Consulting: it’s a broad term to describe a multitude of business services. It can mean education, finance, construction, food services, and anything in between. Which is exactly why your insurance package needs to be just as diverse.

However as various as it is, there are common policies that every business should have. Consulting work tends to be different week to week, no matter the industry. Between traveling, clients coming in and out of the office and advice given, NorthEast Insurance Services is here to ensure that you know what different types of insurance do and why you need them.

After all risks aren’t limited to any specific type of consultant.

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PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY
What It Does: Protects against claims and litigation made against businesses that provide professional and personal services.

Examples:

• You give marketing advice that damages a business’ brand reputation and they sue.
• A web developer makes a mistake and costs the client money.
• A business consultant running a project goes past the due date and is over budget.
• A consultant advises a client to change internal processes with the goal of increasing productivity. The recommendations aren’t implemented as specified and productivity drops by 15% and the client decides to sue.

Also Covers:

• Late or incomplete work
• Errors from subcontractors
• Personal injury such as slander

Specified Types of Professional Liability: Errors & Omissions, Directors & Officers, Medical Malpractice

GENERAL LIABILITY
Also Known As: Commercial General Liability, CGL
What It Does: Covers common risks and is the baseline policy you should purchase.

Examples:

• A client slips and falls in your bathroom, therefore you are held responsible.
• While working at your client’s business you accidentally break something.
• An employee at a business consulting firm is out at a bar and talks negatively about an executive at a client company. Word gets back to that executive and they sue the consulting company for slander.

Also Covers:

• Damaged customer property
• Libel, slander or copyright lawsuits
• Product liability

BUSINESS OWNERS POLICY
Also Known As: BOP
What It Does: A convenient way to cover your business’s physical and financial assets. These packages are typically designed for small and mid-sized businesses and combine the features of General Liability and Commercial Property policies.

Examples:

• Computer equipment is stolen in a break in and needs to be recovered or replaced.
• A client slips and falls over an exposed cord and you become liable for their medical expenses.
• A business consultant’s home is damaged by a fire, their homeowner’s insurance may not cover the damage to their computer that now needs to be replaced.

You can customize a BOP with…

• Cyber Liability
• Equipment breakdown
• Personal and Advertising injury
• Rented vehicles
• Business Interruption Insurance

CYBER LIABILITY
What It Does: Protects from a broad range of information security related claims originating both externally and internally.

Examples:

• Your company was attacked by a cyber criminal and you need to repair and restore your website, systems, and data.
• You’re the target of ransomware and can’t do business for nearly a week. Any income lost during that time is covered.
• You lose a client’s private data and they sue. Associated legal fees and damages are therefore covered.

Also Covers:

• Fraud monitoring costs
• Cyber extortion costs
• Associated legal fees
• Non-employee privacy liability
• Electronic media liability (like IP or copyright infringement)

Watch the video above for a list of additional policies you should consider and why they matter!

Generally you need coverage for your business, clients, staff, and equipment. As for how much insurance to get? It’s always better to overestimate. Between claims, lawyer fees, and medical expenses the cost of being underinsured can add up quickly.

Your business is valuable so don’t let another day go by without shutting the door on risk.

NorthEast Insurance Services offers insurance programs that are the result of a collaborative effort between us and you, the business owner, to protect against some of the greatest risks in business. Contact us today or request a free quote!