Interior Design Business Insurance: Quotes From $5

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As an interior designer, what insurance do you need? You’ll need general liability insurance and professional liability insurance. You might also find commercial property, workers' compensation, and other insurance policies equally useful.

Insurance can help sort things out if the wrong carpets are bought from the carpet shop, independent contractors get injured while working with you, or when business operations are put to a sudden halt. In this guide, you learn the functions and limits of each interior design insurance policy. We’ll also discuss the cost of premiums and which companies provide the best coverage.

Professional Indemnity Insurance for Interior Designers

Similar to architects, you also need professional indemnity insurance. Also called professional liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance for interior designers provides a helping hand when a client files a claim because:

• You didn’t finish the interior design project on time

• The output you provided doesn’t match with what the client paid for

• Your interior design firm inflated costs to increase sales

• You’re allegedly negligent and didn’t do the work you were hired for

• Items, which the client paid for and asked you to get, weren’t delivered

• You left a client’s project without completing it to prioritize another client who gives a better commission

This business insurance for interior designers is important because clients can hold you liable if there are issues with your work.

Each time a client files a claim against you for negligence, breach of contract, violation of fair dealing, inaccurate advice, or missed deadlines, professional indemnity insurance will take care of these costs:

• Settlement or reimbursement for the economic loss of the client

• Defense costs such as attorney fees, court filing fees, investigation fees, etc.

• Court judgments

Note that professional liability insurance doesn’t help if your interior design business caused property damage or bodily injuries.

Professional liability is commonly available as a stand-alone interior designer insurance policy. But some insurance companies offer professional liability insurance as an optional coverage in general liability insurance.

General Liability Insurance for Interior Designers

General liability insurance provides protection against claims for bodily injuries or property damage. Many clients will look for this before working with you. Your interior design firm will find general liability insurance useful when:

• A client, visitor, or contractor slips and falls while in the premises of your interior design firm’s office

• The client’s property sustained damage while a structure or furniture is being installed

• Your interior design firm’s office burns in flames and damages surrounding properties

• An independent contractor sustains injuries and property damage while working with your interior design firm

Every time a claim for bodily injury or property damage is filed, general liability insurance will help your interior design business pay for these expenses:

• Medical treatments or reimbursement for property damage

• Settlements

• Defense costs such as attorney fees, court filing fees, administrative costs, and others

• Court judgments

Optional Coverages In The General Liability Insurance for Interior Designers

By having general liability, your interior design firm isn’t only protected from bodily injuries or property damage. The policy comes with optional coverages that grants protection against other perils. Optional coverages in general liability insurance are:

Advertising Injury Coverage

General liability insurance comes with advertising injury coverage. This will cover settlements, defense costs, and court judgments if a claim is filed against your interior design firm for slander or libel.

In addition, the advertising injury coverage of general liability insurance also applies if your interior design firm is accused of copying another business’s design, logo, or marketing material.

Advertising injury coverage is a common optional coverage. You’ll also find this in the general liability insurance for gas engineering firms, construction firms, plumbing businesses, and roofing contractors.

Rented Premises Liability Coverage

Rented premises liability coverage will indemnify the losses of the landlord in case a commercial space your interior design business is renting for a short time sustains damage because of a fire.

Products And Completed Operations Coverage

General liability with products and completed operations coverage covers claims filed after you delivered or completed an interior design project.

Commercial Property Insurance for Interior Designers

You can’t work without an office. Building one requires a lot of investment. So you also need an interior design business insurance that protects this property. Commercial property insurance protects your office, whether it’s a private office at home, a condo office, or a dedicated commercial building.

So how does this insurance work? Commercial property insurance reimburses losses and will allow you to pay for repair or reconstruction in case your interior design office becomes damaged or lost due to:

• Fire

• Theft

• Vandalism

• Malicious mischief

• Riot

• Civil commotion

• Volcanic action

• Sinkhole collapse

• Sprinkler leakage

• Impact

• Aircraft

• Vehicle

• Rain

• Winds

• Snow

• Hail

Coverage also applies to your interior design office’s contents. And so, commercial property insurance will reimburse your loss if furniture, computer equipment, blueprints and other documents, digital cameras, drawing supplies, multi-tools, and other valuables get lost or damaged due to the perils we mentioned above.

Similar to other business insurance for interior designers, the policy has exclusions. Commercial property insurance won’t protect your interior design firm’s office and contents against war, earthquakes, landslides, mudslides, and floods.

How is Commercial Property Insurance for Interior Designers Underwritten?

Commercial property insurance for interior designers is underwritten as a replacement cost policy. This means that you get a full refund in case covered business property gets damaged or lost.

Also, depending on which company you decide to work with, commercial property insurance provides blanket coverage and can protect multiple business locations.

