You've built the business. now protect it
You're operating at board level across multiple businesses. You make strategic decisions that affect revenue, brand and growth. Most fractional marketers only discover they needed professional insurance when a client's procurement team asks for it. Now is the time to get the right set up in place.
Three questions every fractional should be able to answer
QUESTION 1
QUESTION 1
A client's legal team asks for your Professional Indemnity certificate before your contract signing. Could you send it within the hour?
Professional Indemnity Insurance protects you when a client claims your advice caused them financial loss.
Enterprise and public sector clients require it at the point of signing - not after. If you can't produce it on demand, you risk losing the contract entirely.
QUESTION 2
QUESTION 1
Have you never had a deal stall - or nearly fall through - because a procurement checklist asked for proof of cover you didn't have?
Many larger businesses, public bodies and PE-backed companies run insurance checks before contracts can be executed.
No cover often means no contract - regardless of your track record, your relationships, or the quality of the proposal you've submitted.
QUESTION 3
QUESTION 3
Does your business proposition and set up inspire the same confidence as the strategic advice you give inside your clients?
The strongest fractional operators don't wait to be asked. They build protection into their commercial offer from day one.
Creating a signal of how they operate, not as a reactive compliance exercise. It's part of what makes them easy to buy.
WHY IT MATTERS
Protection isn't a nice to have. It's part of your proposition.
As a fractional marketing leader, you're operating at board level inside multiple businesses simultaneously. You make strategic recommendations that influence revenue, brand and growth. That means you carry real professional risk - whether or not you've thought about it.
Most fractional marketers encounter insurance for the first time when a client's procurement team asks for it. That's too late. Without cover in place, you may lose the contract, delay the start, or scramble to arrange cover at short notice - none of which inspires client confidence or makes you look like the senior operator you are.
The strongest fractional leaders treat protection as part of their commercial proposition, not a compliance tick box, but a genuine signal of the professionalism and credibility they bring to every engagement.
When you can say "yes, I'm covered" before a client asks - that matters.
In partnership with Qdos
Qdos are specialists in business insurance and compliance for independent professionals, and have been so since 1988. They don't build products for large corporates with a freelancer section bolted on.
They build specifically for people who work the way our members work: across multiple clients, with variable income, and with real professional accountability.
Slice members get 10% off Professional Indemnity and Public Liability cover.
THE RISKS ARE REAL - WHAT YOU NEED TO BE PROTECTED AGAINST
Working across multiple clients at senior level creates exposure that most fractional marketers significantly underestimate. Here are five to consider.
RISK 1 - Professional negligence claims
A client claims your strategic advice or campaign recommendations caused them financial loss. Even if the claim is unfounded, defending it takes time, money and focus - the average professional negligence case costs between £15,000 and £40,000 to defend and can take over a year to resolve. Professional Indemnity Insurance covers your legal defence and any compensation awarded, so you're not funding that fight alone.
RISK 2 - Contractual requirements at procurement stage
Enterprise businesses, public sector organisations and PE-backed companies typically require proof of Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance before contracts can be signed. No cover doesn't just slow the deal down - in many cases it kills it entirely, regardless of your track record or the strength of your proposal.
RISK 3 - Campaign and strategy disputes
If a client is dissatisfied with campaign performance or the outcome of a strategic decision, they may hold you accountable - even when factors outside your control were involved. Disputes don't have to go to court to cost you: reputational damage, lost referrals and the time spent managing the relationship can be significant. Cover means you're protected if things escalate.
RISK 4 - Data and confidentiality exposure
As a fractional leader, you routinely access sensitive commercial data, customer information, pricing strategy and internal plans across multiple clients simultaneously. A breach - however it occurs, and whoever causes it - can create liability that lands with you. Understanding where your exposure sits, and having the right cover in place, is not optional at this level.
RISK 5 - IR35, tax status and compliance complexity
Operating as a limited company or sole trader comes with ongoing tax and compliance obligations that shift depending on how you engage with clients. IR35 assessments, employment status questions and contract structuring are areas where getting it wrong is expensive. Qdos are specialists in this area and can provide dedicated support and expert guidance based on your individual circumstances.
Why The Slice chose Qdos
We didn't choose Qdos because they approached us. We chose them because, after looking at what our members actually needed, they were the only provider built specifically for the way independent professionals work - not as a side product, but as their entire focus for nearly four decades.
Most business insurance is designed for companies with fixed employees, predictable income and a single client relationship. That's not how fractional marketers operate. Qdos understand variable income, multiple concurrent engagements, and the professional accountability that comes with board-level advisory work — because that's all they do.
They also understand IR35 in a way that most providers don't. For members operating as limited companies, that's not a theoretical risk - it's an active compliance question on almost every engagement.
Benefits include:
- 10% discount on Professional Indemnity and Public Liability for Slice members
- Specialist expertise in IR35, employment status and compliance for independent professionals
- Dedicated account manager - not a call centre, a person who knows your situation
- Price match promise - if you find equivalent cover elsewhere, they'll match it
- 4.8/5 average rating from over 100,000 contractors and freelancers
A note from our founders
"We've watched talented fractional marketers lose contracts they deserved to win, not because of their capability, but because they couldn't produce an insurance certificate fast enough.
We partnered with Qdos because we wanted every Slice member to be able to say yes before a client even asks the question. This isn't a tick box. It's the difference between looking like a senior operator and an afterthought."
Jeremy & Catherine