How The Right Insurance Could Safeguard Your Career
Indemnifying yourself is an important aspect of safeguarding your professional career. In almost any field, there are ways in which you could be deemed liable even if you are not the owner of the business. From malpractice to negligence to misrepresentation, there are several ways that an individual can encounter problems within their career, but with the right insurance in place, you can protect yourself from unwanted financial outcomes that could have the potential to otherwise ruin you and the organization you work for.
The types of insurance available to you
For those in professional careers such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants, there is a particular type of policy that is designed to protect from claims made against you by clients, called professional liability insurance. This particular type of insurance is a step up from a general liability insurance policy to protect the individual against liability claims that may be made against them. Your professional liability insurance cost is something that could be covered by your employer as part of your employment package or it may be an additional expense that you will need to cover for yourself.
General liability insurance is more of a blanket version of professional liability which protects the policyholder from claims made against the business by customers and employees alike. Liability insurance is typically held by the business which then provides coverage for the employees. The types of claims that are safeguarded with general liability insurance include:
- Bodily injury on business premises
- General property damage
General liability insurance only comes into play if it is deemed that a business or an employee of that business is legally at fault.
Why insurance is necessary
Insurance has always been the last line of defense against the unknown happening. In a business sense, insurance is something that can not only protect an individual if they are found to be at fault, but it can protect the business as well. Having the correct insurance is all about safeguarding yourself from as many potential situations as possible. Though many feel that too much insurance can be overkill, others, especially those in the healthcare industry, feel that operating without professional liability insurance is a risk that is too big to take.
Including insurance as a company benefit
The employment market can be a competitive environment, especially for those in professional career positions. The American Bar Association offers advice to law firms on a range of insurance options for their legal teams which can be purchased as a group plan. To entice the kind of high-level employees that a quality legal company requires, consider adding professional liability insurance into the employment offer as an added benefit of choosing to work with your firm.
The right insurance coverage is absolutely necessary for almost all jobs. The peace of mind that comes from knowing you will be taken care of no matter how bad the situation gets, should be enough to convince even the strongest disbeliever that insurance is worth the additional expense.