Private Investigator Insurance–Making Sure You’re Covered
Each day on the job, private investigators put themselves at a substantial amount of risk regardless of the job they are performing, whether they are conducting physical surveillance for a child custody or divorce case or searching hard drives for evidence.
Privacy laws, confidentiality agreements, and the frequently emotionally-charged clients that private investigators deal with on a daily basis make them prime candidates for lawsuits. And because lawsuits against PIs, no matter how baseless or petty, are growing, having adequate private investigator insurance is a must.
Why You Need Private Investigator Insurance
All PIs and their employees and subcontractors should have professional liability insurance for private investigators. This is designed to protect them from a wide range of lawsuits, including:
- Defamation of character
- Invasion of privacy
- Bodily injury
- Libel/slander
- Errors and omissions
- Fidelity bonds
- Assault and battery coverage
Professional Liability Insurance for Private Investigators
The most important type of private investigator insurance is professional liability insurance for private investigators. Also known as Errors and Omission E&O) insurance, this will help protect PIs against lawsuits that result from mistakes or errors they make. For example, let’s say a private investigator is hired by a large company to conduct multiple background checks and mistakenly overlooks negative marks on several potential employees. The company hires these individuals, then learns of the mistakes and fires them after putting them through the expense of training. The company then sues the private investigator for his mistake. Private investigator insurance would cover defense costs as well as any settlements or judgments ruled in the plaintiff’s favor.
How Much Coverage Do I Need?
The amount of private investigator insurance coverage you purchase will end up depending on your budget, your client base, and so forth. A good place to start would be $1 million per occurrence in general liability, which protects against bodily injury and property damage, and $1 million per occurrence in professional liability. Keep in mind that most policies will have an aggregate limit typically between $2 million and $3 million on a $1 million policy, which is the most the insurance company will pay per policy.
Saving on Private Investigator Insurance
Most people want to save money on their business insurance, and the best way to do so is to shop around and compare multiple quotes. This can be time consuming, unless you use netquote.com. This site has all the information you need on different types of professional liability insurance for private investigators and will provide multiple quotes quickly and easily for free, so you can spend less time worrying about insurance and more time focusing on your business.
See how much you could save today on your insurance. Get your free business insurance quotes today!