Workers Compensation Insurance for Interior Designers

Your interior design firm must purchase workers compensation insurance if it has one or more employees. Workers compensation insurance covers costs if an employee sustains an injury while providing an interior design service or doing other tasks for your business. Here are some situations where workers compensation insurance is useful:

• A heavy piece of furniture tips and your firm’s employee is crushed

• Your employee sustains carpal tunnel or eye strain

• An employee of your interior design firm falls from a height while inspecting a client’s home 

• An employee of your interior design firm slips and falls

You must also know the particular costs workers compensation insurance pays for on your behalf. By having this policy, your interior design firm can cover these expenses every time an employee sustains a work-related injury or disease:

EMT Service/Employee Medical Treatment

Workers compensation insurance provides the funds you can use to pay for EMT service and medical treatment if an accident happens at work and an employee needs to be rushed to the hospital or clinic for treatment. 

Hospitalization

If your employee needs to stay in the hospital, workers compensation insurance will cover the hospital bills for lodging, medical care and supplies, food, physician fees, and more. 

Medication

Insurance companies allow you to claim workers compensation insurance so that an employee can have the money for buying prescription medicines. 

Rehabilitation

Workers compensation insurance covers the cost of rehabilitation service and equipment so that an employee can work effectively once again or look for another job after sustaining a work-related injury.

Lost Wages

Workers compensation insurance covers the lost wages of your interior design firm’s employees. Your employee will receive a weekly allowance from the policy that’s equal to two-thirds or 67% of the average weekly wage. 

Death Benefits

Your interior design business can use workers compensation insurance to cover funeral expenses and grant an allowance to dependents if an employee dies due to a work related injury.

Does Workers Compensation Insurance Cover Disease? 

Aside from workplace injuries, workers compensation insurance also takes care of costs if an employee experiences heart attack, heat stroke, and other diseases. However, it must be clearly proven that these are work-related for coverage to apply.  

Interior Designer’s Commercial Auto Insurance

Consider purchasing commercial auto insurance if your interior design firm has its own commercial vehicle or if you use your personal car for it. 

This policy provides several coverages that cater to specific risks common in commercial vehicle ownership. Common coverages in commercial auto insurance are:

Auto Liability Coverage 

The auto liability coverage of commercial auto insurance provides help if your interior design firm’s commercial vehicle causes an accident. This covers the following costs:

• Medical treatment of the injured victims

• Funeral expenses in case the victims die

• Reimbursement for the losses of victims who had their property damaged

• Settlements

• Defense costs

• Court judgments

Physical Damage Coverage

The physical damage coverage of commercial auto insurance takes care of costs if your interior design firm’s commercial vehicle sustains damage. Insurance companies offer this as a collision or comprehensive coverage. 

Collision physical damage coverage takes care of costs if the commercial vehicle of your interior design firm collides with another vehicle or an object. 

On the other hand, comprehensive physical damage coverage covers expenses if fire, theft, vandalism, weather, and other covered perils caused the damage. 

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Commercial auto insurance comes with uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and grants a shield against other drivers. 

When a driver who is uninsured or doesn’t have enough auto liability insurance causes an accident, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will kick in and cover your commercial vehicle’s driver and passenger’s medical treatment. 

Medical Payments/Personal Injury Protection Coverage

Medical payments/personal injury protection coverage cover the medical treatment or property damage of the passenger and driver regardless if the accident is the fault of your interior design firm’s car or not. 

Employer’s Liability Insurance for Interior Designers

Employer’s liability insurance is offered as part of workers compensation insurance. This type of business insurance for interior designers will take care of costs if an employee decides to file a claim against your business after sustaining a work-related injury or disease.  Employer’s liability insurance will take care of these costs:

• Settlements

• Defense costs

• Court judgments

Cyber Liability Insurance for Interior Designers 

Does your interior design office process credit card payments, client accounts, and other sensitive information? 

Know that clients can sue you if their address, social security numbers, credit cards, and other sensitive information gets leaked because of your fault. Purchase cyber liability insurance for protection. This kind of interior designers insurance is useful if a data breach happens due to:

• Employee error

• Cybersecurity issues

• Cybercriminals

In connection, cyber liability insurance takes care of these costs each time a claim is filed:

• Public relations expenses

• Professional services for containing the breach

• Business interruption or lost income caused by the breach 

• Defense costs if affected parties decide to sue

• Court judgments 

Interior Designer Insurance Cost

The average interior designer insurance cost is about $44 per month or $528 per year for a $1 million general liability insurance policy. Here’s a table providing more insights on how much is business insurance for interior designers:

This second table shows the rates of the best companies’ $1 million general liability policy for a small-medium interior design business:

The actual interior designer insurance cost depends on a wide range of factors. The size of your interior design business will be the largest factor that will impact the cost of your insurance.

This makes sense when you consider that a larger interior design company will have more clients. The more clients that you have, the higher the chance that you will end up making a mistake that may end up in one of your clients filing a lawsuit against you, which increases the risk of your insurance carrier.

Along with that, you’ll also need to account for the history of your interior design business. If you run a business that has a history of making mistakes and having to file claims, then insurance companies will see you as a larger risk than other potential clients and they’ll charge you more for coverage.