Professional Liability Insurance

Do I Really Need Professional Liability Insurance in the GTA?

Does your business offer services to customers in the Greater Toronto area? If so, you could be putting your company at risk each time you do business. You never know when someone is going to make a legal claim against you in this very litigious society. You can’t do much about that, but you can take care of the risk factors associated with lawsuits against your business. It involves having the right professional liability insurance in place. This ensures you are protected against a number of bad things that can happen, and here is an example.

Vernon L worked for 30 years in the oil industry. In fact, he knew just about everything there was to know about pipelines, rigs, and extracting crude oil from the earth. After all those years he was thinking about retiring, until he found out just how lucrative and rewarding the consulting business could be.

Vern set up a business, consulting with his former employer after he retired from the company and he was in demand. In fact, Vern was soon making more money from consulting than he made from his previous job. Soon, Vern decided to branch out and take on other clients. However, before he expanded his business, he talked to a risk management professional, who was also an independent insurance broker.

Vern’s agent was shocked that he did not have professional indemnity insurance. He showed him all the bad things that could happen from giving out the wrong kind of professional advice. This made Vern think and he took out a policy that very same day. It was a good thing he did too.

A few months later, Vern got a letter from an attorney. One of his clients was suing him because the advice he gave them on drilling, resulted in substantial damage and pollution to the local eco system. The claims were over one million dollars for repairs and cleanup services. Thankfully, Vern had the right coverage at the right time.

What is Professional Liability Insurance?

Professional liability insurance is sometimes confused with errors and omissions and with some companies there is a fine line between the two. Errors and omissions is a particular type of professional liability. For example, if an electrician makes a mistake which results in fire, errors and omission insurance is good to have. If an auto technician advises a customer to use the wrong kind of motor oil (resulting in damage) this is covered by professional indemnity. However, this coverage may not include:

• General liability issues
• Fraud or criminal acts
• False advertising

Who Should Have Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Standard Coverage for Professional Liability Protection

When you take out a professional liability policy, you need to make sure it covers all the things you could be sued for. In addition, anything under one million dollars, could be woefully insufficient. If you work in the medical field, you will need a special kind of insurance called malpractice insurance. Don’t forget to include these coverage options with your policy:

• Commercial property insurance
• General liability insurance
• Commercial vehicle coverage

Professional Liability Insurance Options.

When you take out coverage for professional indemnity, you may need to consider other types of professional insurance like:

• Errors and omissions – this can cover a wide range of issues and if your business deals with products or installations you need this coverage.
• Sexual discrimination
• Completed operations – this covers damage or injuries after a job has been completed and is important for many contractors.
• High liability limits – some services may need to consider coverage in excess of ten million dollars.
• Cyber crime liability coverage – if someone were to steal personal information belonging to your clients or customers, you could be sued for an untold amount of damages. This can include damage to your IT equipment and lawsuits from customers. It’s best to insure against these kinds of disasters as they can happen to almost anyone.
• D&O – stands for directors and officers liability insurance. This covers many types of mistakes company officers can make, including criminal actions.
• Liability for United States exposures – if your business is conducted in the US also, you could have additional liability issues.

Getting Help with Your Professional Indemnity Insurance

Understanding all aspects of business loss prevention takes a great deal of training. Instead of worrying about issues like these, why not turn them over to seasoned risk management professionals at Multi risk Insurance Brokers? We understand the risks you face each day and the type of professional liability risks you must deal with.

As an independent insurance brokerage, we have access to several top insurers in Canada. This will get you an affordable policy and the best coverage for your profession. We are also there with professional financial planning and risk management services. To get info on an insurance quote, fill out our quote form and we’ll contact you about the information. You may also call us in the Greater Toronto area at 416-224-2800.

Free Professional Liability Insurance Quote