You can get unemployment/sickness insurance if you are self-employed. I pay �15 a month and get �500 per month once I have been ill for 4 consecutibe weeks. In 5 years that has never happened. Is it likely that you will be unemployed as a plumber? Surely not!! More likely that you will get sick and be unable to plumb. In which case go for something like I have. But bear in mind that they always contact your doctor, and you won't be insured against any illness you have already or have sought advice about in the last year or something. So be sure to read the small print!