I’m a straight-talking plain-English megafan. You won’t get fluff or jargon here.

Rubber Ring Author Ruth Sedar

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At the beginning of your freelancing career, you find yourself saying “yes” to just about any client and opportunity that comes your way, because let’s be realistic, you have bills to pay. However, further down the line in your freelancing career, when you aren’t desperate for work and you have your regular clients in place, you are often still left guilt-tripped into doing more work than you can handle due to not being able to say the dreaded word; “no”. 

Well, I’m here to tell you its ok to say no from time to time, under one condition.

If it doesn’t help you reach your end goal – you can say no. 

It could be that a golden opportunity that you’re presented with, and who am I to tell you that you should turn that down?! Instead, remember what your focus is, will saying ‘yes’ now get you a step closer to where you want to be in 5 years? If so, brilliant! If not, don’t be afraid to say no.

You don’t have to accept every project that comes your way.

You have enough on your plate already without someone asking for you to do extra work that’s out of scope. If excepting to do that extra bit of work is going to mean that you have to work late every night of the week for little to no reward, then just say no (it sounds scarier than it is – and you’ll feel super empowered!).

There is a difference between having a choice in what work you take on and being responsible. You may have people at home that are dependable on your income so being picky about who you work with isn’t always an option especially if you have had a slow month.

Being responsible means you may have to work with a client you don’t particularly like and do work that you aren’t over the moon about but at the end of the day if you aren’t in a strong financial situation it would be irresponsible to say no, wouldn’t it? 

Whereas having a choice is for those freelancers who have the financial freedom to pick and choose, it may seem counterintuitive to decline a project but when times aren’t desperate, there is no harm in being picky about who gets your time and who doesn’t.

There is nothing worse than over-promising and underdelivering a project for a client so before you say “yes” ask yourself:

If you can say yes to any of these then you don’t have time to say yes to that extra work you have been offered, it can wait till a later date.

The pay doesn’t meet your expectations 

Not everything is about money but, as a freelancer, we need to pay the bills and we can’t just be negotiating a lower day rate for any old client! Stick to your guns and try not to waver too far below your fixed day rate, and if someone only offers less, you know you aren’t the best fit for each other.

There’s nothing worse than working on something that isn’t interesting to you. It’ll feel like it drags on forever, and you won’t produce your best. We all have our certain interests and our strengths when it comes to client work, although there will be times where we have to do work that we aren’t thrilled about. If you can afford to be picky about what you choose to work on, then no-one is stopping you from saying no.

Be appreciative that they thought of you for their project 

Give a brief reason as to why you said no 

“I can’t give you an answer right now, could u check back with me later?”

“No sorry, I can’t do that but I can do this…”

“I appreciate you thinking of me for this project however I have a lot on my plate right now, sorry”

“I’m afraid I can’t commit to that right now, but I can recommend someone who might be able to…”

“This sounds great, thank you for thinking of me, however, I could only start this project in the new year”

Being a freelancer can be hard but sometimes learning to say no can be even harder and we understand that so hopefully now you can feel confident to say no to work that simply isn’t doable for you.

Learning when to say no as a freelancer

As working from home is particularly prevalent in a Covid-19 world, many of our customers have been asking us about home-working and how that may affect their insurances. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers: –

I have home contents insurance, does that cover my work equipment too?

The short answer is probably not, although there are a few things to consider here. Firstly, who owns and who paid for the equipment? If you purchased the equipment personally then your home insurance may provide some cover. However, it is important to check as sometimes equipment used for business purposes is excluded. In most cases, your business equipment will have been a business expense and it is therefore very unlikely that your home insurance will cover it, even if that is where you work from. You should therefore ensure that your business insurance includes cover for your equipment. When choosing a policy, you need to consider where you may take your equipment and whether that policy will cover you. Here at ipro, our business equipment section provides worldwide cover, so you can even take it on holiday with you!

Do I need to tell my home insurer I am working from home?

It depends what you are doing. Most home insurance policies allow ‘clerical work’ to be undertaken at home. This essentially means that any computer-based work will be acceptable, however, you should check with your individual home insurer to ensure that you are meeting any requirements they may have. If, however, you are having business visitors to your home or doing any form of manual work then you must tell your home insurer, failure to do so could invalidate your policy in the event of a claim.

I have clients coming to my home for meetings from time to time, what insurance cover do I need?

