IGX

Let me throw something out there for your comments, especially if you work in some kind of professional services business.

Lots of companies have a policy requiring that construction contractors carry liability insurance. Not a big deal for the contractor - one phone call to the insurance agent, they send a standard certificate of insurance to the company, the company files it, and the deal can be done. Sometimes they ask that this be part of the bid, sometimes they make it a condition when accepting the bid.

So the question for anyone that works in professional services type work, lawyers, CPAs, etc. - do companies or individuals routinely ask for proof of liability / errors & omissions insurance? If it isn't routine, would it tick you off if someone asked for it?

It's very routine and I don't know why it would tick someone off.

ccrow wrote:Let me throw something out there for your comments, especially if you work in some kind of professional services business.

Lots of companies have a policy requiring that construction contractors carry liability insurance. Not a big deal for the contractor - one phone call to the insurance agent, they send a standard certificate of insurance to the company, the company files it, and the deal can be done. Sometimes they ask that this be part of the bid, sometimes they make it a condition when accepting the bid.

So the question for anyone that works in professional services type work, lawyers, CPAs, etc. - do companies or individuals routinely ask for proof of liability / errors & omissions insurance? If it isn't routine, would it tick you off if someone asked for it?

I deal with this a lot on the automotive side. My expectation is it would be a much bigger deal in construction, because construction has the most serious accidents of all industries regulated by OSHA. You can't have contractors showing up and increasing their clients' liability by not carrying insurance. The should be carrying their own workman's comp insurance, at a minimum. Once in a while I'll see a company bragging about this, and it's the rough equivalent to Chris Rock's joke about guys who brag about taking care of their kids.

In any case, I would expect this to be very routine, and anybody who gets ticked I would take a hard look at. They may not be carrying the proper insurance, which can really fuck over their clients.

ccrow wrote:So the question for anyone that works in professional services type work, lawyers, CPAs, etc. - do companies or individuals routinely ask for proof of liability / errors & omissions insurance? If it isn't routine, would it tick you off if someone asked for it?

IMHO individuals seldom ask, but companies often do.

For example-- individual CPA does your taxes, screws it up (his fault, not yours), CPA dies or declares bankruptcy, you get audited and found at fault-- who pays for the mistake? If the CPA didn't have insurance, you do.

As a customer, if I ask about liability insurance for worst case scenarios, I feel I'm just exercising due caution. Anybody who gets mad at just the question has lost me for sure. It means he doesn't care if he has a disaster and takes me down with him.

When we go out to procurement in the UK, it's pretty much standard to ask for proof of the following insurance;

- Professional Indemnity (particularly in design and build);
- Employers Liability;
- Public and Products Liability.

I would consider it professional negligence not to ask for proof in the UK.

Sorry ccrow; that's in relation to the construction industry. I don't know how that plays out across other industries, but at the very least I would as for Proffesional Indemnity. As much as you may trust the person/organisation, do you really want to be left with a bill when they feed you shoddy advice?

Standard practice.

Even down here in the land of "No worries mate", we are often asked for these things. It's purely a formality, no offense ever taken.

When I had the engineering consultancy I carried the documents in the car to ensure no problems with site access. Would email them out so my regular clients had them on file. For some of the bigger clients I had to show that they were current every quarter year.

With the Chiro practice, my landlord asks for the professional indemnity and workers compensation insurances every year. Even when doing volunteer work the homeless shelter had to confirm I was covered before proceeding. I am supposed to have all of these certs on display in my practice, space practicalities dictate otherwise, but they are there in a drawer.

Thanks for the input gang. I don't mind being asked - I know it's SOP. In fact it's usually a good sign, shows the prospective client is squared away, responsible, and well run. That kind of customer is more likely to know good work when they see it, not to mention they probably pay their bills. (The exception would be local government projects, sometimes red tape is just red tape.)

With anyone but the a lawyer or accountant, I can just say it's something my lawyer / accountant insists I do; but asking the accountant and especially the lawyer, feels a little delicate. You know what primadonnas people can be.

ccrow wrote:
With anyone but the a lawyer or accountant, I can just say it's something my lawyer / accountant insists I do; but asking the accountant and especially the lawyer, feels a little delicate. You know what primadonnas people can be.

Can't speak for accountants, but in many states (including CA, where I practice) lawyers are required by law inform potential clients if they don't carry E&O insurance.

Bud Charniga's grape ape wrote:

ccrow wrote:
With anyone but the a lawyer or accountant, I can just say it's something my lawyer / accountant insists I do; but asking the accountant and especially the lawyer, feels a little delicate. You know what primadonnas people can be.

Can't speak for accountants, but in many states (including CA, where I practice) lawyers are required by law inform potential clients if they don't carry E&O insurance.

CPAs do not have to have liability insurance in Georgia.

I would not be offended is a customer asked ccrow.

If a CPA or attorney were struggling financially, insurance would be one of the first things they'd let lapse.

Thanks for the additional input gentlemen.