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Archive for the ‘General Liability Insurance’ Category

Whether you’re working directly with a client or through a staffing firm, if you’re a systems integrator or custom programmer, you’ll probably have at least one client who requires you to carry insurance. Maybe you are responsible for employees, or maybe you work freelance. Either way, you might wonder if all that coverage is really necessary.

You already know the bottom line: if you want to land a potential client that requires insurance, you better have the insurance. The good news is that in almost all cases, the insurance coverage your client requires can be both affordable and can reduce liability for your business.

Typically, clients want insurance for software developers, system integrators and programmers to include some or all of the following four types of coverage:

General liability insurance

General liability insurance covers damage to property or injury to people. Client companies often require every vendor – from plumbers to IT contractors – to show proof of general liability insurance. In some cases, the mandate comes from the client’s risk managers, who want to reduce the company’s potential liability and financial loss due to lawsuits.

If you are a systems integrator, you know there is always the risk that you or an employee might accidentally damage hardware, or put a foot through a drop ceiling while pulling cable. If you are concerned about damage to your client’s equipment while you are installing, configuring, or just moving it, you will want to make sure your general liability policy includes property coverage. This is actually coverage for your own business property but extends to your client’s property “in your care, custody, or control.” Liability insurance package with property coverage for systems integrators gives you peace of mind that if an accident happens, you’re covered.

If you are a software developer, software engineer or programmer, even if you work at your own home or office, there’s still a risk that client equipment in your possession could be damaged. General liability insurance that is packaged with coverage for your property and for software developers and engineers, as well as programmers, also provides confidence that you’re covered if you accidentally drop the client’s server or spill coffee onto a laptop.

Professional liability insurance

Professional liability insurance is similar to malpractice insurance for software developers, programmers, and system integrators. It covers you for errors and omissions you make on the job. Clients require it because they know that people make mistakes.

Your client’s greatest risk in hiring you is that your mistakes could spawn a lawsuit or financial loss. For example, if an error you make results in data loss, and your client spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to reconstruct those data files, your client wants to make sure that you can compensate the company.

Professional liability insurance for software engineers and programmers just makes sense. Without it, you’re 100 percent liable for all legal defense costs if your client claims you’ve made errors or omissions. In many cases, a misunderstanding is all it takes to get sued. Once a client alleges negligence and communications break down, your legal expenses can begin to mount.

Workers’ compensation insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance is required in nearly every state if you have employees. If you are a one-person company, in most states you can opt out of workers’ compensation coverage. But your client may require you to carry this coverage even if your state does not. The reason: In some states, if you’re injured on the job, your client must automatically cover you with its own workers’ compensation policy. Additionally, in some cases, your client’s insurance carrier will bill the client to cover all subcontractors that don’t provide their own certificate of coverage. Both situations mean higher premiums for your client.

If you work as a systems integrator, you’re probably used to lifting heavy equipment and climbing ladders, and you know there’s always potential for injury. If you’re a programmer, software developer or software engineer considering insurance, keep in mind that you may be at risk for carpal tunnel syndrome. Workers’ compensation insurance for systems integrators, as well as programmers and software developers and engineers, covers medical costs, plus disability and compensation in the event of such on-the-job injuries.

If you have employees, workers’ compensation insurance makes sense. If you’re a solo practitioner with your own health and disability insurance, it may be redundant – but you may need it to get the work.

Fidelity bond coverage

Aptly described as employee dishonesty coverage, this type of insurance compensates your client if you or your employees steal money or property on the job. In particular, clients in the banking and financial services industries are likely to ask software engineers, software developers, system integrators and programmers to carry fidelity bond insurance because they’re entrusting them with sensitive information, such as customer Social Security and account numbers.

Most self-employed I.T. professionals know that client information is safe with them. But if you have employees or subcontractors handling valuable property or customer information – no matter how much you trust them – anything can happen, and if it does, you could be held liable. A laptop could go missing, or a programmer working on a financial services network could steal banking customers’ account numbers and passwords to take money from their accounts. If that happens, fidelity bond insurance compensates your client for the missing money or property.

Plumbers insurance is a cover that all businesses need to have. At the very minimum it will cover all the basic insurance requirements you have and then you can also take out additional cover according to what you need.

Public Liability Insurance for Plumbers is the core cover you will need. This protects you against injury or damage by your business to other people or their property. This cover is important for your business because it gives you and your customers peace of mind that if anything were to go wrong you would have full cover for any losses.

If you have employees, another cover you will definitely need to have is Employers Liability Insurance. This protects you if an employee of yours is injured or falls ill whilst at work. If they fall ill because of your negligence you could be claimed against, which might be extremely expensive for your business. It may in fact cost so much that it might put you out of business or at the very least make running your company extremely difficult.

You can save money when buying your business insurance by making sure that you shop around for the best quotes. If you can compare quotes side by side you will be able to find the cheapest quote for you at a price that suits you.

You should also tailor your insurance so that it meets your businesses individual needs. You don’t need to buy insurance that is too much for your business, you can tailor it to meet your businesses individual needs.

When starting a staffing company, it is important to note that before you send out your first temporary employee, you must have adequate business insurance in order to conduct business. At a bare minimum, you will have to purchase Worker’s Compensation and General Liability Insurance. On top of those insurances, it would be a good idea to consider buying a G/L policy that will also include Professional Liability Coverage, as well as Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverages. The biggest challenge a staffing agency owner may face could be identifying an insurance company that truly understands the staffing industry.