If you have clients coming to your home, it is important that you ensure that your business insurance has public liability cover attached to it. Just remember that compensation payments for slips, trips and falls can get into seriously eye-watering figures, so it’s important to make certain that you have the right insurance in place for protecting yourself and your business.

Most home insurance policies do not allow or provide protection for business visitors. Even if your business has a public liability insurance in place, it’s important that you advise your home insurer. This would be considered a material fact to which you have a duty to advise them.

Will my home insurance cover me for a mistake I have made in the course of my work if I work from home?

No – if you are offering a service or advice in any form to your clients then you must have a professional indemnity policy in place. A professional indemnity policy can cover you for the cost of defending a claim and any award that may be made against you. It can even provide protection in a situation whereby you have been accused of making a mistake but have not actually done anything wrong.

Working from home and your insurance

When you’re hitting the road, unexpected bumps can quickly turn your journey from adventure to disaster. With debris in the road, poor surfaces, potholes and carriageway defects (AKA smaller potholes) your tyres can easily be damaged. And we get it - they’re your pride and joy so the last thing you want is to shell out on paying for a replacement or even a whole new set.

Car insurance covers the whole vehicle, but might not always specifically pay out to replace damaged tyres when people submit a claim.

With Rubber Ring tyre insurance, you can get covered and carry on. We’ve got affordable coverage with policies that start from just £12 per tyre. Our smart AI technology is powered by customer insights, giving you the best prices and best cover possible.

But best of all, Rubber Ring tyre insurance gives you the peace of mind you need to get cover for your tyres and carry on.


Be prepared with tyre insurance

Let’s face it: sh*t happens. The road isn’t always as forgiving as you want it to be.
You’ll be grateful you took out Rubber Ring tyre insurance...

...in winter. Untreated roads, black ice and extra bumpy potholes can all cause damage.

...in bad weather. Dry and dusty roads can be just as dangerous as icy roads. Dry conditions can cause your tyres to lose grip and skid on the surface.

...on a staycation. The last thing you want is to get a flat or take damage to your tyres en route to a much-needed holiday.

...over long journeys. If you do a lot of mileage, you’ll want to have peace of mind that your rubber is safe.

...on tour. Road trips can mean coming up against uneven surfaces on country roads and scenic routes.


Make sure taking out tyre insurance is on your list of jobs when it comes to getting your car ready to hit the road. We can insure your new tyres within 72 hours of having them fitted, so if you have tyres fitted on a Friday, we can still cover you if you apply for a tyre insurance policy after the weekend on Monday. It’s one of the many ways Rubber Ring makes sure to keep you happy: we call it our Customer Contentment policy. If you’re happy, we’re happy. And if you’re not, then we make it right. Promise.

All about potholes

In the UK, the Department for Transport has set aside a whopping £500m for pothole repairs in 2022. With major roads littered with gaping holes just waiting to gobble up your valuable tyres, it pays to have extra protection. And as for carriageway defects, the smaller siblings of potholes, there’s plenty of those too. Including damaged surfaces, crazing, shallow and small potholes and subsidence, there are many different ways to damage your tyres on the road. In 2021, authorities in Manchester topped the UK’s payout list and spent the most on settling damage claims caused by potholes: an impressive £1,165,279 in compensation.

You can’t rely on traditional car insurance to cover every possible outcome. For example, it doesn’t always cover punctures or damage to tyres. So why take the risk of not being covered for replacement tyres if you need them? That’s where tyre insurance comes into its own as a helpful and specific insurance covering just the parts that need to be covered.

Find out more about Rubber Ring tyre insurance and get your free quote.

Why you need tyre insurance

When starting up your own business it can be hard to attract customers. They need to know what you offer and why they should buy from you, but to do both of those, they need to find you first. 

Well, it all depends on your audience. Different audiences hang out in different places online. Think about how you use the internet. If you’re looking for a plumber, you go straight to google. If you’re looking for something techy, you’d probably go to Amazon. If you’re chilling out for five minutes, you probably go to a social network. 

Now think about what your audience would do to find your product or service. Do they know it exists? Or are you appealing to an audience that knows what you do already? When you have an idea of what journey they would go through online when buying your product, you can maximise your visibility at the time they go looking.

While you’re thinking about how to get in front of your customers, here are a few ideas on how to get started:

Register your business with Google My Business 

This should be your first point of action into being found online by potential customers. By registering your business with Google My Business, this allows you to be found more easily on Google and will show up on google maps for customers in your local area. 

