The inexorable rise in the Information Technology industry's practice of employing staff on a contract basis will create a total of 100,000 freelance IT professionals within the next five years. Already, for example, a blue chip company like IBM meets only 60% of its requirement with permanent staff. This serves to illustrate the single most significant employment legacy of the 1980s. Many thousands of self-employed people are now working on a freelance contract basis in a wide variety of business sectors - and there can be insurance pitfalls.

People who run their businesses from home are well aware of the risks, and make sure that their vital equipment is covered against loss, theft or damage. But those who enter into freelance contracts (often after the termination of a "staff job" with the same employer) should beware. The employer may supply the business equipment, but who is responsible in the event of a loss? It's often the user, so it's essential to establish just who is responsible for a replacement - before something happens and the unfortunate freelance discovers the hard way that the equipment isn't insured. Apply now!