IR35 Insurance Providers: Qdos, Kingsbridge, Markel Tax
24 June 2026 · 7 min read
The UK IR35 insurance market is small and specialist. Three providers dominate it: Qdos, Kingsbridge, and Markel Tax. Each approaches the market differently. This article sets out what each one covers, what it costs, and how you access it.
The UK IR35 insurance market is small and specialist. The three main providers, Qdos, Kingsbridge, and Markel Tax, each approach it differently. What follows is a factual profile of each one: what it is, what it covers, what it costs, and how you access it. It does not recommend one provider over another.
Below is a profile of each of the three main providers, followed by a note on a smaller provider also active in the market.
Qdos
Qdos is the most widely recognised name in contractor IR35 insurance and has been in the market since IR35 was introduced in 2000. Over 50,000 contractors have held a Qdos policy. Their team has defended more than 1,600 IR35 enquiries, which is the largest published figure in the market.
Products: Two policies. Legal Protection Insurance covers enquiry defence costs up to £50,000 per claim and is available to limited company contractors and sole traders. TLC35 (Tax Liability Cover) adds tax liability protection on top, with indemnity limits ranging from £25,000 to £250,000. All claims are handled by Qdos's in-house team, which includes former HMRC inspectors.
Price: Legal Protection Insurance starts from £5.88 per month (around £71 per year). TLC35 starts from £16.58 per month (around £199 per year) for £25,000 of liability cover plus £50,000 of enquiry defence cover, rising with contract value and the indemnity limit chosen.
Access: Direct to contractor online or by phone. Quote and policy documents issued immediately. Legal Protection Insurance policies include a free IR35 contract assessment.
Where it is less strong: Qdos operates an insurance-led model. Its free tools and contract assessments are provided as part of its route to a policy.
Kingsbridge
Kingsbridge insures over 35,000 contractors and works with over 500 partners. Their product range extends well beyond IR35 insurance into professional indemnity, public liability, and a full contractor business insurance package.
Products: IR35 Protect, available as a standalone policy or as part of a bundled contractor insurance package. Kingsbridge does not publish contractor cover limits; the Claim Limit is set in the policy Schedule issued at quote stage. A key feature is policy flexibility: the policy flexes to protect whichever party HMRC holds liable, whether that is the contractor or the fee payer. All Kingsbridge policies are underwritten by A-rated insurers.
Price: Kingsbridge does not publish a starting price. Cover is quoted individually online or by phone, reflecting the all-parties supply chain flexibility included in the cover.
Access: Online quote and buy. Kingsbridge also bundles IR35 status assessments into their IR35 Protect premium tier, providing unlimited assessments via their own status tool.
Where it is less strong: Kingsbridge's product range extends beyond IR35 into professional indemnity, public liability, and broader contractor cover, so it is not solely an IR35 specialist.
Markel Tax
Markel Tax is the oldest and most specialised of the three from a pure IR35 track record perspective. They won the first IR35 tribunal case in 2002, Lime IT v Justin (2002) SpC 342, and claim to have defended more contractors at IR35 Tribunal than any other UK consultancy. They are backed by an A-rated insurer and rated number one for commercial lines service by brokers in the Insurance Times Five Star Rating survey three consecutive years running.
Products: Survive35 TaxSafe, their contractor-facing tax losses insurance product. It covers outside IR35 contracts and extensions and, if HMRC subsequently reclassifies an engagement as inside IR35, Markel Tax reimburses the unpaid tax and National Insurance contributions, interest, and penalties. A prerequisite is a contract review by Markel Tax, which serves as both a compliance step and the gateway to cover. Their Feepayer Protect product is designed for the construction and agency markets rather than individual contractors.
Price: Survive35 TaxSafe is priced on a per-engagement basis rather than as an annual policy. Premiums via broker channels start from around £329 including Insurance Premium Tax, based on a business consultant with annual contract value up to £75,000, a clean claims history, and meeting all underwriting criteria following an IR35 contract review. Pricing increases with contract value.
Access: Markel Tax does not offer direct-to-contractor online quote and buy in the way Qdos and Kingsbridge do. Cover is accessed via accountants and specialist brokers, including Caunce O'Hara and others in their intermediary network. If you want Markel Tax cover, the route is through your contractor accountant or a specialist insurance broker rather than a product comparison website.
Where it is less strong: There is no consumer-facing quote tool, and cover cannot be bought in minutes online. A contract review by Markel Tax is required before purchase.
Roots: a smaller provider
Roots Contractor Insurance was established in 2020 by a team whose founders set up Larsen Howie, sold it into Kingsbridge, and then built Roots as a new independent offering within the Vestura Group. They are FCA authorised and a Lloyd's coverholder. Their IR35 insurance starts from £50 including Insurance Premium Tax, providing £100,000 of legal defence costs per claim, with an option to add £100,000 of IR35 tax liability cover. Online quote and buy with immediate documentation.
Roots does not yet have the contractor community presence of the three main providers, and the founding team's track record is the primary credibility signal at this stage. It is not included in the main profiles above because the depth of established IR35 enquiry experience is not publicly confirmed at the level it is for those three.
How this series fits together
This article is the final piece in the IR35 insurance cluster. The preceding articles cover the foundational questions. What an HMRC IR35 investigation actually costs sets out the scale of the underlying risk. How much does IR35 insurance cost covers what drives the premium and how to size your cover. What does IR35 insurance cover sets out what each policy type includes and the conditions that apply. Outside IR35 status and IR35 insurance covers the specific question for contractors who have already established an outside position.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get IR35 insurance through my accountant?
Yes. Markel Tax's Survive35 TaxSafe product is specifically designed to be accessed via accountants and specialist brokers. If your accountant is involved in your IR35 compliance approach, they are likely already aware of this route.
Do I need a contract review before getting IR35 insurance?
Qdos and Kingsbridge include contract assessments as part of their policy offerings and do not require a prior independent review before issuing cover. Markel Tax requires a contract review as a condition of Survive35 TaxSafe cover, which also functions as a demonstration of reasonable care.
Is there a budget IR35 insurance option?
Roots Contractor Insurance offers cover from £50 including Insurance Premium Tax for £100,000 of legal defence costs, with a tax liability extension available. Roots is FCA authorised, though it does not yet have the enquiry track record of the three main providers.
Understand your IR35 position first
Before looking at insurance, it helps to understand where your contract stands. Run the IR35 Verdict contract checker for a probability-based read of your IR35 position, with the case law reasoning shown.
Check my contract →