Prosthetists Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, prosthetists 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 insurance against accidents 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 prosthetists enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your prosthetists 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 upshots of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup 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 prosthetists business?

What this means, for any prosthetists 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 prosthetists business is not sheltered 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 Texas, 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 duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have sued for.

When you are running your prosthetists operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

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

What does prosthetists insurance protect you from?

For your prosthetists business, the most important kinds of insurance are intended 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 describe the most important points any prosthetists business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any prosthetists business is dealing directly with members of the public, 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 sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your prosthetists business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your prosthetists business from the claims themselves and also to any associated court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

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

The usual level of general liability insurance for your prosthetists 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 prosthetists insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your prosthetists business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your prosthetists business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

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

Every small prosthetists 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 prosthetists insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your prosthetists 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 the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your recommendation was basically incorrect.

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

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for prosthetists

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 help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your prosthetists business

Be careful! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck 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 insured if your van is involved in a collision.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your prosthetists business needs specialized 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.

In addition, 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 specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your prosthetists 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 prosthetists business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the space, you probably have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location must 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 prosthetists business operates in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of prosthetists business premises, there is a need for more extra 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 prosthetists insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your prosthetists business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your prosthetists business

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

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for prosthetists – are special policies where you can cover a specific 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 identical risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you buy 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 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 prosthetists business

You have the chance to combine several 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 shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

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

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

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

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

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

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 prosthetists business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your prosthetists business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation 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 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 allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

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

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 see the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every prosthetists insurance requirement 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 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 prosthetists businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your prosthetists operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small independent prosthetists 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% less.

The location and size and type of your prosthetists 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 enquiring about 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 prosthetists operations?

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

Does my prosthetists 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 prosthetists business insurance policy cover?

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

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for prosthetists insurance.

How much will prosthetists business insurance cost?

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

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

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