Any type of business carries unique risks. Whether you’re a restauranteur or a doctor, your daily duties expose you to liabilities that can turn around and cause a financial hardship following litigation. With all the types of insurances out there, many wonder “who needs professional liability insurance?”
Learn what professional liability insurance is, and some of the most common professions that rely on it to cover themselves against mistakes and lawsuits.
What Is Professional Liability Insurance?
Many professionals perform tasks in their field that affect others. Despite your best efforts, occasionally a mistake can happen or an event takes place which is a direct result of your actions. In these cases, you may be held legally and financially responsible for damages, lost income, or other expenses related to the incident.
If these events are due to malpractice, negligence or misrepresentation, your business’s general liability insurance won’t apply. When this happens, professional liability insurance is what helps protect you against the often-extreme financial burdens surrounding these events.
Professional liability insurance is known by many other names, such as simply “PLI”, medical malpractice insurance, or errors and omissions insurance. The terms used tend to be related to the specific industry and professional of which the individual is being insured.
Who Needs Professional Liability Insurance?
It’s not always easy to understand exactly who needs professional liability insurance for their business. Here are some of the most common professions where PLI is necessary to protect against significant claims:
Medical Professionals
If you work in a medical field, it’s important for you to consider what type of protections you need against liabilities from your work. Many of the most well-known medical professionals, like doctors, dentists and specialists therein are familiar with the necessity of professional liability insurance. But this applies to anyone in the medical field, such as:
- Nurses
- Therapists
- Physical therapists
- Veterinarians
Any business where you provide direct or indirect care to patients puts you in a position where the patient or their family could hold you liable for accidents, injuries or deaths. Without PLI, you won’t have coverage against the costs for which you’re held liable.
Lawyers/Attorneys
Like medical professionals, the work of lawyers and attorneys can be life changing for their clients. If you make a mistake through negligence or misrepresentation, PLI is crucial to prevent your practice from being crippled by the costs awarded to those bringing action against you.
Even the best attorneys can make mistakes. As with any insurance, professional liability insurance isn’t about protecting against issues you expect – it’s for those cases where you’re blindsided by lawsuit or other liabilities due to your professional duties.
Contractors
Do you work as a general contractor? Then you know you’re liable for accidents or issues related to both you and any of the third-party sub-contractors you hire into the job! That’s a lot of responsibility to shoulder – which is exactly where PLI comes into play.
Contractor’s professional liability insurance is your safety net to protect you and your third-party vendors regarding losses related to construction, repairs or anything else you do in your professional capacity.
Whether you hire out or work entirely in-house, it’s important to have professional liability insurance for those rare instances where a repair or new construction has an issue that cause damages or injury. Like any profession, the costs associated with these can be as little as hundreds of dollars or into the multi-million dollar range depending on the specific event!
Accountants
CPAs, much like attorneys, are relied on for their expertise and knowledge. In some cases, even the best in their field may make a mistake or recommend a course of action that leads to a loss of income for their clients.
In these cases, it’s not uncommon for the client to look for someone to blame – whether or not the fault lies with you. Issues in the accounting field can include:
- Negligence
- Breach of duty
- Misrepresentation
- Errors (both real and alleged)
These are just a few of the types of claims that former clients may make against their accounting firm or individual accountants. Professional liability insurance steps in to cover some or all of the costs associated with defending yourself from litigation, ranging from attorney expenses, legal fees, and more.
Does Professional Liability Insurance Have Limits to Its Policies?
Yes! While PLI can cover many events in your professional work, there are certain limitations. The most important of which is criminal activities. Insurance won’t help if your actions were criminal in nature, whether intentional or unintentional. Likewise, some civil claims won’t fall under the scope of your coverage!
With any insurance, it’s up to you to work with your insurance provider or agent to better understand your coverage, protections, and additional endorsements you can get to defend yourself against workplace liabilities.
Contact Iott Insurance for a Quote Today
Iott Insurance has been a part of southeast Michigan for over 50 years. We can help you plan your insurance needs and find you the right policies or plans to protect you.
Or you can visit one of our three offices in southeast Michigan:
Blissfield, MI – (517) 628-4574
Lambertville, MI – (734) 807-3825
Petersburg, MI – (734) 215-9884
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