Graphic Designer Insurance
Monday, 2 March 2020
You’re a graphic designer. You are a passionate, creatively-minded professional responsible for planning and managing the production of visual communication media for your clients. Insurance for your business is probably one of the last things on your mind, but as a graphic designer, you are exposed to potential claims that can be made against you regarding copyright infringement. In addition, if you own or rent an office space and have valuable equipment used for your projects, you may also need protection for property damage or theft. Luckily, insurance coverage can help against claims arising from these risks. When it comes to getting graphic designer insurance to protect your business, you must understand the risks and then find out the best way to mitigate them.
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What are some of the risks?
- You work with intellectual property, patents, and copyrighted items on a regular basis. How would you afford legal fees if there was a copyright claim or your client accused you of causing harm to their brand?
- Cybersecurity risks exist in this technology-based profession. How would you deal with a security breach of clients’ private information?
- Computers and technology don’t always co-operate. What would you do if you had a hardware malfunction and couldn’t complete your tasks by agreed-upon deadlines? What would happen if your equipment was infected with viruses that caused corrupted files?
- Your equipment is vital to your livelihood. If your property was damaged or stolen, what would you fall back on?
- Injuries can happen in your office space. How would you handle a client’s injury that occurred on your property?
Professional Liability Insurance
Professional Liability Insurance is especially important to you as a graphic designer. This will protect you from claims made against you for errors or omissions while providing your service. These could be actual or alleged errors, plagiarism, or any copyright claims. If your client feels as though you have caused them a financial disservice, they have the potential to sue you, whether their claims are true or not. Professional liability insurance is there to help pay for any financial loss you have incurred over the span of a lawsuit, including your legal defense and any settlements you must pay to your client. These lawsuits can arise from something as simple as a spelling mistake on an important document, a client that is not satisfied with the quality service you provided, or a breach of contract such as not finishing a project by a certain deadline. Essentially, this coverage is there to help get you back on your feet and in the same financial position before a loss.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance helps cover several things, including third-party bodily injury, property damage, the cost of medical bills for third-party injuries, the cost to replace damaged property as well as your legal defense from lawsuits arising from any of these claims. For example, if one of your clients slips and falls on your business property or if your employee damages a client’s property, you will be covered with this type of insurance.
Other Types of Coverage
Commercial Property Insurance: If you are working out of a leased or owned space that is not your own home, consider commercial property insurance. This protects the building you work out of as well as the property you own, including computers, supplies or furniture. If your property is damaged by weather, fire, or theft, this coverage may help to repair it.
Cyber Coverage: Because graphic design is a technological profession, this coverage could be important. If you are working on computers, you are at risk of having private client information breached, extorsion, hacking, or hardware malfunction. This coverage helps protect your business if it suffers from these risks and can help manage the costs that are associated with this type of loss.
Business Interruption Insurance: If your property is damaged, and you have to close your business for a period of time while it is being repaired, this coverage would help that financial loss of income. This usually is included with your commercial property coverage, but it is a good idea to check with your broker to make sure.
Tips to Avoid a Claim
- Communicate effectively with your clients and staff and establish a good working relationship
- Ensure any employees and clients have the same understanding of responsibility, deadlines, and fees
- Know how to properly deal with intellectual property and copyright law
- Maintain records of all correspondence; send follow-up emails from any in-person or telephone conversation for accountability and accuracy
- Keep backups of work you have sent to the client
- Create proper procedures to ensure the quality of your work
- Make sure that anything you design is approved by your client
We want you to be able to enjoy your job free of worry. With graphic designer insurance, you can do what you love with peace of mind knowing that you are protected from potential mistakes that can damage your business. If you’re interested in learning more about insurance for graphic designers, start by giving us a call and having a conversation about your business to see how we can help protect you.
You can also start your quote right now, online!
