Insurance for virtual assistants

Why do VAs need professional indemnity insurance?

You don’t.

It’d be great if we could say that and mean it. But we can’t.

Mistakes happen, accusations are made, solicitors get involved and clients want payback. Rightly or wrongly these things happen every day and, sooner or later, you could be on the receiving end.

A claim won’t go away if you ignore it. And there are no shortcuts. You have to Do Something About It.

So, you need professional indemnity insurance because you have a VA business to run; because you have limited funds; because you’re not legally trained; and because your reputation matters.

What else is there?

How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?

Professional indemnity insurance protects your VA business. No one else’s.

So you have to decide what level of cover is enough for you. Consider what you do, who you do it for, and how much it’s worth. Think about your worst-case scenario and what could go wrong. What’s the most expensive mistake you could make (or be accused of making)?

Always bear in mind that you can’t have too much cover. Your legal defence can cost many tens of thousands of pounds – and that’s before the compensation bill from your client arrives. Your level of cover has to be enough to cover all of this.

Oh, and be sure to check your contracts. Some clients may specify certain limits before they’ll work with you.

It’s a tricky one to get right. Have a read of this guide to virtual assistants’ cover 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 – writing or saying the wrong thing.
• Infringing intellectual property rights – such as trademarks and copyright.
• Lost or damaged documents.
• Negligent misrepresentation or misstatement.
• Dishonesty – by your employees or subcontractors.
• Breach of confidentiality – sharing information you weren’t mean to.

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.

Why do virtual assistants need cyber insurance?

Do you know what to do if a cybercriminal targets your computer or if you accidentally send some confidential data to the wrong person? You can’t just hide behind a screen and hope it goes away. There are things you need to do and people you have to tell.

Cyber insurance pays to contact the people who need to know. It also pays for data retrieval, ransom negotiations, and security fixes. And it covers human error, lost income, and the costs of a data breach.

If your systems or website need repairing, your insurance pays to get your VA business back up and running asap with minimal disruption and lost revenue.

And if you need it, cyber insurance will help with your reputation. It’ll pay for PR and crisis management support to keep clients on your side.

You can read more about all the reasons why virtual assistants need cyber insurance. But whichever way you slice it, just being online means there’s a risk. Cyber insurance is there to give you a helping hand if things go wrong in your virtual world.

What else do I need?

VA work often involves juggling lots of tasks for lots of people. Insurance for virtual assistants takes care of the things you might not have time to tackle when you’re busy. Like all the legal legwork involved in fighting a claim.

Public liability insurance is for when you go out and about on business, or have visitors to your office. 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 office (furniture, plants, fixed IT equipment etc) and portable insurance covers gadgets and technical equipment away from the office (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 office is 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 choose us?

Our team of friendly, qualified advisers are just a phone call away. They’re real people, in a real office (a pretty rare occurrence these days). And they know what your business needs. They won’t bamboozle you with jargon either.

If you already know what you need and you’re looking for speed, you can get a quote and buy your insurance online in a matter of minutes. And have documents delivered directly to your inbox.

There are other good reasons to choose us too. You’ll get free stuff like this ‘I’m insured’ badge. And we’ll even reward you when you recommend us.

Need some extra reassurance? Head to our customer feedback page (not to boast, but we’re platinum-rated) and hear it from the people that matter.