Being a consultant means that other people pay to hear your opinion. This may seem like an ideal job to have, but it can be risky. Consultants are only human and can make human errors in judgment. Professional liability insurance for consultants exists to protect your assets and reputation when clients are disappointed by the outcome of a consultation.
Professional Liability
The type of errors consultants are likely to make depends on the specific industry where they are employed. For example, clients may sue marketing consultants for decreased sales or claim an accounting consultant made computational errors. Professional liability insurance covers these types of everyday mistakes inherent to a certain profession.
Commercial General Liability
Commercial general liability covers damages and bodily injuries not directly due to bad advice, but that nonetheless are associated with the consultant. Examples of incidents general liability would cover include the following:
- A coffee maker in your lobby burns someone
- A child wrecks his bicycle on the sidewalk outside your office
- Someone sees your post on social media and claims copyright infringement
Most consultants are honest people who do their best to offer sound advice; if they weren’t, their reputations would prevent them from succeeding. Even so, consultants do make mistakes and need liability insurance to protect them from lawsuits.