Bookkeeping Insurance

If you are running a bookkeeping business or are about to start one then you need to ensure you have adequate cover in the form of public liability bookkeeping insurance against potential mistakes.

Although it not a legal or membership requirement like accountants it's good practice to insure against potential mistakes made in your business.

Types of Insurance Cover Available

As with all professions a bookkeeper has direct contact with people and companies even if you are operating alone and don't have staff to control as you are offering professional advice you have a duty of care over the advice provided.

Sometimes that may be incorrect for one reason or another and your client may incur a financial loss and may seek compensation for you. That's where certain insurance policies help mitigate the complete cost of any award made against you by the courts and the legal expenses to cover the costs of any claim.

There are two main types of insurance for bookkeeping businesses and they are pubic liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance.

What is Bookkeepers Professional Indemnity Insurance ?

Professional indemnity insurance or PI covers you against professional business mistakes made through professional advice where the third party incurs a financial loss of some nature because they used the advice they paid for which later turned out not to be true or better advice was available.

It depends on the turnover of your business as to the amount of cover you require but generally most businesses have cover of around £1-£2million annually and this will have a premium of £150-£200 per year.

It covers the cost to settle any claims, the legal costs, and usually includes items such as slander, liable and breach of copyright. This is the insurance that most professionals have as standard.

Click here to get a professional indemnity quote

What is Bookkeepers Public Liability Insurance ?

Public liability insurance (or PL) covers you if you deal face to face with the public and cover your business if it causes injury or death to a member of the public or damage to their property and covers the compensation payments and legal fees associated with any claims.

If you are a bookkeeper who works from home then it's unlikely you'll need this cover but if you go to your clients' offices, place of work or their own home business then it's worth thinking about.

It's not a legal requirement but most businesses get cover of £2million as the cost of claims is increasing raidly.

Click here to get a public liability quote

Office Insurance

These days the cost of equipment in your office is very high and sometimes not covered by home contents insurance (as you have to specify whether you are using your home as an office and most people don't tick the right box) so having office insurance could be critical.

Some policies also allow you to insure against loss of earnings due to business interuption such as flooding or storm damage. Additionally, by choosing office insurance some insurers also included public liability and professional indemnity cover as well.

Click here to get an office insurance quote

So those are the main bookkeeping insurance products you should consider as life as a bookkeeper. Compare quotes online to get the best deal but check the small print for any exclusions or excesses you may have to pay.

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