Health insurance for the self-employed: what you need to know There are any number of advantages to working for yourself in a self-employed capacity. Everything from being in control of your own destiny (and your own boss), the realistic possibility of being able to work more flexible hours (and setting your own daily/weekly schedule) and the potential to earn more money – through to avoiding office politics (and the predictable post-X Factor water cooler moments), purchasing new equipment as and when required (as opposed to officially putting in a formal request with your employer and then being told department budget cuts means your rapidly fading laptop won’t be replaced anytime soon) and not having to wear an ill-fitting, soul-destroying uniform for the rest of your days.
One of the most disadvantageous flip-sides of answering to yourself and yourself alone (and obviously your clients) is that you have no safety net to fall back on if your health suddenly starts to deteriorate unexpectedly. Or if you pick up a freak injury which subsequently turns into something a lot more serious and employment-threatening (in as much as incapacitates you and obstructs you doing what you normally do within a work context). That’s because the buck stops with you when you choose to venture down the selfemployed path, and nine times out of ten due to the very nature of the beast you can’t delegate the tasks which you can now no longer do for an indefinite period of time. Essentially there’s nobody to cover you/step into your shoes whilst you concentrate on making a full recovery. Without labouring the point, when you work for yourself all the acknowledged benefits and company perks which many employers provide come to an abrupt end. As well as free