Lawyer Insurance

Protect Yourself with Business Insurance Coverage for Lawyers.

As a lawyer, you know the importance of protection against liabilities and claims. But while you’re out there working hard for your clients, who’s got your back?

That’s where Simply Business comes in.

We’re an online insurance brokerage that makes it easy for lawyers like you to find personalized lawyer insurance coverage. From comprehensive GL plans to professional liability coverage, we can help tailor a policy that protects you from the biggest risks you face.

Plus, we make it surprisingly easy to get covered. Just give us 10 minutes of your time, and we can show you policies that truly work harder for you.

Ready to get covered?

Business Insurance Policies Available for Lawyers:

• Professional liability insurance
• General liability insurance
• Workers compensation insurance

Benefits:

• It can protect your business from certain claims.
• It can cover damages caused by your negligence.
• Proof of insurance can help clients feel good about your work.
• It may be required where you’re located.

What Type of Insurance Do I Need for My Law Practice?

Insurance for lawyers can be designed to include a bundle of various policies, each of which can protect law practices and self-employed lawyers from common risks and liabilities. When designing your law practice’s business insurance coverage, we may recommend these three core plans as part of your foundational policy:

Professional Liability Insurance

No matter what field you specialize in, it’s safe to say that as a lawyer, you likely spend a lot of your time advising clients. Additionally, your clients trust in that advice, as they look to you to help them stay on the right side of the law.

But what happens if you inadvertently give bad advice to a client?

That’s where professional liability insurance (PL) can help.

Lawyers professional liability insurance covers you and your business if your client claims that your business or you were negligent in providing your professional services. Additionally, if you have people working for you, lawyers PL insurance can cover your employees.

So when it comes to protecting your business, what does all of this mean?

Let’s look at an example of professional liability insurance in action. A client hires a lawyer to write up a contract, specifying what needs to be in it. However, the lawyer rushes through the job and leaves critical information out of the contract. The client doesn’t notice the omission and uses the contract; as a result, the client gets in trouble for it. Consequently, the client blames the lawyer and sues for negligence.

In this scenario, professional liability insurance may cover the cost of hiring an attorney and any paid-out claims (up to the policy limit). Having this protection means a lawyer likely does not have to dip into the business or personal bank account to cover those fees. That’s why this coverage is recommended for lawyers, as it offers protection against common risks within the profession.

To summarize, here’s what professional liability coverage for lawyers can cover:

• Negligence or alleged negligence
• Legal defense costs
• Omissions or alleged omissions
• Claims and damages
• And more

Keep in mind that PL insurance usually doesn’t cover:

• Intentional acts and omissions
• Property damage
• Medical expenses
• Bodily injury
• And more

Commercial General Liability Insurance

If you have an office or rent a space where clients meet you, it’s likely you’ll need commercial general liability insurance. This policy type — also known as general liability (GL) insurance — covers costs associated with third-party accidents, damages to property, and bodily injury to a third party (e.g., a client or vendor).

General liability insurance is largely regarded as a foundational policy, and for good reason: it can protect you from hefty claims and costs. For example, the average customer injury or damage claim — something that GL covers — is a whopping $30,000.

That means without general liability coverage, you may have to pay for all of those costs out of your own pocket.

Let’s dive into this a little deeper and explore an example of GL insurance for lawyers in action. Say that a client walks into your office and trips on the loose carpet. The client tries to catch himself falling, which causes him to break his wrist. Your general liability coverage typically would cover the client’s medical bills, as well as legal costs if he takes you to court.

To recap, here’s what general liability insurance usually can cover:

• Bodily injury to another person
• Third-party property damage
• Personal and advertising injury
• Medical expenses
• And more

Now check out what general liability insurance usually doesn’t cover:

• Damage to your own property
• Professional services
• Workers compensation or injury to your employees
• Damage to your work
• Automobiles while in business use
• Expected or intentional injury or damage
• And more

Workers Compensation Insurance

Do you have full-time or part-time employees in your law practice? If so, you may be required to have workers compensation insurance. This coverage can cover costs associated with an employee’s injury or illness while they’re working for you.

Most states require business owners with employees to carry some form of workers compensation coverage; check to see your state’s laws.

Having workers compensation insurance can be a critical component to running a successful law practice. After all, it’s estimated that the average work injury cost is about $41,000, with a staggering $170.8 billion worth of claims in 2018 alone.

As you can see, it’s a good idea to have workers compensation insurance as part of your overall legal services insurance coverage, even if you have only one or two part-time employees.

In general, workers compensation insurance for lawyers can cover:

• Medical payments
• Lost wages
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Death benefits

Why Should I Get Insurance for My Law Practice?

You know the importance of keeping yourself protected from liabilities — you’re a lawyer, after all!

