Unsure? Insure!

By Ashley Baxter

After so many years helping freelancers stay in business, I’m no stranger to the kinds of problems you face. But freelancing doesn’t mean having to face these problems alone. A lot of the time there i... more

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FAQs about Unsure? Insure!:

How many episodes does Unsure? Insure! have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.

Unsure? Insure! episodes:

September 07, 2020Arguments over copyright ownership
With Jack
Know where you stand in terms of copyright laws, but preferably have a contract in place that leaves no room for confusion
If arguments ensue around copyright or IP ownership, refer to the copyright clause in your contract to show what was agreed to by both parties. In most cases this will resolve the argument
If your client tries to recover compensation from you—like in this instance where they wanted to recover the cost of hiring other freelancers—contact your insurer immediately
Your professional indemnity policy should be able to help you defend claims of copyright infringement, as well as provide you with legal experts to negotiate with your client in regard to their demands for compensation
Being insured gives you the confidence to stand your ground with clients who try to take advantage. If the client decides to escalate matters you have the support you need legally and financially from your insurer
...more
7min
August 31, 2020The insurance hard sell episode
With Jack
Being insured removes the need to seek advice from sub-reddits or Slack channels from people who aren't qualified to give you legal advice
Being insured removes the headache of searching for an appropriate lawyer who specialises in the area and jurisdiction you're experiencing a problem in
Being insured removes the financial burden of paying expensive legal fees
Being insured streamlines the process of reaching a resolution with your client if legal action is taken or threatened to be taken against you
Professional indemnity insurance starts at £14 a month if you’re a With Jack customer
Get a quote
...more
9min
August 24, 2020Why having a contract isn't enough to protect you
With Jack
Contracts lay the foundation of what duties are to be expected of both parties, but insurance steps into action when those duties come into question
Contracts reduce but don't completely eliminate risk. Contracts can be breached and having a contract doesn’t stop a client from making a legal threat or asking you for compensation
If you’re unable to complete work, accidentally breach a NDA or delete client data, a client can sue you for breach of contract
If you’re insured, a legal expert would help you to defend those allegations and enter into negotiations with your client
Out of the last 5 claims at With Jack, 4 of them had a contract in place. It’s clear that having a contract doesn’t prevent a client from making a claim against you
The professional indemnity policy has a breach of contract clause, and the legal expenses policy has a contract dispute clause
...more
8min
August 17, 2020Be a bulletproof freelancer
With Jack
Manage cashflow. If your cashflow isn’t great you’re going to make poor decisions such as saying yes to projects you wouldn’t normally accept, scrambling for work and taking on red flag clients
Use tools like Cushion and Xero to help you manage your cashflow
Regularly back-up work. Hardware problems can lead to lost work, or client data may be accidentally deleted. Both of these scenarios can lead to insurance claims, either for data recovery service or compensation to unhappy clients
Use tools like Backblaze and Arq to regularly back-up work
Get insured. Insurance is there to help you legally and financially if you have a problem with a client such as project delays, poor project management, scope creep or sometimes just a bad client who is impossible to please
Always work with a contract. Referring to what was agreed in the contract can sometimes diffuse potential problems. Contracts help to give the project clarity, remove nasty surprises and keep everyone on the same page
However, having a contract doesn’t completely eliminate risk and claims can even arise for breach of contract
Check out Bonsai for contract templates and e-signing
Keeping on top of your skillset is a great reason to evaluate and increase your rates regularly, plus certain industries move quickly and demand can change. Refining your skillset keeps you relevant
Keep networking and look for work before you have availability. Send out a reminder that you have availability in X amount of weeks with a link to your portfolio (inspired by How To Avoid Being A Bad Contract Developer)
...more
14min
August 10, 2020Insurance products for freelancers
With Jack
Professional indemnity is a product helps you if you give poor advice or don’t provide work to a certain standard (and remember, standards are subjective so there’s nothing stopping your client from having unreasonable expectations!), and your client threatens you with legal action or asks for damages
Public liability insurance covers you for accidents and injuries to clients or members of the public that happen as a result of your work activities. Most of our customers work remotely, but because it's a cheap cover and a lot of client of clients require you to have it, many freelancers add it to their policy for extra peace of mind
Contents insurance is our most used product in terms of the quantity of claims—mostly for accidental damage, followed by theft. There’s also another useful feature where the insurer will cover the cost of reconstituting data that’s been lost or compromised
Legal expenses insurance has a ton of useful features like a debt recovery service, tax investigation cover, legal advice and documents
There are lots of other insurance products available. Spend time thinking about what you’re worried about in your business, what risks you think you might face and seeing if there’s an insurance product that can help limit the impact of those risks should they happen
...more
14min
August 03, 2020Keeping projects on time and managing client expectations
With Jack
Laura's portfolio
Deadlines work both ways. It’s important to get feedback from a client on time so you can stay on track for the project duration
The timeline helps keep everyone accountable for their role in the project, including client feedback, signing off on revisions or providing deliverables
