Copywriters’ professional indemnity insurance

Why do copywriters need professional indemnity insurance?

Some sparkling product copy here. An SEO-friendly blog post there. A punchy direct mail to seal the deal. Easy as that.

Or is it?

What happens when your client’s website doesn’t convert? Or they drop off Google page one? Or those mailers cost far more than they return? Your clients want value for their marketing money and they’ll ask you some tricky questions if they think they’re not getting it.

Give the wrong answers and things can turn sour pretty quickly.

Oh, and you’ve heard of plagiarism, right? Thanks to the internet, complaints about your work can come from anywhere – not just your clients. You can prove those words are yours but doing so takes time (away from your business) and money (for a solicitor).

So, can you risk your business – and your reputation – fighting negligence allegations? Having professional insurance means you won’t have to. Your insurer takes on your defence, pays your legal bills and, if needs be, compensates your client too.

How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?

Copywriters’ insurance protects your business. No one else’s.

And as every copywriter has different clients – wanting different things – you need to think about what can go wrong with yours. Here’s where it pays to be pessimistic. Think about worst-case scenario: what’s the most expensive mistake you could make (or be accused of making)? How much will it cost to fix?

The bill to defend you can be many tens of thousands of pounds, and the bill to compensate your client even more. Your level of cover has to be enough for all this.

You can never have too much cover, of course, but that costs money. It’s a tricky one to get right. Have a read of this guide or call us if you need more help.

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Negligence claims and allegations made against you by clients and third parties, because of mistakes you’ve made and things you’ve failed to do.

Specifically (but depending on the policy wording):

• Defamation
• Intellectual property infringement
• Loss of documents or data
• Negligent misrepresentation or misstatement
• Employee dishonesty
• Virus transmission
• Breach of confidentiality
• Failure of third-party equipment

But that’s not all. Some professional indemnity policies can fix a mistake before your client is even aware of it, thereby preventing a claim in the first place.

Clever stuff.

What else do I need?

Public liability insurance is for when you go out and about on business, or have visitors to your studio. It’s for claims of physical damage to property and people. Useful if you’re clumsy.

Employers’ liability insurance covers your business if an employee sues it for damages. Claims are usually because they’ve suffered injuries and illnesses as a consequence of working for you. It’s a legal requirement for UK businesses with employees.

Office and property insurance covers the things in your studio (furniture, plants, fixed IT equipment etc) and portable insurance covers gadgets and technical equipment away from the studio (laptops, tablets, projectors etc). If you’re not sure it’s worth insuring, add it all up – it’s probably worth more than you think.

Business interruption insurance means you can still work when your studio’s out of action. Be it flood, fire or flea infestation, you’re covered for the costs of setting up elsewhere and for any lost revenue in that time.

Directors’ and officers’ insurance covers your company bosses. Anyone from regulators to shareholders to competitors can accuse you of not running a business with due care. Worse, directors are personally liable for their actions. The good thing is this insurance covers your defence costs and any compensation you have to pay. So you can put away your chequebook.

Why should I buy my insurance from you?

Glad you asked.

The simple answer is: we know what we’re doing. Professional insurance is all we do so we know what you need, even if you don’t.

We also know that buying insurance can be, well, a bit of a pain. So we make sure getting yours is quick and hassle-free.

We do all that while treating you like a human being, too. You won’t find a call centre here. Or a phone menu. And we’ve banned nonsense insurance jargon.

Anything else? Well, there’s the great stuff you get, such as an ‘I’m insured!’ badge for your website – perfect for the professional professional.

Also, we’ll give you money each time you recommend us.

If you’re after a second opinion, have a look at our customers’ feedback. They’re the ones you should really listen to.