What Kind Of Insurance Do I Need As An Accountant?
Dear Sherri: I am an accountant with one employee and a small office with 2 desks, 2 chairs, and 2 computers. What kind of insurance do I need? Please keep in mind that I am just starting out and I don’t have a lot of money to spend on insurance
Sincerely,
Poor Accountant in Ridgewood
Dear Poor Accountant,
The better question is: how much insurance can you afford to be without? With one employee (even if they are part-time), the State will fine you $2,000 for every 10 days you are without Workers’ Compensation! What if someone sues you for an error in their tax filings to the Government? Without Professional Liability, you’d be on your own and you know how expensive it is to hire a lawyer! These are the insurance policies that are essential to most businesses.
You will need a Businessowners Policy to cover your desks, chairs and computers as well as your general liability should someone come to your office and become injured while on your premises.
Workers’ Compensation and Disability are needed for your employee should they get hurt.
Professional Liability is needed to cover you for any Errors or Omissions you make as a professional accountant. This is because your liability policy will not provide coverage for any professional endeavors.
In today’s litigious society with multi-million Dollar lawsuits, once you begin to make more money, you will want to consider purchasing additional liability coverage in the form of an Umbrella policy.
However, this is just a brief outline of the available coverages. You should really contact your insurance broker for a detailed analysis of your insurance needs. This is usually done free of charge.
