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Professional Services Liability Insurance
Omissions insurance, which is also referred to as simply E & O, is a special type that provides you with coverage when facing litigation due to claims of professional negligence or when facing charges that you failed to complete certain professional duties. Since these legal threats can be quite costly in nature, having this coverage in place will help to protect your business and to prevent it from failing or going into bankruptcy when this type of litigation takes place.
There are two primary areas for which this professional liability provides coverage. The first is when facing claims of malpractice, which involves being sued because you failed to maintain a certain standard of care. The other is for breach of contract claims, which involves failure to complete services as contracted. This many involve failing to complete the task in a timely fashion or failing to complete the task in the manner desired. Since failure to complete tasks when and how they are agreed upon can cause the client to lose money, these expenses can be past on to you in a lawsuit.
Many different types of professionals maintain professional liability policies, with some of the most common being:
Although most of these professions have been around for some time now, computer-related professions are relatively new. Therefore, some laws are still being formed in regard to what these professionals can be expected to provide to their clients. The same may be true for consultants, depending upon the area the consultant specializes in. Therefore, it is even more important to have this type in place because laws to protect your rights as a professional in this field may not be established.
Since this type can be used to cover a wide variety of professions, the particulars of the policies may be different. As such, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to the E and O policy. Therefore, it is important that you work with a company that has experience working with others that are in the same profession as you and that can meet the specialized needs that someone in your profession may require.
In addition to making sure the proper coverage is in place when you obtain an Omissions policy, you also need to make sure the other terms are agreeable and suit your needs. For example, the deductible associated with your policy can vary quite greatly. You may choose to set your deductible at $0, which means you will have to pay a higher premium, or you can reduce your premium by paying a much higher deductible. If you like, you can set your deductible to be several thousand dollars. But, remember, you will have to pay this deductible first before you will receive any benefits from the company.
You will also need to determine how much coverage you wish to have. You will likely have to determine a maximum amount of benefit coverage for the year as well as a maximum amount for each incident. The higher you set the maximum amount, the more you will have to pay for your premiums. Although it will result in higher premiums, make sure to set the maximums at a reasonably high number because you will be responsible for paying the remaining judgment if it is higher than what your will pay.
If you are interested in obtaining an E and O policy, take a few moments to complete our simple online form. By answering just a few easy questions, we will be able to put you in contact with several different agencies that will provide you with the coverage you need.
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