Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Private Investigation insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.
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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 unforeseen happens.
Like any business owner, for your Private Investigation enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.
If your Private Investigation business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous 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 growing businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where we can, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.
The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Private Investigation business?
What this means, for any Private Investigation business owner, is that if some person 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 Private Investigation business is not harbored 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 judge 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 Private Investigation operations, you can’t escape 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 a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.
What does Private Investigation insurance protect you from?
For your Private Investigation business, the most important kinds of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.
In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.
In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any Private Investigation business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.
The main categories of insurance for your Private Investigation businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.
Liability insurance
General liability insurance
Any Private Investigation business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.
In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.
General liability insurance policy for your Private Investigation business insures you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.
It protects your Private Investigation 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 demand proper liability insurance.
The usual level of general liability insurance for your Private Investigation business would be with a boundary 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 Private Investigation insurance operations.
Professional liability insurance for your Private Investigation business
In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Private Investigation business for them, you can quickly face a court case.
Even if the matter against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be large, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.
Almost all small Private Investigation 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 Private Investigation insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Private Investigation 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 advice 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 responsible for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.
To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Private Investigation
Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you must have.
Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.
Commercial insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance for your Private Investigation business
Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the van 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 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 car is involved in an accident.
Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, insist on this type of insurance.
The wanted value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents.
Tools and Equipment insurance
Since your Private Investigation business needs specific and expensive equipment, you will realize 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.
As well, 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 any equipment needed to keep your Private Investigation business running.
It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Private Investigation business’ equipment.
Commercial Property insurance
Any Private Investigation business that owns or rents space in a building needs 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.
Any 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 criminal damages like theft and vandalism.
If your Private Investigation business works in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.
In other states like Illinois, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Private Investigation business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.
Because 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 Private Investigation insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Private Investigation business.
Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Private Investigation business
Is your Private Investigation 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 Private Investigation – 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 lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.
The important feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a designated 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 improved.
Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.
Business Owners Policy BOP for your Private Investigation business
You have the chance 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 combines commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Private Investigation businesses, such as yours.
There are a few limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.
BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.
Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.
The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.
As well, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.
Workers Compensation insurance for your Private Investigation business employees
In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Private Investigation 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 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 having 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 providers.
Workers compensation charges are worked out 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 Private Investigation insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough 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 researched for the main types of insurance your Private Investigation businesses needs.
Types of insurance | Price range |
Commercial vehicle insurance | $1797 – $2799 |
Equipment insurance | $442 – $1054 |
Commercial insurance | $935 – $2757 |
Public liability insurance | $264 – $747 |
General liability insurance | $639 – $1070 |
Product liability insurance | $206 – $818 |
Cost of insurance for your Private Investigation operations depends on many different factors.
We have calculated these figures for small freelance Private Investigation businesses.
In larger states like California, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, but in smaller states like Utah, they will be about 20%-30% lower.
The location and size and type of your Private Investigation business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.
You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.
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In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.
Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.
FAQ
What is small business insurance for Private Investigation operations?
This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Private Investigation business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.
Does my Private Investigation 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.
Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.
What does a small Private Investigation business insurance policy cover?
Liability insurance provides protection 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 recommended policies for Private Investigation insurance.
How much will Private Investigation business insurance cost?
As well as the size of the business, certain 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.