Professional Liability Insurance Agent
Professional Liability insurance agent
How to Arrange Professional Liability Insurance Through Your Life and Health Agent
Professional liability insurance is a necessity if you are working in certain fields. Doctors, other medical professionals, lawyers and others need this protection against lawsuits. No matter how well you perform your professional duties, there is still a chance that you will be sued. Even unfounded suits require the expenditure of time and money that you cannot necessarily spare.
As the incidence of lawsuits continues to increase, so does the need for liability insurance to protect your practice, even if the law does not mandate it for your particular profession. Liability insurance could save you a great deal of money and stress in the case of a wrongful suit against your business.
Depending on your insurance provider, you may be able to receive your professional liability insurance through your health and life insurance company. Ask your agent whether or not their company or one they are partnered with offers professional liability insurance. They will hopefully be able to help you find the plan best suited to your specific professional requirements. It is important that you can find an agent who is knowledgeable about your field and understands your particular needs. These needs will vary by profession and situation, so it is good to get to know your insurance agent well.
Do not be afraid to shop around for an agent who will offer a good combination of advice and affordable rates if your current health and life insurance agent cannot provide what you are looking for. You may also be able to find companies that will offer life, health, and professional liability insurance plans through professional associations to which you belong.
Small businesses can benefit from carrying liability coverage in case of accidents on the premises. Businesses who intend to put on a short-term event can sometimes acquire temporary liability insurance to protect them for that span of time, even if they do not normally operate in a fashion that requires insurance.
If you are able to get your professional liability insurance through your existing provider, your agent may be able to cut your costs by offering a package or umbrella deal. These deals may not exist with every provider and will vary. Members of specific organizations may find that those organizations have specific insurance providers which are willing to offer them a good deal on their professional liability insurance as well as other types of insurance. Contact any professional organizations you may be a part of to research this possibility.
One of the advantages to working with your existing health and life insurance agent to get professional liability insurance is that they will already know you. Working with a familiar face can simplify the sometimes stressful process of finding the right plan. Also, an agent who already knows you can more easily identify your particular needs. Depending on the company you already receive your health and life insurance from, you may be able to acquire professional liability insurance through them more simply than you would be able to get it from somewhere else.
Business Insurance for Contractual Reasons?
I have recently started a sole proprietorship (environmental consulting). I work alone and have no employees (and no subcontractors). I will need to get the following insurance for contractual reasons:
General commercial liability
Professional liability
Commercial auto liability
Workers comp/Employer liability
I live in Georgia. Can anyone tell me approximately how much this insurance will cost (ball-park) and how long it will take to get the insuranced in place?
I’d like to get some ideas before I talk to an insurance agent.
Thanks!
I’m not a property & casualty guy, so I have no idea of the cost; but I’ve been in the insurance industry for well over a decade. Why do you want the opinions of unqualified people before you speak to an expert? First, neither the insurance agent nor the company has any control over the premiums. All premiums are approved by the state’s insurance commission and cannot be changed or altered except by subsequent approval by the commission; and profit margins are so razor-thin that if you’re paying substantially less elsewhere, you’re also getting less.
Business insurance is so complex that it cannot be comprehended by anyone but an expert, and the industry is unmatched by any other in terms of ethics and regulatory environment. Unless you’re one to gather the unqualified opinions of total strangers prior to consulting your physician about your upcoming brain surgery, go talk to your agent.