Maybe you’re not sure if you need business insurance right now. Maybe you’re a self-employed lawyer working out of your home, or you’re just starting your business and want to minimize your expenses for the first few months.

Here’s the thing: business insurance can be essential to limiting the liabilities you’re exposed to, even if you’re operating out of a home office or you currently have only a few clients. What happens if a client visits you for a consultation and trips on your walkway? Or what if you have a client who’s unhappy with your work and sues you — even if you did everything right?

The truth is, we can minimize our liabilities and risks, but that doesn’t mean they can’t happen. Just take a look at the most common incidents that can befall small business owners, including how much they cost on average:

• Reputational Harm — $50,000
• Client Injury or Damage — $30,000
• Client Slip and Fall — $20,000

Those incidents come with hefty price tags. Fortunately, if you have protection with law firm insurance coverage, your policy could cover some or all of the costs of any claims or lawsuits you may encounter.

Speaking of lawsuits, you may already know how litigious our society can be. Did you know that up to 43% of small business owners have reported being threatened with or involved in a civil lawsuit?

That means a client of yours could sue you for claims of negligence or damages they’ve experienced as a result of your services — even if you did everything right.

Don’t put your money or your business at risk. At Simply Business, we make it easy to find the right insurance plan at the right price. Just answer a few questions about your business and you can compare free quotes from the nation’s top insurers.

Best of all, we can provide you with a certificate of insurance (COI) so you can start showing proof of coverage to clients, vendors, and more.

Because at Simply Business, we make getting insured, well, simple!

Lawyer Insurance FAQs

• Is lawyer insurance required by law?

  Since law firm insurance may be a bundle of various business policies, you may be required to carry some coverage, but not others.

  For example, your state may require workers compensation coverage if you have employees, but not require you to carry general liability insurance. Or the landlord where your law office is located may contractually require you to carry GL insurance as part of your lease agreement.

• Is lawyer insurance tax-deductible?

  In general, the cost of your lawyer insurance premiums is tax-deductible by the IRS. It’s best to talk to an accountant if you have questions about your business’s deductible expenses.

• How much lawyer insurance will I need?

  The amount of coverage your business may need will depend on:

  • The size of your practice
  • Your practice’s location
  • Your annual revenue and payroll
  • And more

  If you’re not sure what you need, don’t worry: our quote form is designed to recommend the right insurance plans for you, based on your answers.

  If you have more questions, our licensed insurance agents are available and will be happy to assist you!

• What should I consider before buying insurance for my law practice?

  If you’re ready to get your free quotes, we recommend having the following information on hand to expedite the process:

  • Annual revenue estimates
  • Payroll estimates
  • Information on any previous claims
• Does insurance for lawyers differ by state?

  It can, as your state may have a different insurance requirement for lawyers than another state (especially when it comes to workers compensation insurance).

  That’s why our quote process works. Our questions can narrow down the right insurance policies for you based on your business needs, as well as any requirements your state may have regarding insurance coverage.

• What does business insurance for lawyers cover?

  Lawyer insurance coverage depends on the policies that are bundled together to meet your business’s needs. If you opt for general liability, professional liability, and workers comp, insurance for lawyers can cover:

  • Bodily injury
  • Accidents and damages
  • Employee injuries
  • Negligence or alleged negligence
  • And more
• How much does insurance for law practices cost?

  The cost of lawyer insurance differs depending on your business and its needs, so it’s tough to provide an exact answer here. But in general, you can expect the price of your insurance premiums to be determined by:

  • Payroll and revenue estimates
  • The location of your business
  • The specific services you offer
  • And more

  Want to see how much your lawyer insurance may cost? Just click here and get free quotes from some of the top insurers in the country.

Why Choose Simply Business?

When it comes to lawyer insurance, there are a lot of choices out there — and it can get a bit overwhelming.

But with Simply Business, we make it easy to choose an insurance policy that covers your business. We’re an online insurance brokerage that works with small business owners to find and compare top policies from the most trusted insurance names in the business.

We’re also one of the fastest-growing online providers of small business insurance, meaning thousands of customers trust us to protect their growing businesses.

So why choose Simply Business? It’s, well, simple:

We’re fast and affordable. We know you have a busy schedule. That’s why we make it easy to find and compare plans that are personalized to your business — all in under 10 minutes.

We’re flexible with coverage. Whether you need increased coverage because you hired a new employee or a COI to show a client, we’re here to help.

We get your business. Forget one-size-fits-all insurance. Get the protection you need as a lawyer, when you need it the most.

After all, you’ve worked hard to build your brand as a lawyer. That’s why we offer the best coverage to protect your business.

This content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal, tax, accounting, investment, or any other form of professional advice.