The Schedule of presentation and delivery dates should all be included and agreed upon in the initial contract
Anything that falls outside of the scope must be discussed as how it would affect or lengthen timescales
Make sure you have something in your contract to protect you if clients go quiet and the project stalls. If a client doesn’t meet the deadlines, you should be allowed to withdraw from the project and be paid for the work you've already done
When it comes to keeping projects running on time don’t underestimate basic time management skills. This is just as important as being a skilled designer, developer, illustrator etc
When it comes to making sure client expectations are met, this means getting everybody on the same page at all stages of the project. This is why a project scope is so important
The scope should highlight things like how many rounds of revisions are included. Anything requested outside of the contracted scope will be billed at an additional rate and, of course, impact timescales
Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Having a schedule, client presentations and only working on one or two projects at a time can give you a good idea how much work is involved
...more
12min
July 27, 2020How insurance helped this developer accused of intellectual property theft
With Jack
Your contract should give clarity around ownership by highlighting who owns the IP and on what basis it’s used. This should be agreed to before the project begins
If your client refuses to sign your contract, stick to the simple rule of 'no contract, no work'
Without a contract highlighting who owns the IP, this can lead to clients threatening legal action if the IP isn't handed over
This threat of legal action can trigger the professional indemnity policy
The developer was given legal experts to assist them in organising and preparing for a meeting with the client where a resolution was agreed. The cost of this legal advice was covered under the professional indemnity policy
It’s also possible that—had the client not payed the freelancer’s invoice—the insurer would have covered this under the mitigation costs clause. You can find out more about the mitigation costs clause in episode 35
Your legal expenses insurance gives you access to legal documents including a consultancy agreement
Bonsai provides free contract templates
Contract killer is an open-source contract popular in design circles
...more
8min
July 20, 2020All about the mitigation costs clause
With Jack
The mitigation costs clause is one of the most used features of the professional indemnity policy
If your client isn’t happy with the work you’ve delivered, refuses to pay your invoice and accompanies that refusal with a threat, the insurer will pay you the money owed to you
Usually claims arise due to other factors, but if the client is threatening to make a claim then there’s a high probability they’re not going to want to pay the freelancer. This is why the mitigation costs clause is such a useful feature
There is cover for unpaid invoices under the legal expenses product, where a solicitor chases overdue invoices on your behalf, but that’s a separate product. The mitigation costs clause in the professional indemnity policy will only spring into action if the refusal to pay is accompanied with a potential claim
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8min
July 13, 2020A favour for a friend
With Jack
Projects that you do as favours have a tendency to become difficult because there isn’t infrastructure in place to treat it like a proper job. Have a contract and statement of work to ensure boundaries are set and not overstepped
Your statement of work should be comprehensive in covering what is and isn’t included. How many drafts will the client receive? How many revisions are included? What services are excluded?
If a client barters on price, you then have to reduce the scope of work. Those two things go hand in hand. Reduced budget means reduced scope
With clients who micromanage you need to step up and lead the project to instil confidence in them. A statement of work and contract can define and help to put their mind at ease, or using a tool like Trello where they can follow your progress without breathing down your neck
If the scope starts to change, highlight that it’s beyond the scope of this project and agreed rate. Provide a quote and contract and offer to book the work in. Do that every time they shift the goalposts of the scope
As part of your legal expenses insurance you have access to legal documents, including contracts. If you want to take your contract to the next level you can pay an additional fee to have a lawyer review it
If this does escalate to a potential legal problem, you can use the legal advice helpline that comes with your legal expenses insurance to talk to a legal expert
...more
13min
July 06, 2020Wedding vendors and refunds amid Coronavirus
With Jack
Be fair and accommodating with your clients. Especially if things do escalate, it will stand you in good stead if you’ve been co-operative
Being co-operative means ensuring you give clients multiple dates you’re available instead of just one. If not, it’s unlikely you are within your right to exercise your cancellation policy
It works both ways. Your client needs to provide multiple dates as opposed to just one. If they give you a limited option or reschedule without consulting you on your availability, they should expect you to exercise the cancellation policy and lose out on the money they’ve paid
If a client wants a refund refer to your cancellation policy
Some wedding insurance providers are covering deposits, so it’s worth highlighting this to your client if they haven't explored that avenue already
Consider offering a settlement as a goodwill gesture. For example, you’re happy to refund X amount but retain the deposit
Before you do this, I would urge you to use the legal advice helpline that you have as part of your legal expenses insurance and talk over your options with a legal expert
If things do escalate to legal action from your client, there is some cover under the legal expenses policy for contract disputes. A solicitor will get involved and negotiate with your client on your behalf
Above all else, be fair with your clients and be accommodating, but also understand your rights just in case things do get messy
...more
9min

FAQs about Unsure? Insure!:

How many episodes does Unsure? Insure! have?

The podcast currently has 52 episodes available.