Do School Counselors Need Their Own Insurance Policy?
When something goes wrong, the last thing you want to worry about is whether you’re properly insured or not. That’s why it’s important for school counselors to get professional liability insurance, which will cover them if they make a mistake in the workplace, or an unsatisfied parent decides the counselor harmed their child or gave bad advice. School counselors will be under more pressure than usual in the coming school year. Read on to find out what kind of coverage you might need and how you can find an insurance policy that’s competitively priced and provides you with excellent service.
Do School Counselors Need Insurance?
There are several types of insurance available, and if you’re a new counselor, you might be confused about which type you need. Fortunately, you will only need one type of insurance: professional liability, as general liability is provided by the business you work for. You will simply need to cover yourself in case a mistake happens while you’re practicing in your professional field.
Professional Liability
Although you’re a highly trained professional, mistakes can happen. If a student is negatively affected as a result of a session with you, they or their parents may decide to start a lawsuit. This can also happen if you fail to provide the promised service. For such situations, you will need liability insurance that covers you. Even if you are employed full-time you should have your own policy. The school may have some coverage for you, but their policy is unlikely to fully cover the costs of a lawsuits if one were to arise against you. And remember, the school’s insurance is in place to protect the school, you want a policy and a legal team looking out for your interests.
General Liability
You don’t need to get your own general liability insurance because your school or institution will already have it. However, while this type of insurance doesn’t relate to you and your work directly, it’s good to know what it covers.
Sometimes people get injured on a company’s or school’s premises, and they can sue for damages in such a case. They might ask for compensation for medical costs, loss of income, emotional distress, and more. In addition, the business will also have to hire an attorney to represent them in court. Fortunately, all of these costs can be covered with a general liability policy.
What’s Covered
Your professional liability insurance will pay for any attorney fees you accrue, administrative and legal court fees, license protection, HIPAA and other regulatory fines. You also receive expert legal representation that’s well-versed in representing counselors.
Choosing Your Insurance Policy
Now that you know what kind of policy you need, you may wonder where to find it. There are so many providers, so how can you find the best policy for your needs? There are several factors to consider, the most important being pricing, customer service, the experience you’re likely to have, and whether you will have good access to your policy. Ideally, it should be available directly after you sign up, so you can prove to your employer that you’re covered.
NOW Insurance makes it easy to compare our policy to others. You can get a quote in under 3 minutes from our online application without having to talk to anyone.
Pricing
One of the most important considerations will be price, as you need a quality product, but you don’t want to overspend on insurance. This is especially true if you are a new counselor just starting out in your career. At NOW Insurance, we offer comprehensive and reliable plans that don’t break the bank. The reason why our plans are so competitive is that we provide our service directly to the consumer and there’s no middle-man or agent who needs to be paid.
Customer Service
Another major factor is whether the company you choose will offer you good customer service. While you may not be too worried about this under normal circumstances, it will be crucial that you can reach your insurance company in the event of a claim being made against you. A high-quality provider will be available 24/7, so you can speak to them as soon as a problem crops up.
In addition to easy around-the-clock access to employees, your chosen company should also make it simple for you to navigate their website. By offering features like a free quote and a user-friendly portal, they can make the experience of finding and choosing insurance much more efficient for you.
Experience and Positive Ratings
Before you make a final decision, you should consider what other counselors like you are saying about the insurance company. If the reviews are consistently good, you can rest assured that you’ve found a high-quality provider you can rely on. You can usually find client testimonials on the company’s website.
Online and Immediate Access
Finally, you should consider whether an insurance company will allow you to access your policy and certificate of insurance immediately after you purchase it. Depending on your situation, this could be important, for example, if you need to prove to your employer that you are covered. Knowing that you don’t have to think about insurance again and that you can always access your policy online can provide you with peace of mind.
As a school counselor you likely chose your profession out of a love for working with kids and a genuine desire to help people. While you would never intentionally harm a student, mistakes do happen and in this line of work your actions and advice can be received in a multitude of ways due to the diverse populations you serve. Insurance is a must so that you can practice with peace of mind and know you are covered if you make a mistake.
Finding a good provider can seem daunting at first, but counselors can consider the price, customer service, ratings, and online access options when making their decisions. Learn more about insurance for counselors and get a quote from our application.
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