If you’re a bookkeeper, you may think you don’t require professional indemnity insurance at all. After all, what harm could you really do – you know your industry inside out and would never dream of giving bad advice to your clients! The fact is, when it comes to offering and giving advice to clients in any form, professional indemnity insurance for bookkeepers is so important to cover you in the event of a slip up. If bad advice is given for any reason – this can also be negligence or omission of information – you could be up for some hefty penalties and/or forced to pay for your client’s associated costs should they suffer as a result. Not good for the client, not good for you, and certainly not good for your business. Read on to find out why professional indemnity insurance for bookkeepers is vital.
You Could Get Sued
You may think you are being extra careful, however even the most cautious of contractors can find themselves at the center of legal action if a client suffers financial loss as a result of bad advice. The last thing you want (well, second only to bankruptcy, possibly) is to be sued. Given this is your area of expertise, the damage to your businesses reputation as a result of being sued, in addition to financial implications, could mean the end of your business as you know it. Professional indemnity insurance for bookkeepers offers protection to you against these third parties who may try to sue you or your business due to an act, omission, negligence or breach of professional duty that may have resulted in loss or damages for them.
It Is Often a Legal Requirement
Contrary to what you may think or have heard, many industries actually require by law to be covered by professional indemnity insurance. For bookkeepers, this is also the case, along with lawyers, accountants, health professionals and others. In other words, you are legally forbidden to practice or give advice unless you are covered and depending on your state.
You Can Rest Easy
One of the more difficult things when running your own business is no doubt the amount of stress you take on, particularly in work that requires dishing out advice. When it comes to advising clients on issues to do with money and other emotion-driven subjects, even the tiniest slip up can rock client relationships and enable mayhem to ensue. If you are well prepared with the right insurance for bookkeepers, you can rest easy in knowing that you are covered in the event one of your clients takes legal action against something you have advised them to do, and they have suffered a loss as a result. Professional indemnity insurance for bookkeepers is therefore so important to the health of your client relationships and running of your business as it can cover you and pay out costs. That’s one less thing off your worry list at night, right?
Now you’re aware of the reasons why you need professional indemnity insurance for bookkeepers, find out how you can cover yourself, by organising a quote online or calling our office on 1300 GETCOVER (1300 492 862) to speak to our Contractor Cover real-life team.