Startup your own social media channels for your business

Social media is an amazing platform to take advantage of because after all, it is free! However, due to their being many social media platforms today you will find very different audiences on each platform. To establish which accounts you should activate, think; what is your business? Who are your target audiences? Where can you find your audience?

For example, if you have your own bakery/cake shop you are best using Instagram and Facebook to connect with your audience, due to Instagram being predominantly Millenials and Facebook being a slightly older audience you are therefore maximising your reach and engaging with those who will be interested in ordering from your bakery. 

Influencers are very effective in promoting businesses and brands. Using influencers will sure to instantly create exposure for your business to become visible to a wide audience across social media.  However, make sure you are selecting the right influencers to help spread the message and promote your business online, soon enough you should see your growth in customers.

 One of the best ways to get your business name out there and create awareness is through hosting a giveaway or contest on your social media channels. People love a good freebie, by giving away a free product or service will sure to increase your followers and reach. Whatever you offer, make sure that you are securing the customer’s contact details so that you can get in touch with them later.

If you are friendly and authentic online, it’s likely your expertise will shine through when you create content for your website or engage with people on social media. Being someone who people can easily approach will benefit you massively.  

By creating online content that is both unique and sharable, you will entice and intrigue your target audience. By offering authoritative content that helps your audience, you establish your brand’s voice and makes you seem trustworthy.

If you’re not entirely sure what SEO is, it stands for ‘Search engine optimisation’ and helps your business rank higher in Google.It can be a complicated process, but essentially it helps your services be seen by people searching for what you do. 

YouTube offers a great resource for helping market your business online. By offering online tutorials or helpful tips that aren’t profit lead will help to reach and engage with your target audience. Make sure the videos you upload are of high quality and that you are including a link back to your website – you never know, your videos could prompt a sale!

This site is a great resource for finding any online business, giving you the opportunity for customers to leave reviews and star ratings of their experience with your business, meaning your business will be more trusted by people looking online for what you do.

Join a relevant online community and contribute 

Joining an online community that is related to your field of work will really help get the word out about your business. By contributing and helping your network of people they will do the same for you.

Not only are Facebook ads relatively cheap, but you can target your audience incredibly specifically, meaning online social media scrollers will see your ad and with correct targeting, you are more likely to have a lot of click-throughs onto your website and perhaps more conversions.

Hopefully, by taking these steps, you will be able to conquer the online world and attract your target audience. Good luck!

A guide to being found online

Professional Indemnity Insurance and PR Consultants – Our Top 5 FAQ’s

As PR Consultants, you need to be mindful of claims that could be brought against you for work that you carry out on behalf of your clients. We have put together our top 5 FAQs and answers which should help make navigating the world of professional indemnity insurance that bit easier.

Do PR Consultants need Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Absolutely. Professional Indemnity Insurance can protect you in respect of claims or actions that are brought against you for a breach of your professional duty. This could be for a mistake that you have made or for advice that has caused financial loss to your client. A professional indemnity policy can cover your legal defence costs, as well as any award that may be made against you. The policy can even step in and pay for your legal defence costs if you are falsely accused of wrongdoing in the course of your work. We all know that legal fees can rack up to some seriously eye watering figures, so its important that you ensure you have the right insurance.

What type of Professional Indemnity claims could be made against a PR Consultant?

When a client comes to a PR Consultant, they do so for the specialist knowledge and advice that, that person will be able to provide. Being a professional comes with significant responsibilities which means you could be liable for any financial loss that a client may suffer as a result of a breach of that duty. There are lot of different things that could happen. For example, let’s say you were involved with a campaign for a new lady’s online fashion retailer. You came up with an amazing name that the client was happy with and the campaign was launched on that basis. Unfortunately, it subsequently came to light that the name you had suggested was in use and a breach of copywrite claim was brought against your client. The claim cost your client significant sums of money and they would then look to recover their losses from you.

How much Professional Indemnity Insurance should a PR Consultant buy?

This is always a difficult question to answer as there is no one size fits all and it largely comes down to what you are comfortable with. However, there are a few things that you should consider when deciding how much insurance to buy.

Do you have any contractual requirements with any of your clients that require a minimum level of cover?

Remember your liability could stretch far beyond the contract value. So, you need to consider what sort of things could happen and how much they could cost to rectify. – If you consider the example used in the question above, it is likely that the cost of the claim was well in excess of what the PR Consultant was paid for the job.

