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The following is a guest post. Enjoy!ย
Professional Liability Insurance – Is it Something You Really Need?
For many tradesmen and small business owners, liability insurance used to be what other people (anyone but them) needed. After all, theyโd done an apprenticeship and had been properly trained โ what could possibly go wrong?
The “Sue-Happy” Attitude in Today’s Society
What did go wrong was that the tradesmen and small business owners found themselves operating in an increasingly litigious world. This was a world where there didnโt seem to be โaccidentsโ any more; where customers knew their rights โ and where they werenโt slow to claim/sue if they thought they were entitled to compensation.
Imagine for a minute that youโre a carpet fitter. You arrive at someoneโs house with a new carpet to install. As youโre carrying it in you knock a vase off the hall table. Is it โjust one of those things?โ An unfortunate accident? Or, are you liable for the damage? Youโll have guessed that itโs the last one.
All tradesmen have the potential for โaccidentsโ like these. But, the possible liabilities donโt stop there. More and more, new businesses are being created in the service sector, and they will also find that they need liability cover. A mistake made online can be just as costly as causing physical damage to someoneโs home or property.
Know Your Risks
Unfortunately, if youโre in business these days, itโs not enough to worry about people taking forever to pay you; about the possibility of a โdouble dip recession,โ or the latest tax the Government has planned. Now, thereโs the ever-present threat of having to pay compensation hanging over you.
So itโs no wonder that many tradesmen and small business owners are now paying particular attention to contractorsย to arrange it for them.ย When even a relatively small claim has the potential to seriously damage your business, it makes sense to deal with professional liability insurance company who has years of experience and a dedicated teamย specializingย in liability insurance.
But for now, let’s get back to your hypothetical career discussed above as a carpet fitter. Sooner or later, youโre going to send that vase flying. But when you do, rest assured that liability insurance will be there to pick up the pieces.
How about you all? Do you think that liability insurance is needed for businesses these days? If you own a business, do you carry a liability insurance policy?ย
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.
- So let’s see – do I feel that business owners need liability insurance?ย
- Yes, indeed I do.ย
- Typically, the purpose of insurance is to protect you from financial disasters and protect your earnings ability.ย
- So, if you own a small business and it is your sole source of income, I believe it does make sense to have business insurance (which usually includes a liability coverage portion).ย
- One question that I did have in particular was to any of the full time bloggers out there….Do you all have business insurance for if someone sued you for copyright infringement, etc? I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on this and whether or not you think it is needed…
- As I was reading through the post above, it really reminded me of all of the precautions that the moving company had to take in packing up and transporting my belongings during my two moves to Virginia and Philadelphia over the past few years.ย
- In these moves, every component I owned was wrapped so carefully, that it made me cringe to think of the shear number of lawsuits the company has no doubt faced over the years that’s forced them to start being some strict about their packing. Truly amazing!ย
***Photo courtesy ofย http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2795/4122171512_3f4dc612d0.jpg
