Benefit from legal protection

Being right is not enough: a client dispute, unpaid invoice or complicated lease quickly becomes expensive. Finwise helps you choose legal protection suited to your self-employed activity.

What is it?

Help to defend your rights

It covers legal advice, lawyer fees, proceedings, expert opinions or mediation when a covered dispute affects your activity.

Mandatory?

No, but useful as soon as you sign contracts

It is not generally required. It quickly becomes relevant as soon as you invoice, rent premises or manage receivables.

Key point

It does not replace professional liability insurance

Professional liability indemnifies a third party when you are liable. Legal protection mainly funds the defence of your rights and your dispute costs.

Self-employed legal protection priorities

Useful as soon as a dispute costs more than a year of premium.

  1. Modules Trade extensions Employment, tax, debt recovery
  2. Parameter Limits Per dispute
  3. Base Business defence Lawyer and proceedings

Clients, contracts and premises are the hot zones.

What is legal protection for if you are self-employed?

A contested invoice, a non-paying client, a defaulting supplier, a complicated commercial lease or a benefit refused by an insurer can quickly cost more in time and legal fees than the original amount in dispute.

La protection juridique apporte un accès à des juristes, puis une prise en charge des frais nécessaires lorsque le cas est couvert : avocat, procédure, tribunal, expertise, médiation, dépens ou recouvrement selon les modules choisis. Voir aussi assurer mon activité professionnelle.

Area
Examples of disputes
To check
Day-to-day activityBase
Commercial lease, insurance, liability, premises, criminal law by negligence, administrative disputes.
Ceiling per dispute, territories, waiting period, external lawyer and exclusions.
Clients and suppliersContracts
Unpaid invoice, contested service, non-conforming delivery, terminated mandate, poorly performed service.
Debt collection included or limited, minimum value, international contracts.
Specific modulesDepending on the trade
Traffic, real estate, tax, intellectual property, data, cyber or staff if you employ people.
Sub-limits, waiting periods, advice only or full proceedings.

The right formula depends on your likely disputes

Contracts + Receivables + Premises + Trade modules = Useful protection

A digital consultant, a craftsperson on site and a liberal profession with premises do not have the same conflicts to prioritise.

Legal protection or professional liability?

La Professional liability intervient lorsqu’un tiers vous réclame une indemnisation pour un dommage dont vous êtes responsable : erreur de conseil, négligence ou manquement professionnel. La protection juridique sert surtout à faire valoir vos droits ou à gérer des litiges contractuels, administratifs ou de recouvrement.

The two covers are complementary. If a client claims damages for an error, professional liability is often central. If a client does not pay, a supplier breaches a contract or a lease is problematic, legal protection can become decisive.

Free choice of lawyer: how does it work?

In Switzerland, the ICA provides for free choice of lawyer when judicial or administrative proceedings are started, or when there is a conflict of interest with the insurer. In practice, you generally need to report the case before instructing a lawyer and obtain a costs guarantee.

Many contracts start with the insurer’s internal legal service. That is useful for resolving a simple conflict quickly, but check when an external lawyer becomes possible, how fees are validated and what happens if the ceiling is reached.

Consultant / digital

Priority to client contracts, contested services, debt collection and sometimes a data or intellectual property module.

Craftsperson / site work

Service disputes, suppliers, equipment, on-site liability and possibly traffic cover if you travel a lot.

Liberal profession

Contracts, fees, liability, lease and disputes with insurers or authorities depending on the trade’s regulation.

Self-employed with premises

The commercial lease, fittings and conflicts with the landlord often justify a solid premises module.

Common pitfalls

Legal protection is chosen as much by its exclusions as by the areas covered.

Dispute already arisenAn existing or foreseeable conflict before subscription is generally excluded.
Waiting periodSome areas can only be activated after a waiting period.
Turnover threshold exceededA private module may stop covering self-employed activity beyond a limited turnover.
Forgotten modulesClients, suppliers, debt collection, tax or intellectual property may require an extension.

You already have a policy: what should you check?

Avant de changer, vérifiez l’échéance, le délai de résiliation, les cas déjà annoncés, les carences du nouveau contrat et les modules réellement repris. Un litige dont la cause est antérieure au nouveau contrat peut rester exclu, même s’il devient visible plus tard. Si votre activité a grandi, comparez aussi avec une protection juridique entreprise.

With Finwise

We choose modules according to your real conflicts

We analyse your contracts, lease, clients, suppliers, receivables, turnover and professional liability. The aim is to avoid cover that looks broad on paper but is insufficient for your likely disputes.

Finwise Assurances partner logos

Coordinate your legal and professional protections

These pages help link legal protection, professional liability, activity cover and the dedicated business product.

Professional legal protection Business legal protection Professional liability Insure my activity

Analyse my legal protection View professional liability View the business version

Let’s talk about your needs

Tell us about your situation in a few lines. A Finwise adviser will contact you to clarify your options and compare suitable solutions.