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Marketline insurance broker: at a glance
Marketline is an insurance broker that arranges business insurance for market traders. That includes liability cover for risks traders face while providing or selling services or goods at markets, exhibitions, festivals and other public events.
You can buy cover online or over the phone, and policies start with public liability insurance, which also includes product liability insurance.
MarketLine Business Insurance
- Maximum Cover AmountsPublic Liability: £10m
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Marketline insurance pros and cons
Pros
- You can reach customer services over the phone and by email.
- You can get a quote and buy your cover online or over the phone.
- You can view your policy documents online.
- A broker specialising in a particular trade
Cons
- You can’t pay by instalments.
- You can’t make a claim online.
- You can’t shop by industry as Marketline only covers market traders.
- You can’t call customer services by phone after 5.30pm on weekdays or at all on the weekend.
These pros and cons are based on a survey of UK business owners on what they found important when selecting a range of business products, conducted by NerdWallet in December 2022.
Marketline insurance key features
- Specialises in cover for traders selling at markets, festivals and other events
- You can call customer services to get a quote, make a claim or buy cover
- It has provided cover to market traders for more than 20 years
Marketline insurance full review
As an insurance broker, Marketline works with insurers and suppliers to offer cover to individuals who sell services or goods at markets and events. It has been offering insurance to market traders for over 20 years, and is part of Clear Insurance Management Ltd, an independent insurance broker.
Marketline’s offering is designed for the risks this kind of work presents. However, it only offers liability cover, and partners with Clear Insurance or other intermediaries if you’re looking for other types of cover. So, if you’re not in this sector, or are looking for a comprehensive choice of business insurance, it may not be for you.
As Marketline is a broker, the policy you may decide to take out via them will be provided by another firm. Marketline will look to place your business with the most appropriate provider for what you need.
This review is based on Marketline and not the firms they broker to. The types of products, benefits and features referred to in this review cover the range of firms Marketline conducts business with. Specific details such as the pros and cons refer to Marketline’s services.
Find out more about Marketline insurance – including how it measures up to key priorities of business owners, according to our NerdWallet survey.
What types of business insurance does Marketline offer?
Marketline offers liability insurance for market traders, which consists of:
- Public liability insurance (up to £10 million): This covers costs if your business activities cause injury to a member of the public or damage to their property.
- Product liability insurance: This provides cover for compensation and legal costs if a product you sell is faulty and injures or harms people or their property. This is included in its public liability insurance and is not standalone cover.
- Employers’ liability insurance: This pays compensation to permanent and temporary employees if they are injured, become ill or die due to their work on your stall and make a claim. It also covers related legal fees. You can add legal and tax advice to your cover, if you like. This is an optional add-on to a public liability insurance policy, for an extra premium.
Otherwise, for van and truck insurance, household insurance and car insurance, Marketline signposts cover from partner insurers but doesn’t offer quotes.
Marketline insurance features
Here’s more about the features of Marketline insurance. We’ve also considered what business owners said was most important to them in our NerdWallet survey.
Professions and trades covered
Marketline cover is for individual stallholders and traders who sell goods and services at events attended by the general public. These might include indoor or outdoor, such as:
- market stalls
- festivals
- fêtes
- craft fairs
It offers quotes for three types of liability cover through Allianz. Having a level of public liability cover is usually a condition of events that are attended by the general public, so this may be a convenient way of getting that cover.
Marketline’s standard offering is for individual traders, but if you’re organising an event there is a number you can call to get a quote for this different type of cover.
In our NerdWallet survey, being able to shop by industry was only ranked seventh out of 10 in importance, but convenience and potential industry expertise were certainly a factor for some. Just bear in mind that you will need to shop elsewhere for cover beyond liability insurance, such as stock or van insurance.
Payment options
You can only pay your liability insurance premiums annually. The option to pay monthly was the second most important factor in our survey, with annual payment ranking fourth, so it’s worth being aware of this if you would rather split payments for easier budgeting.
Online policy management
You can log in to an online account to view your policy documents, but most policy management appears to be over the phone. Web-based policy management was the third most important factor in our survey. While this ticks that box, the self-service functionality when it comes to making changes to your policy, for example, may be limited.
Phone support
You call customer services about your cover or to get a quote. Lines are open Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5.30pm, but not on weekends or public holidays.
Making a claim
In our survey, being able to make a claim online was important for nearly half of business owners (and was the top ranking factor). So, it’s worth knowing that you can only make a claim on your policy over the phone with Marketline. There are different claims lines depending on the type of cover, which you can find on the website. Opening times for these also vary.
Customer reviews
Marketline doesn’t feature on the main review sites.
However, its sister company Clear Insurance Management Ltd has a Trustpilot rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on over 1,400 reviews, as of 8 March 2023.
Bear in mind that the rating above is for Clear Insurance Management Ltd as a brand, rather than for any of its specific business offerings.
Can you shop by profession with Marketline?
If you trade at markets or other events, that’s exactly the profession that Marketline specialises in. In fact, you can only shop by that trade.
Even so, for cover that isn’t standard types of liability cover, including stock insurance, you will need to look elsewhere. Marketline does suggest partner insurers and brokers where you can get other cover, such as van insurance, though.
How to choose the right business insurance
The insurance you choose needs to be right for the risks your business faces. There is a large range available, but for some businesses having at least the following cover is essential:
- You need employers’ liability insurance by law if you employ anyone in the UK who isn’t close family. You will still need this type of insurance if you employ family and your business is incorporated as a limited company. This includes part-time staff and unpaid volunteers.
- Professional indemnity is required by their governing body or regulator for some professions, such as solicitors and accountants. This offers protection if you provide knowledge, skills or advice found to be negligent and causes loss or damage to a client.
- You may need a specific level of public liability insurance to carry out some work, such as selling at public events.
- If you use a vehicle for work (other than commuting), you must have motor insurance and should consider business car insurance or commercial vehicle insurance.
If you’re not sure which types of cover you need, an independent business insurance broker can help. Membership organisations may also help you work out the minimum level of cover you need.
How to get Marketline insurance
To arrange liability insurance with Marketline, you’ll first need to get a quote. You can do this over the phone or online, via its website.
You will need to provide information about yourself and your business, which will include:
- your name and address
- your contact information
- policy start date
- your business structure (sole trader, partnership or limited company)
You can then apply for the cover based on the quote, online or over the phone, if you decide it’s right for you, or compare the quote details with other providers.
Make sure the cover is right for you before you apply and consider that there is no cooling-off period for some types of cover, so check before you buy. This means that if you cancel after the policy has started (which you can only do by email or in writing) Marketline’s premium and policy arrangement fees won’t be refunded.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
While we try to provide you with accurate information, the providers can change the terms of their products at any time, therefore it is advisable to check the terms before you proceed.
You can view our full review methodology here.