Christmas is nearly here, and as 2021 comes to an end, we would like to take a moment to thank you for your valued support through what has been another challenging year and to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and a prosperous 2022!

Whether you are getting ready to run your first Christmas market stall, or have years of experience in selling at Christmas markets – we’ve put together this quick guide to help you make the most of your market stall during this festive period.

For more help with setting up your stall, download our free COVID-19 risk assessment template for market traders.

With the UK still in the grip of COVID-19 lockdown measures last winter, many Christmas markets were either cancelled or significantly reduced.

This festive season, though, Christmas markets are well and truly back and expected to be more popular than ever – which is good news for market traders.

To help market traders return to festive trading safely, we have produced a free risk assessment template.

Are you looking to become a market trader and set up your first stall?

One of the first questions you will likely ask yourself is ‘How much money can I earn?’

But when you’re just starting out, there’s a lot to be done before you can start turning a profit.

If you run a market stall there’s a good chance that you’ve questioned what would happen to your business operations if something were to go wrong.

For example, what would the impact be to your business if your stock became damaged, or if a member of the public incurred an injury because of your stall?

Without the correct insurance in place, unfortunate circumstances such as these could seriously threaten your livelihood and the future of your business.That’s why we’ve put together this guide to briefly explain the different types of insurance you may need, and exactly why each type is important.

If you’re a market trader who handles stock, it’s likely that your goods will be at the very heart of your business.

In the unfortunate event that your stock becomes damaged, it would likely be very bad news. Understandably, protecting stock is a key concern for many traders. Despite this urgency, at Marketline we’re aware that many market traders aren’t certain of the best way to insure their stock.

That’s why we put together this guide all about stock insurance — which can help ensure your goods and your business are protected.

Think you might need public liability insurance for your market stall, but not sure exactly what it is or how much it will cost?

Don’t worry, you’re in the right place — this blog will help you understand what public liability insurance is and how it works, as well as provide you with that all-important information about how much it might cost.

Free COVID-19 Risk Assessment for Reopening Market Stalls

As part of our commitment to providing advice and guidance to market traders, we have developed a free risk assessment template for reopening market stalls.

The risk assessment is designed to assist market traders in setting up their stalls in a COVID-secure way to limit the transmission of COVID-19 among market staff, traders and members of the public.

Download the risk assessment for free

Please Note: This risk assessment template is intended for guidance only and not as a substitute for appropriate professional advice.

About Marketline

Marketline offers specialist insurance services for traders at Markets, Events, Exhibitions and Festivals. Our aim is to provide market traders and stall holders with affordable insurance and the best possible customer service.

With over 20 years’ experience, we have been providing insurance solutions to traders at competitive prices whilst still offering the widest cover.

The ranges of cover available from Marketline include:

• Public Liability (from £60.40 a year)
• Products Liability
• Employers’ Liability
• Van & Truck Insurance
• Stock Insurance
• Household Insurance
• Car Insurance

Whether your insurance requirements are straight-forward or complex, our staff are on hand to help.

To find out more or get a free, no obligation quote, get in touch with us at insurance@marketline.co.uk

Our Festive Opening Hours

Christmas is almost upon us and as 2020 comes to an end we would like to thank our market traders for their valued support. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and the best of luck for a prosperous 2021!

Here are our festive opening hours in case you need to contact us over the Christmas period:

If you need to report a claim please refer to your policy booklet for your Insurers emergency contact number, or you can visit our claims help web page.We will be open as usual on Monday 4th January at 9am. Our standard opening hours are Mon-Fri 9:00am-5:30pm.

It’s good news for the market stall holder community - many stalls that were previously shut under Government guidelines are now returning to serving their customers.

But it won’t quite be business as usual. Market traders will be required to ensure that they’re helping their staff and customers to observe social distancing, which will present some challenges.

Here, we’ve outlined 5 ways you can start the process of ensuring your stall is observing the new rules:

Good news — as you'll have heard, the Government have now said that markets can begin to reopen from June 1st. So, we've prepared 3 tips to keep in mind as you plan your return to work:

In response to the volume of recent queries we've received about how the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown is affecting insurance cover, we've compiled this set of frequently asked questions (FAQs).

We have focussed on the key issues that many of our market traders are asking us about but if you can't find what you need below, don't hesitate to get in touch with us. We're here to help.

While there are ongoing concerns about the coronavirus (COVID-19), Marketline is working to ensure that we limit the impact of the situation and our Marketline team is available as usual and are here to answer any questions you may have.

We are closely following government guidance and taking recommended steps to adjust our working practices in an effort to reduce the impact of the coronavirus.

The health and wellbeing of our associates, clients and their employees is of the utmost importance, and so we will be continuing to monitor the situation and issue news and guidance where possible.

Please click here to visit our dedicated news page on our parent company's (www.thecleargroup.com) website to stay up-to-date with our news on the topic.

As always, you can reach us on 0207 618 2929 on Mon-Fri from 9:00am-5:30pm.

‘Kipper season’* is what many market traders call the period from January to March. It tends to be the quietest time of the year for stallholders - Christmas is over, customers are spending less, and it’s cold!

But it's not all doom and gloom. The kipper season's silver lining is the reduced rates and cheap deals many markets offer to stallholders - often as little as between £20 and £40 per pitch, per day.

Are you looking for a customed focused, proactive insurance sales role with an energetic team in the heart of the City?

Well, look no further! Marketline are looking for a Scheme Account Handler to join their well established team, servicing and administering the insurance portfolios of clients, with 2 years minimum experience in Insurance and Opengi.

Thinking about becoming a market trader? There are plenty of good reasons why - you’ll enjoy low start-up costs, the thrill (and challenges!) of being your own boss, and uncapped earning potential. 

But before you take the leap, take a look at our checklist below - market trading has more complexities than you might think.

Our Easter Opening Hours

Happy Easter to all of our customers and friends! Here are our amended opening hours over the Easter holidays incase you need to contact us: