Personal Liability Insurance

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Personal liability insurance takes care of protecting your assets by paying up damages and claims in the event that you injure another person or cause damage to their property. Personal liability insurance is different from life insurance protection wherein you take out a policy to get your own protection. Not everyone has personal liability insurance but anyone will benefit from taking out a policy because this ensures that should anything happen because of you, others part of the event will be well taken care of.

What to expect

Insurance companies offering personal liability insurance have certain duties to fulfill to you when you take out a policy. These include:

  •      Defending you an insurance company duty to defend you begins when you are sued and you require a defense for a claim. Typically, this is done when a copy of the complaint is sent, along with letter that references relevant policies and demands immediate defense. At that point, an insurance company has the option to: defend, seek out declaratory judgment that no coverage is offered, or neither. If the insurance company chooses to defend you, they either waived their defense of no coverage or they must defend as guided by a reservation of rights. The latter simply means that the insurance company is given the right to stop defending you when it turns out that you do not have coverage for the claim and that whatever costs were incurred during the defense will be recovered from you. It depends on the insurance company but a personal liability insurance case may be defended by either in-house lawyers or from an outside firm. An insurance company may also do nothing but it is very risky. Most then just choose to defend as guided by a reservation of rights instead of doing nothing.
  •      Offering indemnification this means that the insurance company has the duty to pay for everything that you are liable for, as covered by policy terms and limits.
  •      Settling reasonable claims most jurisdictions have insurance companies adhering to only the first two duties. A third one, settling reasonable claims, generally comes into play when the settlement is demanding more than what a policy covers. The problem here is that this duty pits the insurance company interests with yours because if they adhere to this duty then they will have to pay the policy limit. This means they have to pay more and paying more does not make insurance companies happy. Besides that, the insurance company will benefit from not taking your case to trial since there are only two possible endings: either you lose your case in which the insurance company pays the policy limit or you win and no one has to pay for anything. But if the insurance company refuses a settlement then the case will go to trial, in which it is possible that you will be held liable for an amount that exceeds the settlement offer. This is where an insurance company duty in settling reasonable claims comes in. To prevent putting you in danger of even the remotest chance that you will have to use your personal liability insurance policy coverage (means they don’t have to pay too), the insurance company sets to defend you and when it is clear that you are at fault, come up as well with a settlement that everyone will generally be happy about.

If an insurance company breaches any of the duties mandated within the jurisdiction it belongs to, it will be slapped with a breach of contract infraction, as well as be held liable for a tort of bad faith insurance.

Public Liability Insurance

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Public liability insurance provides protection to people in the event that other individuals file a case against them for some reason or another. This type of coverage will require insurance companies to pay for any legal fees that their clients may need to pay for should a case be brought against them. This article takes a look at the basics of public liability insurance to help you decide whether to get this coverage or not.

Types of public liability insurance

The different types of this insurance are:

  • Employer’s liability insurance. This protects employers should their employees encounter any problems at work that may require legal intervention (such as accidents).
  • Public property liability insurance. This covers any damage that may be incurred on a public property.
  • Product liability coverage. This protects manufacturers in case of buyers experiencing injury or damage while using the products made by them.
  • Director’s insurance. Director’s insurance covers company directors in case the lawsuit is directed to their office.

Do you need public liability insurance?

While company owners are not required by law to get this type of insurance, it is still advisable for them to get this coverage, as not one business is completely exempt from any kind of risk. Owning a business carries its own set of risks, regardless of what industry you are in. Should any person get involved in an accident while using your product or while on your property, you will be required to provide compensation for him or her as a result of the incident. As such, it’s a good idea to get the coverage so that you will be protected in case of eventualities.

How to choose the right public liability insurance

Some of the things you will want to consider when shopping for liability insurance include:

  • Your business type. Make sure that the insurance you purchase is actually appropriate for your business. Don’t just choose one that provides coverage for your company based on the industry that you are part of, but also check to see if the policy also covers all of the stakeholders in the company. For example, if the company is owned by partners, ensure that both partners are covered by the insurance policy and not just one of them.
  • Specialization. Make sure that the representatives that you talk to are liability insurance specialists so that you will be able to get the answers that you’re looking for regarding the extent of coverage the insurance has. Furthermore, specialists will also be able to give you good advice on what policy you should get given your needs and your business.
  • Length of coverage. Ideally, the policy that you get should provide coverage immediately and until needed. It’s not a good idea to get policy that will leave you without coverage even for just a few days, as something might occur during that time that might require you to face legal obligations.
  • Cost. Finally, do consider costs. Make sure that the insurance you cover is actually priced reasonably. Do not be afraid to shop around to see what the different insurance companies are charging for this type of coverage. That way, you will be able to pick which of these is the best one for you, not just in terms of price but also in terms of coverage.

If you want to play safe, get public liability insurance. The investment you make for this type of policy will be worth it should anything happen in the future that will require you to seek legal assistance in behalf of your company. Legal fees can be very expensive, so getting the coverage will mean less money coming straight from your pocket.

Professional Liability Insurance Guide

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Professional liability insurance or PLI is a kind of insurance that helps cover the cost of liability of a company or business resulting from erring professional advice, negligence, and the like. This type of insurance is also designed to help these companies in minimizing the cost of lawsuit when defending against claims of clients for negligence, damages, and similar business errors.

Liability insurance protects you against the cost of defending against lawsuits like negligence, violation of good faith, misrepresentation, fair dealing, and bad or inaccurate advice given to client. This is in contrast to the general liability insurance cost, which only protects against property damage, bodily injury, and personal injury claims.

The professional liability insurance normally takes shape around claims-based complaints by clients. This means that the insurance policy only covers the claims during the same policy period. It must be very clear, however, that the coverage of the professional indemnity insurance DOES NOT cover for criminal prosecution and any legal liabilities covered by civil law. Your professional liability insurance will only cover those that are specified in the policy that the insurance company has sold.

One of the most practical and common applications of the liability insurance finds home in the nursing industry, where more often than not, there are cases of malpractice and negligence. The nursing liability insurance takes care of nurses when they encounter patients who complain about alleged malpractice on the side of the medical team.

This is a very important service for medical practitioners, who every day are stressed and worked out trying to protect and save the lives of hundreds of people. While doing this noble job, most of them find that they cannot rely on their direct employers for help when things get very tough especially with patient lawsuits. This is where the professional liability insurance steps in.

Who Gets Professional Liability Insurance?               

It is usually the small and independent professionals who avail of the services of the PLI because they normally do not have the protection afforded by other employed individuals when they render their services. Doctors and dentists operating their own clinics will find it useful to contribute to a PLI just to have peace of mind.

The advantages of the professional liability protection is that it covers as much as 40% (in some cases) of your liabilities that result in violation of good faith, misrepresentation, bad advice, physical and personal damages, injury, and fair dealing. In the US where the court system is frequently abused, many clients will find every single detail to pinch every penny out of you just for the sake of getting a free service or extra money.

How Do I Buy Professional Liability Insurance?        

The first thing you must do is look for insurance companies online that offer this kind of service, as not all insurance companies are open to protecting independent professionals. The cost of your professional liability protection will depend on the number of issues you want covered. These issues include damages due to negligence, failure to meet the client expectations or the service promised, non-disclosure, and more. These will be presented in an agreement contract drafted by the insurance company.

Before signing the contract, read it carefully and ask the agent or the representative if there are any exclusions that your should know about. This is very important, as there are many businesses who expect more of their insurance company than what is provided for in the actual contract.

There are online firms offering this service. You can get a basic quote for the different basic coverage they offer. To get the best deals, you must compare are least three to five insurance companies with this kind of service before choosing. You can also hire the services of an insurance broker to select the best type of insurance that fits your company like a glove.

The prime considerations when choosing professional liability insurance is the level of need you have, your financial capability (do you have a stable income for this?), and the reputability of the insurance company you are choosing. Overall, these three factors are the three most practical guides you can rely on when choosing your PLI company.

If you want to grow your business without any hindrances and distractions from clients and customers who want to sue you for every little detail you missed, you will find that the PLI is just the right insurance product for your company to keep your business up and running. Save hundreds of dollars on the cost of facing your clients in a tough legal battle for petty things. Let your insurance company take care of you and your business while you concentrate on making it grow. The professional liability insurance is your partner for growth and stability in this increasingly troubled economic times.