Tax Preparers insurance – what kind and at what cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Tax Preparers 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 liability insurance and all the other types 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 Tax Preparers enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Tax Preparers 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. 

Tax Preparers Insurance

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing businesses to explain 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 Tax Preparers business?

What this means, for any Tax Preparers business owner, is that if some customer 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 Tax Preparers 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 Montana, 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 privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sort.

When you are running your Tax Preparers operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the results of your actions.

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

What does Tax Preparers insurance protect you from?

For your Tax Preparers 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 explain the most important points any Tax Preparers business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Tax Preparers 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 demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Tax Preparers business insures you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your Tax Preparers business from the claims themselves and in addition to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Tax Preparers business would be with a boundary 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 Tax Preparers insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Tax Preparers business

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

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

Every small Tax Preparers 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 Tax Preparers insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Tax Preparers 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 advice was basically incorrect.

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

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Tax Preparers

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you must have.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Tax Preparers business

Be careful! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the car 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

In addition, 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 required 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 Tax Preparers 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 tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

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

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your Tax Preparers 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 Tax Preparers business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Tax Preparers business that owns or rents space in a building should have 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.

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

If your Tax Preparers business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, additional 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 Tax Preparers business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends mainly 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 Tax Preparers insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Tax Preparers business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Tax Preparers business

Is your Tax Preparers business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Tax Preparers – 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 less premiums but still having adequate 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 larger 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 Tax Preparers business

You have the option 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 integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 Tax Preparers businesses, such as yours.

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

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

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

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

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Tax Preparers business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Tax Preparers 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 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 cannot take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation charges are computed 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 Tax Preparers insurance level 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 collected for the main types of insurance your Tax Preparers businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $592 – $1059
Public liability insurance $360 – $720
Commercial vehicle insurance $1791 – $2884
Equipment insurance $307 – $1016
Commercial insurance $1125 – $2762
Product liability insurance $210 – $599

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

We have estimated these figures for small self-employed Tax Preparers businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Tax Preparers 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 searching 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 Tax Preparers operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Tax Preparers business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Tax Preparers business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms 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 Tax Preparers business insurance policy cover?

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

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

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

How much will Tax Preparers 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 talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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