Legal Expenses insurance for Market Traders
Protect your business from legal disputes, unexpected costs, and loss of income from £17.35 per year*
Running a business means dealing with people every day, customers, suppliers, and sometimes even HMRC.
Most of the time, things run smoothly. But when they don’t, it can quickly become stressful and expensive.
- A missed payment
- A disagreement over work
- An unexpected HMRC enquiry
Situations like these can take up your time, cost you money, and leave you unsure what to do next.
Legal Expenses insurance helps protect market traders, small business owners, and independent retailers from unexpected legal costs and business disputes.
What is Legal Expenses insurance?
This Legal Expenses insurance policy gives you support when you need it, both with advice and with the cost of taking action. The policy can be purchased alongside a Public and Products Liability policy.
Instead of dealing with it on your own, you’ll have access to specialists who can guide you and handle things properly.
This cover can help with:

Disputes with customers or suppliers

Recovering money owed to you

Tax enquiries and VAT disputes

Defending your legal rights
You will also have access to a legal advice helpline, so you can get guidance before things escalate.
Cover is provided up to £50,000 per claim, helping protect you from large, unexpected costs.
Legal Expenses insurance can help protect your business from the cost of legal disputes, HMRC investigations, and loss of income caused by legal issues.

Licence appeals

Employment disputes

Personal injury claims and court attendance costs
Who it's for
- Market traders
- Food and drink vans
- Stallholders
- Crafters and makers selling directly to customers
This business Legal Expenses insurance is suitable for market traders, stallholders, sole traders, and small businesses looking for extra legal protection when purchasing a liability policy.
If your business depends on regular sales and good relationships, this gives you extra protection when something goes wrong.
Add this insurance to your Public and Products Liability policy
You can add Legal Expenses in seconds when:
- Buying a new policy
- Renewing your policy
Just select it at checkout to add an extra layer of protection.
Legal costs can quickly become expensive, which is why many small businesses choose legal protection insurance to help protect their business and income.
Legal Expenses claims examples
A market trader receives a letter from HMRC advising that their business tax affairs are being investigated. The trader requires professional support and advice to deal with the enquiry and respond correctly. The Legal Expenses section of the policy may respond.
A customer refuses to pay for goods they ordered from a market trader, despite the products being delivered as agreed. The trader attempts to recover the unpaid invoice and seeks legal support to recover the money owed. The Legal Expenses section of the policy may respond.
Do you need Legal Expenses insurance?
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ViewFrequently Asked Questions
Legal Expenses helps protect you against the cost of certain legal disputes connected to your business. It can provide access to legal advice, appointed specialists, and cover towards legal costs for eligible claims.
This insurance can help with:
Disputes with customers or suppliers
Recovering money owed to you
Tax enquiries and VAT disputes
Defending your legal rights
Licence appeals
Employment disputes (if selected)
Personal injury claims and court attendance costs
Yes. Cover is provided up to £50,000 per claim.
Yes. The policy includes access to a commercial legal advice helpline, giving you guidance on a range of business-related legal matters.
Yes, the policy can help recover money owed to you for goods or services you’ve provided, subject to the policy terms and conditions.
Yes. The policy can help with the professional costs involved in HMRC tax investigations and VAT disputes.
Employment disputes are included where this section has been selected on your policy. Check your policy schedule to see if this is included on your policy.
In some circumstances, yes. If legal proceedings need to be issued or there is a conflict of interest, you may be able to nominate your own representative, subject to the policy terms.
Yes. For example, the policy does not cover:
Claims relating to events that started before your cover began
Fines or penalties
Legal costs incurred without approval
Certain disputes within your own business
Please refer to the policy wording for full exclusions and limitations.
You should contact the claims helpline as soon as you become aware of a situation that could lead to a claim.
Legal Expenses can be added when buying a new policy or renewing your existing policy.
No. Claims are assessed under the policy terms and must have reasonable prospects of success.