Occupational Therapist Assistant Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, occupational therapist assistant insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other sorts 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 occupational therapist assistant enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for occupational therapist assistant

If your occupational therapist assistant business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a complete 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 highlight 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 occupational therapist assistant business?

What this means, for any occupational therapist assistant business owner, is that if some company claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your occupational therapist assistant business is not protected 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 New Jersey, 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 duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have claimed.

When you are running your occupational therapist assistant operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does occupational therapist assistant insurance protect you from?

For your occupational therapist assistant business, the most important kinds of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any occupational therapist assistant business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your occupational therapist assistant businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any occupational therapist assistant business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your occupational therapist assistant business covers you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your occupational therapist assistant business from the claims themselves and as well 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your occupational therapist assistant business would be with a cap of $1 million for a single submission 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 occupational therapist assistant insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your occupational therapist assistant business

In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your occupational therapist assistant business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

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

Most small occupational therapist assistant business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of occupational therapist assistant insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your occupational therapist assistant operations.

Product liability insurance

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

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

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for occupational therapist assistant

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your occupational therapist assistant business

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

The proper 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 truck policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the van itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your van is involved in a collision.

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

The wanted value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your occupational therapist assistant business needs unique and costly equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected 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 unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your occupational therapist assistant business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your occupational therapist assistant business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any occupational therapist assistant business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Your physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your occupational therapist assistant business deals in areas of high risk, like California or North Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of occupational therapist assistant business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends completely 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 occupational therapist assistant insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your occupational therapist assistant business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your occupational therapist assistant business

Is your occupational therapist assistant business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for occupational therapist assistant – are special policies where you can cover a designated 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 identical risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a specific 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 larger business activity, get the existing cover improved.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your occupational therapist assistant business

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

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

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

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized occupational therapist assistant businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The normal business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your occupational therapist assistant business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your occupational therapist assistant business has one or more employees.

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

The benefits provide for 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 having to pay penalties levied by the states.

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

In these states, you cannot take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

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 refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every occupational therapist assistant insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an insurance representative what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your occupational therapist assistant businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $565 – $840
Public liability insurance $385 – $615
Commercial vehicle insurance $1970 – $2845
Equipment insurance $450 – $1295
Product liability insurance $220 – $575
Commercial insurance $975 – $2755

Cost of insurance for your occupational therapist assistant operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small independent occupational therapist assistant businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your occupational therapist assistant business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

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

In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for occupational therapist assistant operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect occupational therapist assistant business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my occupational therapist assistant business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small occupational therapist assistant business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 occupational therapist assistant insurance.

How much will occupational therapist assistant business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, several 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.

You can search for more information insurance for occupational therapist assistant, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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