondly, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for the vast majority of businesses that employ members of staff. There are exceptions for businesses that only hire close family members or staff who work abroad. But if anyone else works for you, chances are, you’ll need to get covered. If you don’t, you could be fined up for £2,500 for each day without employers’ liability insurance. The law requires a minimum £5 million limit of employers’ liability cover and Superscript include a £10 million as standard. Although you might not technically need other types of business insurance, there’s one very good reason to consider getting broader cover: the price of insurance is usually far less than the cost of a claim. And insurance can give you peace of mind that you won’t be left picking up the bill for things like broken laptops or data breaches. Insurance for interior designers from Superscript As an interior designer, you know the value of tailoring your work to a client’s taste and preferences. And Superscript knows the value of personalised cover, made to suit your business’ needs. With Superscript, you can: Pick what you need and leave what you don’t Pay monthly, with no-locked in terms Tweak your policy at any time – no admin fees Grab a quote in just four minutes, or get fully covered in ten. Contact us to find out more about Superscript’s flexible, customisable business insurance – and their exclusive offer for SBID members. About Superscript Every business – from micro to multinational – should be able to get the right cover, made to suit its needs. Superscript is here to keep businesses moving. We qualify, quantify and offer insurance using data, analysis and technology, but we serve a huge number of business types, from dog walkers to dieticians, landlords to locksmiths, crafters to cryptocurrency exchanges. If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.