Being a lawyer, you are known for representing and protecting your client’s rights when dealing with legal matters. However, you still need your own protection from the unpredictable, yet inevitable issues that will arise while dealing with the law and a wide variety of clientele. Several types of insurance coverage are recommended for those who practice and study law professionally so you don’t find yourself on the other side of a courtroom.
Types Of Lawyer Insurance & What They Cover:
General Liability: A lawsuit can be very detrimental to you or your law-firm, not only from a monetary standpoint but also to your integrity and success moving forward. General liability insurance can cover “third-party lawsuits,” which are lawsuits brought on by someone who is not affiliated with you or your law firm. This can include coverage for:
- Copyright infringement
- Property damage
- Harm or physical injury
- Reputation damage
Property Insurance: If you practice or study the law from a law office, property insurance is recommended just like any other property that should be insured. This type of insurance can reimburse the cost of any lost and damaged property such as the office itself, the furniture inside, and all of the equipment & property inside the office. This coverage can protect you from:
- Natural disaster/weather damage
- Theft
- Fire damage
- Vandalism
Cyber Liability Insurance: In the new day and age, many paper files and documents are being converted to electronic data both for safety and convenience. With this change also comes the risk of your confidential files being breached or hacked, which can cause a headache for both you and your client, not to mention the harm it can do to your trust and rapport with these clients. If you find yourself in an unfortunate situation and your client’s personal information becomes compromised, cyber liability insurance coverage can cover costs pertaining to:
- System damage/Corrupted data
- Notifying clients of a system breach
- Crisis management and repairing damage to you and your firm
- Loss of revenue due to the hack
Errors and Omissions Insurance (Professional Liability): Due to the fact that your services as a lawyer are paid for by your clients, you are put in the situation where they can sue you for failing to provide the services that have been paid for. For example, if just one mistake is made regarding a specific subject or a fact is omitted from a case, whether on purpose or not, a lawsuit can be filed against you. Even if the claim is not backed by sufficient evidence, the case and lawsuit alone can be enough to cause you to lose thousands of dollars, either being spent on that case or due to the lost time to focus on other clients. Anytime you are providing a service to a customer for a fee, you are putting yourself at a risk and being covered by this can help put you at ease.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance: Law offices and courtrooms are not known for being a physically demanding job, however, in the case that an employee of the law firm needs to go on medical leave, is injured in a freak accident, or develops an injury such as carpal tunnel syndrome, this can cover:
- Various hospital costs
- Costs for a lawsuit should you be sued by an employee regarding their health/injury
- Paid leave while recovering
How Much Can Lawyer Insurance Cost In Michigan?
Many factors can attribute to the increased or decreased cost of insurance for lawyers and possibly the biggest factor of all is the size of your clientele. Depending on the number of clients you service and the size of your income, this will determine how at risk you are and how often you are in a situation where you may need coverage. Other than the size of your client base, the size of your law office and the number of employees working in your firm can be another cause for the rise or fall of insurance prices.
Don’t Put Yourself At Risk, Get Covered Today!
Being in the field you are in, as a lawyer or an employee of a law firm, there are too many unknowns and risks to worry about every day and every case. Insurance for yourself and your law firm can be something you do not have to worry about. Contact us at Compass Insurance Michigan and let us help ease the stress and let you worry about your cases while we take care of the rest.
