Personal Injury Paralegal insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Personal Injury Paralegal insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by liability 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 Personal Injury Paralegal enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your Personal Injury Paralegal 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 results 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 Personal Injury Paralegal business?

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

Your Personal Injury Paralegal business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court 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 Personal Injury Paralegal operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

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

What does Personal Injury Paralegal insurance protect you from?

For your Personal Injury Paralegal business, the most important kinds of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

As well there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Personal Injury Paralegal business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Personal Injury Paralegal business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Personal Injury Paralegal business protects you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Personal Injury Paralegal business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on 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 insist on proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal business would be with a cap of $1 million for a single event 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 Personal Injury Paralegal insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Personal Injury Paralegal business for them, you can quickly be involved in a law suit.

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

Almost all small Personal Injury Paralegal business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Personal Injury Paralegal insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal operations.

Product liability insurance

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

You need to know the explicit laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Personal Injury Paralegal

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you should get.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal business

Be careful! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the car 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 guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

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

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

The wanted value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Personal Injury Paralegal business needs unique and costly equipment, you will realize 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 unexpected acts.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy 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 any equipment needed to keep your Personal Injury Paralegal business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your Personal Injury Paralegal business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Personal Injury Paralegal business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the property, you certainly 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 accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Personal Injury Paralegal business deals in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, supplementary 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 Personal Injury Paralegal business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas 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 Personal Injury Paralegal insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Personal Injury Paralegal business

Is your Personal Injury Paralegal business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Personal Injury Paralegal – 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 the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for 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 higher 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 Personal Injury Paralegal business

You have the option 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 incorporating 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Personal Injury Paralegal 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 policies.

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

The usual business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Personal Injury Paralegal business has one or more employees.

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

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

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

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only permit 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 rates 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 Personal Injury Paralegal 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 agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your Personal Injury Paralegal businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your Personal Injury Paralegal operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small independent Personal Injury Paralegal businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Personal Injury Paralegal 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.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Personal Injury Paralegal operations?

This is a general term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect Personal Injury Paralegal business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Personal Injury Paralegal business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small Personal Injury Paralegal business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party 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 best policies for Personal Injury Paralegal insurance.

How much will Personal Injury Paralegal business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, some other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

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

You can search for more information insurance for Personal Injury Paralegal, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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