{"id":2366,"date":"2021-09-15T14:33:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T14:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/?p=2366"},"modified":"2023-02-08T09:50:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T09:50:50","slug":"kinds-liability-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/kinds-liability-insurance","title":{"rendered":"What are the different kinds of liability insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"bearded<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Most small businesses need some kind of liability insurance. But before we get into the different types of liability insurance available, what does \u2018liability\u2019 actually mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2018Liability\u2019 is a legal word<\/a>. Put simply it means \u2018responsibility\u2019. If someone claims you\u2019re liable for something, it\u2019s a fancy way of saying it\u2019s down to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is liability insurance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Generally speaking, liability insurance protects you from the cost of legal claims. If someone says something\u2019s your fault and you owe them money, liability insurance can take care of the costs. Including your legal fees, and compensation, if it turns out you\u2019re at fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all kind of liability policy. Instead, there are several, each one designed to cover different kinds of claims. There are policies to protect you from the cost of claims:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2022 You or an employee damaged someone\u2019s property or caused them injury
\u2022 Your work was faulty, or you made a mistake
\u2022 You lost someone\u2019s confidential data in a breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Now, you may need one liability policy. Or you may need two or three. It really depends on the kind of industry you\u2019re in and how you run your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


To help you work out which ones you need, here\u2019s a guide to the three most common policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your guide to the different types of liability insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

General liability insurance<\/a>
Professional liability insurance (errors and omissions) <\/a>
Cyber liability insurance<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

General liability insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


If clients or suppliers visit with you, or you visit with them, general liability insurance<\/a> is a must-have. Even if you run your business from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It protects you from the cost of claims you accidentally damaged someone\u2019s property or caused them injury. And covers slander and libel claims too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine a supplier trips over a loose cable delivering a package and breaks an ankle. Without general liability insurance, you\u2019ll have to pay medical bills and legal costs if they sue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Or perhaps you brush past a client\u2019s antique vase and it topples and smashes on their hardwood floor. If you don\u2019t have a general liability policy, you\u2019ll have to find the cash to replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


And what if one of your employees bad-mouths a customer and it gets back to them? You could be sued for personal injury. And if the case doesn\u2019t go your way you won\u2019t just have legal fees to pay, there\u2019ll be compensation due too.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have general liability insurance and someone makes a claim for injury to themselves or their property, your policy can cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2022 medical bills and hospital treatment
\u2022 repairs or replacement costs
\u2022 legal fees and compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional liability insurance (errors and omissions)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Do clients pay you for your advice or your services? Then you need professional liability insuranc<\/a>e (or errors and omissions as it\u2019s also known).<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Without it, if a client claims you made a mistake, or your work was faulty, you\u2019ll have to cover the costs of a legal suit.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could be a carpenter who gets sued because a customer claims the closet you made isn\u2019t flush. Or a consultant whose client claims you gave the wrong advice and lost them business. Or\u2026you may not have made a mistake at all.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thing is, if you charge for your advice or services, clients can sue you even if you did nothing wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The best way to protect yourself is with professional liability insurance. Because even if there are no grounds for a claim, it can pay for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2022 an attorney to defend you
\u2022 your legal fees
\u2022 compensation if you\u2019re at fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber liability insurance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Do you send or receive wire transfer payments? Do you store personal data, like health information or credit card numbers? Do you store business-critical information on your computer? Things like client contracts, designs and plans?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you answered \u2018yes\u2019 to any of these questions, you need cyber liability insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


And if you\u2019re a small business owner with employees, that\u2019s two more good reasons to get coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major data breaches may hit the headlines. What\u2019s not reported is that over half of all cyber-attacks are aimed at small businesses. Why? Because with less cash to spare for tough cyber defenses, you\u2019re an easy target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the more employees you have, the more likely it is someone will make a mistake. Human error accounts for over \u00be of cyber security incidents. Don\u2019t believe us? Take a look at some of the claims made recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber insurance covers the damage cybercriminals can do to your business. Whether it\u2019s caused by a data breach, malware, or phishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


If you get hacked, it can take care of the costs, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u2022 paying fines
\u2022 your legal expenses
\u2022 replacing lost income if the attack stops you trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, you\u2019ll get the tools and technical support to recover from an attack. So you\u2019re back on your feet, doing business again in no time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other insurance do business owners need?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Liability insurance isn\u2019t the only type of coverage available for business owners. If you have any employees, for example, you\u2019ll need workers\u2019 compensation insurance. It\u2019s required in most states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look over on our website to see what insurance you need for a small busines<\/a>s. Or get in touch. We\u2019re always happy to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Most small businesses need some kind of liability insurance. But before we get into the different types of liability insurance available, what does \u2018liability\u2019 actually mean? \u2018Liability\u2019 is a legal word. Put simply it means \u2018responsibility\u2019. If someone claims you\u2019re … Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[76,11,8,7],"class_list":["post-2366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-small-business-insurance","tag-cyber-liability-insurance","tag-errors-and-omissions-insurance","tag-general-liability-insurance","tag-professional-liability-insurance"],"yoast_head":"\r\nWhat are the different kinds of liability insurance?<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A guide to the different kinds of liability insurance small business owners need, what they cover and why you need them.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/kinds-liability-insurance\" 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