Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your Dietitians and Nutritionists enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Dietitians and Nutritionists business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business?

What this means, for any Dietitians and Nutritionists business owner, is that if some person claims that your business caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Dietitians and Nutritionists business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sued for.

When you are running your Dietitians and Nutritionists operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance protect you from?

For your Dietitians and Nutritionists business, the most important sorts of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some legal kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Dietitians and Nutritionists business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Dietitians and Nutritionists business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Dietitians and Nutritionists business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single claim and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Dietitians and Nutritionists business for them, you can quickly be involved in a court case.

Even if the matter against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Almost all small Dietitians and Nutritionists business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your recommendation was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Dietitians and Nutritionists

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business

Be careful! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your truck is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Dietitians and Nutritionists business needs unique and dedicated equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Dietitians and Nutritionists business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Dietitians and Nutritionists business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Dietitians and Nutritionists business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you probably have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Dietitians and Nutritionists business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Rhode Island, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Dietitians and Nutritionists business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business

Is your Dietitians and Nutritionists business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Dietitians and Nutritionists – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having reduced premiums but still having adequate risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a nominated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business

You have the choice to combine most of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will cover you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized Dietitians and Nutritionists businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle cover.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that can take out a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual turnover.

In addition, you must separately take out the mandated worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Dietitians and Nutritionists business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation charges are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your Dietitians and Nutritionists businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Dietitians and Nutritionists operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small independent Dietitians and Nutritionists businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Utah, they usually are about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your Dietitians and Nutritionists business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Dietitians and Nutritionists operations?

This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Dietitians and Nutritionists business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Dietitians and Nutritionists business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to run your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Some other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Dietitians and Nutritionists business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for Dietitians and Nutritionists insurance.

How much will Dietitians and Nutritionists business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.