A virtual assistant has no premises, no stock and no site visits, and is nonetheless one of the more exposed small businesses in insurance terms, because it holds logins, inboxes, payment details and calendars belonging to other people.
The claim is an error with consequences
A payment sent to the wrong supplier, a booking missed, a deadline not diarised, a mailing sent to the wrong list, a data entry error in a client's accounts. Each is a financial loss flowing from the service, so professional indemnity is the operative cover. Written on a claims made basis, so continuity matters, and the limit should reflect what a client could lose through your access rather than what you charge per hour.
Cyber, because you are the access
A virtual assistant with logins to a client's email, social accounts, payment platform and cloud storage is a route into that client. A compromise of your device or password manager becomes their breach, and the response costs, notification obligations and forensic work are what cyber cover answers for. Insurers ask about multi factor authentication, password management and device security, and the answers are cheap to improve and materially change the risk.
Data protection and who is responsible
Handling personal data on a client's behalf makes you a processor in most arrangements, with duties of your own and usually a written agreement setting them out. Client contracts frequently require that agreement, a stated insurance limit and an indemnity, and the indemnity is what makes insurance necessary at any scale. Reading it before signing is worth more than shopping the premium.
Working from home, and the little bits of physical risk
Household policies generally exclude business use, so the laptop, the second screen and the phone may be uninsured under a home policy even though nothing else about the business is physical. Occasional client meetings, a coworking desk, or a visit to a client's office bring a small public liability exposure that contracts ask about anyway. Neither is expensive and both are commonly missed.
Questions people ask about virtual assistant insurance
Does a virtual assistant need professional indemnity?
Yes. The likely claim is an error with financial consequences for the client, which only indemnity answers, and limits follow the client's possible loss.
Why does cyber cover matter with no premises?
Because you hold logins to client systems. A compromise of your device becomes their breach, with notification and forensic costs attached.
Is my laptop covered at home?
Usually not by household cover, which generally excludes business use. Business equipment needs naming on a business policy.