Insurance for the self-employed in a secondary occupation

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As a self-employed person in a secondary occupation, you need fewer insurances than someone self-employed in a main occupation, because your employer already protects you against illness, work accidents and retirement.

You are starting a side business next to your job: a web shop, some freelance work or a creative side project. The last thing you feel like doing is wading through a pile of insurance brochures. Below, you can read per insurance whether you need it, what it covers and what you can safely leave.

Do you need insurance as a self-employed person in a secondary occupation?

A few, but not the full set of someone self-employed in a main occupation. Your main job already covers a large share of the risks. Whatever your self-employed activity causes or owns is not part of that.

Through your employer, you are usually already protected for:

• Illness: you receive guaranteed salary and then a benefit from your health insurance fund.
• Work accidents: your employer has a compulsory insurance for this, including on the way to and from work.
• Retirement: you build up a statutory pension as an employee, and some employers also offer a group insurance.
• Hospitalisation: many employers offer their employees a group insurance or additional cover. So make sure to check whether your employer does too.

What is not covered is everything related to your side business itself: damage you cause at a client's premises, a vehicle you use for your activity, equipment or stock at home, or a tax audit of your self-employed income. That is what the rest of this article is about.

Which insurances are worth considering for the self-employed in a secondary occupation? An overview

1. Civil liability insurance

An accident can happen in the blink of an eye: a client trips over your equipment, a product causes damage, or your advice costs your client money. Two insurances cover this:

• Civil liability: covers bodily injury and material damage you cause to others during your activity. Not compulsory, but worthwhile if you work at clients' premises, receive clients or sell products.
• Professional liability: covers financial damage caused by a mistake in your professional services, for example wrong advice. For some regulated professions, it is compulsory by law. Check with your professional body whether this applies to you.

Do you work on a computer from home and have no client contact? Then the risk is limited and you can often postpone civil liability insurance. Do you sell products or work on location? Then it is a logical first insurance.

2. Work accident insurance

As a self-employed person in a secondary occupation, you are not required to take out work accident insurance yourself. The obligation applies to employers with employees.

If an accident happens during your job as an employee, it goes through your employer's insurance. For an accident during your self-employed activity, that insurance does not cover you. Such an accident can still be handled through your health insurance fund and, if you wish, a personal accident insurance.

If you later hire someone, even temporarily or for a few hours, you do have to take out work accident insurance as an employer.

3. Tax audit protection

Useful, but not compulsory. Even as a self-employed person in a secondary occupation, the tax authorities can check your income and expenses. Such an audit costs time and stress, and a tax lawyer or expert is not free.

Tax audit protection insurance pays for that legal and tax assistance. At Accountable, this cover is included in the Max plan, up to €5,000 per file. With well-kept bookkeeping, you are in a stronger position anyway, because everything you declare can then be proven.

Is your side income growing fast, or do you claim a lot of business expenses? Then this cover is more than a luxury.

4. VSPSS for the self-employed in a secondary occupation

From income year 2026, you can also contribute to a VSPSS (voluntary supplementary pension for the self-employed) as a self-employed person in a secondary occupation. Up to and including income year 2025, you had to pay social contributions at least equal to those of a main occupation and have been registered for three years. Those two conditions no longer apply.

You qualify as soon as you owe social contributions on annual professional income of at least €1,922.16 (2026 threshold). The law that introduces this and the higher ceilings was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 12 October 2026 and applies to the whole of income year 2026. The 2026 figures at a glance:

• VSPSS: maximum 8.50% of your net professional income, with a ceiling of €4,251.39.
• Social VSPSS: maximum 9.78%, with a ceiling of €4,891.60.
• Minimum contribution: €100 per year (€111.11 for a social VSPSS).
• Tax: the premiums are deductible as business expenses.

If you already build up a pension through your employer, a VSPSS is not a must. It becomes interesting if your side business grows, you want to lower your taxes or you want to top up your pension as a self-employed person. A VSPSS runs for at least five years.

5. Guaranteed income insurance

As a self-employed person in a secondary occupation, you do not really need guaranteed income insurance as long as you have a main job. Guaranteed income insurance is mainly meant for people who live entirely from their self-employed activity.

Guaranteed income insurance tops up your income if you cannot work because of illness or an accident. If you fall ill, your salary from your main job continues first and your health insurance fund then takes over. Only your side income falls away. If that is small, the premium rarely outweighs the risk.

6. Which other insurances can be useful: car, fire and cyber?

That depends on what you use for your side business. Three situations come up often:

• You use a vehicle for your activity. You already have car insurance, but if you also use your car for deliveries or client visits, tell your insurer, because it can affect your cover.
• You have equipment or stock. Fire insurance is not compulsory, but a landlord can require it. Storage at home is not always covered by your standard home insurance, so check.
• You sell online or store client data. Cyber insurance covers costs after hacking, data loss or a data breach. It is not compulsory, but it can make sense for a web shop.

Not sure? Discuss your situation with your insurer or a broker and ask explicitly whether your side business is covered by your existing policies.

Processing your insurance invoices and social contributions correctly in Accountable

Insurances you take out for your side business are in principle deductible business expenses, as far as they are used professionally. With Accountable, you link the invoice to the right expense category, so your return is correct and you forget nothing.

That also applies to your social contributions as a self-employed person in a secondary occupation: you track them in the same app, next to your income and expenses.

Try Accountable for free.

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?