Welp MagazineYour business is all about helping people and you pride yourself on giving invaluable guidance to your clients. But as a life coach, insurance is important too, because like any self-employed professional, there are certain risks you need to protect yourself against. Taking out business insurance means you can work with the peace of mind of knowing you’re covered if anything goes wrong.
What is Professional Liability Insurance for Life Coaches?
Essentially, it protects your business from any costs associated with a claim that might go against you because of your work. It can cover issues like negligence, breaches of contractual obligation and unjust enrichment.
Unlike many other kinds of cover, a business insurance policy specifically made for life coaches can protect you in two main ways. Firstly, it will help with your legal expenses should you need defending in court. And secondly, it will help pay for the costs of any compensation ordered against you, should you be found guilty in a court of law.
What Will I Be Covered For?
There are several different categories of professional liability insurance for life coaches, each of which offers slightly different covers. Broadly, though, they will all help with any potential monetary losses you might suffer for one of the following reasons:
Negligence – someone experiences a significant monetary loss because of something you’ve done (or failed to do)
Breach of Contract – you break a contractual obligation with either a client or a third party
Unexpected Environmental Damage – someone experiences a significant monetary loss because of something you’ve done to harm an environment
Malicious Acts – you lose money because of something a third party has done due to you in an attempt to damage your business, or someone experiences a significant monetary loss because of a third party’s malice towards you
Unjust Enrichment – a plaintiff wins a claim against you because they were able to benefit from your work without properly paying for it
Product Liability – you experience a significant monetary loss because of a defect in a product you’re selling
How Can I Take Out a Policy?
There are many different policies available and each one will differ in price and the level of cover they provide. Finding the right one for your individual needs will be dependent on your personal circumstances and the way in which you plan to run your life coaching business.
Being insured will probably cost you a little more each month but the peace of mind it offers is well worth the price. Make sure you take out a policy that covers as much as you need, especially if you run a very lucrative business. Even if something does go wrong, you will be protected and will know that you will be able to keep your business afloat.
How to find the right Professional Liability Insurance for Life Coaches?
Life coaching is a profession that has its own specific risks and a specialist policy is the best way to ensure that you don’t lose everything. If you’re a life coach or you’re looking for help to become one, you can take a look at some of our other articles for more information. For instance, take a moment to see how traditional life coaching compares to hypnotherapy here:
How Much Does Professional Liability Insurance for Life Coaches Cost?
The cost of the policy will depend on what your business’s needs are, and your insurer will talk you through precisely what you need. The price will depend on a number of different factors including what kind of cover you want, the value of your business and the level of risk associated with it.
As with pretty much anything, though, you get what you pay for. If you have a big business with a lot of clients, then you’ll need a big policy. Certain types of insurance require specialist expertise, so if you’re going to work with a mentor, it’s probably a good idea to find someone who knows what they’re doing.
What If I Don’t Have Professional Liability Insurance for Life Coaches?
If you don’t take out business insurance, you may find yourself at a disadvantage if you ever need to make a claim. For instance, if an unsatisfied client takes you to court, you might find that you can’t defend yourself as well because you don’t have the proper resources. And, of course, you will also run the risk of losing out on any possible compensation you could have received.
There are some common pitfalls to avoid. For instance, not retaining clients’ written consent to have them as clients, not drafting a contract or not maintaining confidentiality. All of these things can have unwanted legal consequences.
What Do I Need to Look Out For?
While your business insurance will help you to cover the worst case scenarios, there are some common traps to avoid. For instance, make sure you read the small print of your business insurance policy. For example, in certain circumstances, you might find that your insurer won’t pay out for certain issues.
For instance, they might pay out for any claims that are made against you as a result of writing bad reviews on your website only if you have specifically agreed that you are happy to receive bad reviews, and if you have asked the person posting the review to confirm that you’ve not mistreated them in any way.
And, if you are unhappy with the way your life coaching business is going and you want to do something about it, then you might want to consider this course, which will teach you how to become an effective and ethical coach.
Don’t take the risk. Get Professional Liability Insurance for Life Coaches from a specialist insurer.
What Do You Think?
What do you think? Do you think life coaching is a profession that warrants the need for specific, specialist insurance? If you are looking into a career in life coaching, or have set up your own practice and want some insurance, make sure you check out the best deals on the market.
