Five Reasons Why Marketing Consultants Need Insurance

Marketing agencies, advertising or public relations firms, or other similar professional service organizations may wonder why and what kind of business insurance they need to carry to protect themselves, their employees, and their company. The answer to that question depends on several factors and is definitely not a one-size-fits-all proposition. To help you sort through the reasons, here are the top five reasons why marketers may want to invest in various insurance policies.

5 Reasons Marketers Need Insurance

Reason #1: It’s Legally Required

According to the Small Business Association, the federal government requires that any firm employing people must carry unemployment, disability and workers’ compensation insurance. Be sure to check with your specific state regarding any local insurance requirements for your marketing business as well. Both workers’ compensation and company auto insurance requirements may vary by state.

Reason #2: Your Clients Request It

Although this reason may not be terribly common, in some cases, a marketing client may request that you obtain professional liability (errors and omissions) to serve that company. In this situation, you’ll have to determine whether it’s worth the expense to comply in order to keep that particular client satisfied. Besides holding on to the client’s business, you’ll be obtaining some protection from your policy as well.

Reason #3: It’s Worth the Peace of Mind

Any decision regarding insurance really comes down to the risk tolerance of the individual making the choice. For marketing agencies, investing in business insurance can bring a certain peace of mind to protect the time and effort required to build the firm in the first place.

A professional and general liability policy can be a good basic investment, which can protect your firm should someone decide to sue you. A Business owners policy (BOP) may bundle property, liability or interruption insurance together under a single product offering. Professional liability insurance covers errors and omissions that may be relevant to your marketing organization. General liability is a must if you have a location or office that clients or vendors can visit, and maybe also be a good idea if you travel to visit clients or others. It follows you where you work.

Remember that the location of your firm may impact the cost of your liability policy. For instance, you may save some money if there is less general foot traffic in your area, which reduces the likelihood of injuries or accidents.

From a personal standpoint, you may want to look into an umbrella insurance policy that serves as a bit of a “catch all” outside your other insurance policies. These are infrequently used and, as a result, are often inexpensive.

Reason #4: You Own a Building or Have Partners

Although most marketing firms may rent an office building, if you happen to own your physical space, you’ll want to carry property insurance. These policies offer both liability and property-replacement components to protect your building from damages.

Keep in mind that the amount of coverage you carry should be commensurate to the property value where your building is located. In some areas of the country, this coverage may need to be significantly higher than in other areas. In addition, local risks such as likelihood of flooding, earthquakes, fires or other natural disasters may increase your premium or affect the insurability of your property.

If you happen to have one or more partners or an invaluable employee, you may consider purchasing a key person insurance policy, which is essentially a life insurance policy if a key individual dies.

Reason #5: You Have Specialty Concerns or Risks

Each marketing firm will have to evaluate for itself if there are other areas that warrant special insurance coverage.

• Auto coverage. For example, if your firm supplies company vehicles to employees, it should go without saying that you’ll need company auto insurance.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance. If you’re concerned about employee discrimination claims, you may want to invest in employment practices liability insurance that covers claims involving harassment, wrongful termination or discrimination.
• Cyber liability coverage. As our business world continues to move more and more online, it may become more common to purchase cyber liability or data breach insurance.
• Event cancellation insurance. If planning large events such as conferences and trade shows are part of your marketing firm’s service offerings, you may want to look into event cancellation insurance for emergencies, such as an unpredictable pandemic.

Fast, Easy, Affordable Insurance for Marketers

NOW Insurance has experienced professionals, skilled in understanding the unique insurance needs of marketing firms and individual consultants. As a result, we are able to create customized commercial insurance packages that will meet your needs and mitigate risk.

We offer professional liability insurance that will protect you against a lawsuit filed by an unhappy client claiming you have been negligent in delivering services as well as coverage for bodily injury and property damage related to the rendering of professional services. Get a free quote today in under 3 minutes. Contact us with any questions about coverage.