Unless you are working with someone who understands your business, you will spin your wheels in trying to secure proper insurances. The challenge with underwriting an insurance policy for a staffing company is the fact that you are or will be sending out temps or contract employees to remote, 3rd party client sites, which can cause you to lose direct control over those employees. If those employees worked on-site every day at your office location, the risk would be easier to assess. However, in the staffing world, your direct employees work at client locations, which adds risk from an insurance company’s perspective. Insurance companies have a larger underwriting task when taking into effect that your employees may be asked to perform certain tasks at a client location that you may not otherwise ask them to perform if they were on-site at your office.

I would imagine researching insurance companies, finding the right company and insurance policies to purchase, then actually purchasing the policy would be about as much fun as making a trip to the dentist. Both are quite necessary, but not much fun. However, if you don’t have insurance for your staffing business, you will not be able to operate your company.

How do you know just how much insurance to purchase, and what types are right for your firm? You don’t want to be over-insured, but you certainly don’t want to be under-insured either. Once you find the right insurance partner that understands YOUR staffing business, ask them to recommend coverage amounts and types of policies. If you already have staffing clients in place, or if you have potential clients you will be doing business with, ask them to send you their standard staffing contract. More than likely, your client will have a section in their contract that will cover insurances, and how much and what types you need to have in order to do business with them.

Keep in mind, your clients want to deflect as much insurance risk on to you as possible. They would prefer to have zero risk in having your employees work on-site at their location. If a potential client is asking for more insurance coverage than you will be able to pay premiums for, you may consider trying to renegotiate their contract, or consider foregoing that business. It may not be worth the extra premium dollars you will pay in order to pick up the staffing business. However, if the margins are large enough, and you feel certain the client will utilize your services for a long-term period, you should consider upping the insurances to grow your business.

As a start-up staffing company, you may have no choice but to purchase your Worker’s Compensation insurance from a State Fund, rather than from a private insurance company. The laws are different in each state, but when you speak to your insurance agent, find out if private insurance is available for Workers Comp, due to the fact that it may be less expensive to purchase than from the State.

Also, you will either have to estimate your payroll or sales/revenue in order to get a quote on your insurances. I would be prepared to have a projected figure in mind. Don’t over-estimate payroll or sales because you may end up paying more each month in premiums during the first year, which could eat up profits from the business. Also, don’t under-estimate because you may be hit with a major one-time premium at the end of the year due to withholding less during the year. It’s a tricky calculation, but hopefully your agent can assist you in your calculations.

Garage insurance is a much misunderstood policy form.

The need for having a commercial general liability insurance coverage is paramount if you are running a business or commercial establishment of your own so as to protect you against the many liability claims that you may be subjected to.

Commercial general liability insurance protects you against those liabilities that might be incurred as a result of your business dealings with customers or other individuals or organizations. There are many types of liabilities that could be claimed against you and your business.

These include claims for personal injury or bodily injury suffered by a customer at your place of business or a claim arising out of faulty goods and service delivery. There might be also instances when you might face a worker’s compensation claim for injuries suffered at the workplace by your employees.

The most common causes for liability claims are usually slip and fall accidents in which customers are involved and which take place at your place of business as well as accidents that involve your employees during their course of employment with you.

A commercial general liability insurance policy protects you from all these liabilities and many more by paying for the damages or by reimbursing you. In the event that a claim made against you is successful, you stand to lose a lot. A successful claim usually means that you end up paying increased amounts as monthly premium towards your policy. The reason is that you are perceived as high risk by the insurance company with each claim that is successfully made against you.

General liability insurance protects you from various liabilities that you might incur, namely personal injury liability which also includes bodily injury, property liability claims, workmen’s compensation claims and also claims arising from advertising injury. Irrespective of whether the claim against you is false or genuine, you stand to gain from the protection given by your coverage instead of having to go in for a million dollar settlement with the plaintiff. The policy protects you and your business from suffering the ill effects of litigation.

General liability insurance quotes often result in confusion. If you know some of the key coverages to look for it will be a smoother ride in trying to find the best quote for your company.

A business general liability insurance quote always has some key coverages and key elements to watch out for. Below are three key coverages that are found in all of your proposals. Although these three items are more obscure and more difficult to uncover they are well worth the effort. Let’s review these three coverages.

o Carrier niche. Taking the time on your commercial general liability insurance quote to make sure that the insurance company you are getting the quote from specializes in your industry, will increase the probability that the carrier will be providing the specialty coverages that you need for your business. Carriers that specialize in your niche also tend to have special niche coverages. They also tend to price the specialty coverages very competitive versus carriers that do not have effect coverage. If you’re doing an online general liability insurance quote this can be more difficult depending on the websites that you are visiting.

o Carrier rating. Analyzing any carriers rating for their financial stability can also be an indicator of a company that will provide more comprehensive coverages than just the basic coverages. Companies that have lower financial ratings typically have stripped down insurance policies with only the basic necessities included. You will usually find that higher-rated carriers will have much broader and comprehensive coverages for your business.

o Classification. While classification can have a direct and significant impact on the pricing of your policy, it also is directly related to the coverages that may or may not be triggered if you have a claim. It is imperative that when you get a quote for general liability insurance that you always ask for classification of the classification. If the classification is not describing your services and products that can be a red flag that you might not have the coverages that you are requesting.

These simple three key coverages to look for can provide a lot of peace of mind once the process is over.