Choosing insurance you and your company need can be confusing and challenging. Even more so when you are looking into various types of insurances that will protect you and your company. In this article, we will be providing you with some helpful hints you can use to choose the best insurance plan and provider for your business.
Who Needs Insurance?
The short answer is everyone. The long answer is that anyone who is considered a professional should look into protecting themselves with professional indemnity insurance. Although, this term is usually used in regards to the medical community it spans across almost every major profession.
To mitigate risk choosing a great indemnity insurance plan will protect you from clients who may have suffered a financial loss as well as any bodily injury.
Here are a couple examples of what that may look like.
If you carry government license this is actually mandatory. This may include some real estate agents, lawyers, and accountants throughout Hong Kong. At any point, a financial loss to one of your clients could result in a number of various lawsuits. (More on this in a moment)
On the bodily injury side, doctors and other medical practices come to mind but so should yoga or other fitness instructors.
Avoiding Lawsuits
Unfortunately, these days people can sue for almost anything, so it is critical that you know your rights and how to protect yourself with professional indemnity insurance. Even if you are not in the aforementioned fields you can be sued for negligence, libel or defamation, copyright infringement, and even confidentiality breaches.
As you can see this can affect every area of business whether you own a small consulting firm or a mega-corporation.
How it works
Indemnity insurance in Hong Kong may also fall under other umbrella terms such as medical malpractice or errors and omissions. The insurance will cover any settlement and damages that the court decides should you lose your case.
The first step when you get sued is choosing a legal defence counsel. This can cost money regardless of the size of the lawsuit. Your insurer will hire a lawyer for you, pay for expert witnesses, bonds, and anything else you require in the legal arena.
Next, it is important to consider the global reach. If you are living in Hong Kong but have locations or provide service for London or San Francisco, the lawsuit can affect each of your locations. This can be especially damaging for online businesses that are virtually everywhere.
Historical coverage is also critical. You may find yourself being sued for a Copywrite infringement of a blog you wrote a few years prior. The historical coverage actually allows being covered for liability even if some time has passed. Companies like Trusted Union can provide details to how far back you can go for coverage and other details around this type of coverage.
Wrap Up
Professional Indemnity Insurance is as a must. All too often well-meaning professionals can find themselves in harrowing and devastating lawsuits for any number of things. This is the best strategy to ensure risk mitigation and all potential losses that can accrue due to litigation.
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