Think about the size of your clients and the type of work that you do. If you are doing leaflet campaigns for small local businesses, then the risks are probably going to be a lot less than digital projects for large multinational companies.

If I work for an agency but do a bit of freelance work do, I need my own Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Yes, you do. Traditionally, your employer’s insurance will cover you for work that is done in the course of your employment for them. However, it will not normally extend to work that you do on a freelance basis. You therefore need to take out your own Professional Indemnity Insurance policy which can protect you in the event of a claim being made against you. It is important to remember that without insurance any personal assets that you have could be at risk in the event of a claim or action.

I have temporarily stopped working due to Covid-19, do I still need to renew my Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Yes, it is important that you do. Professional Indemnity Insurance is a little different to most other insurances in that it is offered on what is known as a ‘claims made basis’. This means that the policy will only respond to incidents or claims that you become aware of and report during the policy period. So, if you let your insurance lapse and a claim comes to light for some work you have done in the past you essentially have no cover, despite being insured at the time. It is therefore important that you ensure you maintain suitable cover.

Professional Indemnity Insurance and PR Consultants

Professional indemnity insurance can protect your business against a financial claim made against you by a client who believes they have suffered a loss due to poor service or bad advice.

It can even cover the cost of your legal defense when you are accused of a mistake, you haven’t made.

The level you require will depend on your profession and the services your company offers. Stressful and costly losses can be incurred via: –

Advice and consultancy – Clients can claim compensation if there’s a mistake in the advice you’ve provided.

An expert service – A client can make a claim if you make mistake in designs, plans or calculations.

Handling client information – You could face a claim if you accidentally disclose data or infringe on your client’s legal rights.

Some clients will insist that you have PI before you can start working for them and in some industries it is compulsory.

If you are able to choose your own level of cover then there are a few things you will want to consider selecting the right level for you. Our policy offers limits ranging from £100k all the way up to £5 million, to suit your individual requirements. Considering your type of profession or creative field of work; you may wish to consider the following:

IT Consultants -Explore rectification costs 

These could be very costly in the event of a serious mistake you’ve made. Costs could also include fees and charges for a specialist 3rd party to resolve the issue and see the project through to completion.

Creative & Media – Think about the potential legal fees in the event of a court case against you

Legal defense costs are not simply the costs needed in order to defend yourself but also those incurred by your client  legal fees incurred by your client that may become payable by YOU if a case is awarded in their favor. Costs such as these could run into eye watering figures.

Project Managers – Consider the maximum compensation that could be awarded against you

We know that you do your job properly, but everyone makes mistakes and so when considering what indemnity limit to buy, you need to consider both compensation payments as well as legal defense costs. Think about what could happen, what effect it may have and how much it would cost. We would suggest that you err on the side of caution here to ensure that your limit is enough to protect you, should you need it.

Translators and Interpreters – Consider the fact that compensation claims, and legal defense costs can vastly exceed your contract value. 

It is only common sense that the larger the company you deal with the bigger the legal department and the greater chance of a claim made against you if a mistake leads to financial loss.

You may be doing a small £50 job for a customer, but you need to remember that compensation payments and defense costs are not limited to the value of your contract. For example, if you make a mistake in the translation of some food packaging and the manufacturer must recall their product, they are going to look to you to reimburse their loss, which will be no doubt substantially more than they paid you to do the work.

Why is professional indemnity insurance important?

As you will know, working for yourself has its benefits but it also comes with its risks. If you make a mistake (and we all do) or are accused of making one that has caused your client financial loss, then you could be responsible for both hefty legal costs and heavy compensation payments. We hope that you never have a claim launched against you but if the worst should happen and you cost your client money through a mistake, then it makes good business sense to have a policy in place that can protect you. Would your business stand a chance at surviving if a client claims you’ve lost them money?

As you will know, working for yourself has its benefits but it also comes with its risks. If you make a mistake (and we all do) or are accused of making one that has caused your client financial loss, then you could be responsible for both hefty legal costs and heavy compensation payments. We hope that you never have a claim launched against you

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

At ipro, our professional indemnity policy can help protect you from the risks you face in your line of work. Unlike many other providers, we include full retroactive cover which means that our policy can cover claims from incidents that happened in the past but are not yet known about, even if you had no insurance in place at the time.

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Ruth Sedar

Rubber Ring Author

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Ruth Sedar

Rubber Ring Author

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