Freelance and contract project managers sell control of other people's money and deadlines – and when a programme overruns or a delivery fails, the PM's decisions are in every retrospective. The insurance question splits by domain: an IT programme manager and a construction project manager share a job title but not a risk profile, and insurers price the difference. This guide covers both, and the covers common to all.
What insurance does a project manager need?
Professional indemnity – the core. Claim shapes: schedule and budget failures attributed to your management, negligent contractor selection or oversight, scope and specification errors, and reporting failures that let problems compound. £1m is the standard contract ask; construction and engineering PM work rates significantly harder and often demands £2m–£5m – if your projects involve the built environment, declare it precisely, because generic "project manager" wording may not contemplate site risk, design coordination or CDM duties. IT/business-change PMs sit in gentler territory alongside IT consultants (typically £180–£300/year in 2026 analyses).
Contractor mechanics. Most freelance PMs trade through PSCs on IR35-sensitive contracts – the contractor specialists (Kingsbridge, Qdos) and Markel's contractor proposition (with IR35 contract-review perks) are built for the structure.
Also: public liability (client sites – and mandatory-feeling on construction sites), cyber (programme data, commercial confidences), employers' liability if you bring your own PMO staff, legal expenses for fee and contract disputes, and continuity – programme claims surface after go-live, and claims-made cover must still be running.
How much does it cost?
Domain decides: IT/change PMs typically £150–£350/year for £1m PI (entry floors: Markel from £5/month; Simply Business PI from £6.62/month; AXA from £66/year); construction-adjacent PMs £400+ with higher limits and stricter wording questions. Day-rate, project values and end-client sector drive the rest.
Comparison of providers
| Provider | Type | Notable features |
|---|---|---|
| Markel Direct | Direct insurer | Contractor-focused with IR35 perks; project management a listed trade; from £5/mo |
| Hiscox | Direct insurer | Strong PI wordings across PM domains; 4.4 Trustpilot |
| Kingsbridge / Qdos | Contractor specialists | PSC packages for contract PMs |
| Simply Business | Comparison | Multi-insurer benchmark; fast client-contract certificates |
| Superscript | Digital broker | Monthly flexibility between contracts; 4.5 Trustpilot |
| Specialist construction brokers | Brokers | Where projects are built, not shipped – site wordings and higher limits |
Reviews and expert ratings
Superscript 4.5/5; Hiscox 4.4; AXA 4.3; Simply Business 4.2; Markel 4.0. Which?/Fairer Finance: not rated.
Key takeaway
Name your domain when you buy – "project manager" is a title, not a risk – and match limits to the contracts in front of you. Keep decision logs and RAID documentation religiously: in this trade the project file is the claims defence. And keep cover continuous across bench time; the claim from your last programme doesn't check whether you're currently billing.
Sources
- trustmypolicy.com (2026 PI costs by profession)
- markeluk.com; hiscox.co.uk; simplybusiness.co.uk; axa.co.uk