According to the National Notary Association’s census, there are 4.4 million notaries in the US. An essential part of the notary business to consider is notaries insurance. Similar to a law firm, your business can face lawsuits from disgruntled customers whose documents were lost by employees or who received poor outputs. In this article, we will examine some of the components you can use to create your own notary public insurance package.
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
| Products and completed operations aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Advertising injury coverage aggregate limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Tenant’s legal liability coverage limit | $300,000/$1,000,000 | $300,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No | Included | Can be included | No |
| Hired/non-owned auto liability coverage included? | Yes | No | No | Can be included | Can be included |
| Equipment breakdown floater included? | No | Yes | Yes | Can be included | Can be included |
| Can you get a certificate of insurance online? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deductible | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Notary business insurance commonly includes general liability coverage. This coverage protects your business against third-party claims of injury and property damage. Situations, where this coverage is used, include:
A customer injures themselves while in your notary office and sues for medical costs
During the course of your notary business, you cause damage to a customer’s property and need to replace it
You can further customize your notary insurance policy through the use of add-ons or endorsements.
Tools and equipment insurance–Covers the cost to repair or replace tools or equipment that you use in your notary business
Hired and non-owned auto insurance–Protects vehicles not owned by the business when they get into an accident while being used commercially
Excessive liability–Extends the amount of coverage you have on an existing general liability insurance policy
Your notary general liability insurance policy will generally have a $1 million per occurrence limit and as well as a $2 million aggregate limit over the duration of your policy.
No. General liability insurance will not cover injuries or illnesses that are sustained on the job. To get coverage for these incidents, you would need to buy a workers’ compensation policy.
Yes, a common part of general liability insurance will give you advertising injury coverage. This will protect you against lawsuits you receive based on any libel, slander, or copyright infringement, which includes social media posts.
| CoverWallet | NEXT | Thimble (Best) | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per occurrence limit | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Name additional insureds? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Waiver of subrogation included? | Yes | No | Yes | Can be included | No |
The best e&o insurance for notary public businesses will protect you from mistakes, negligence, and oversights that happen during the course of business. Examples of situations include:
You make a mistake when notarizing a document that causes a client to lose money
An oversight in your notary business causes you to need to pay for a lawyer to defend your business in court
Additional insured–Extends your errors and omission coverage for people or organizations not covered on the original policy
Extended reporting coverage–If you have a claims-made errors and omissions insurance policy, this lets you file claims outside the usual policy window
Errors and Omissions insurance coverage will range between $250,000 and $2 million. Typically you will find a $1 million per occurrence limit and a $1 million aggregate limit for your notary business insurance.
Yes, errors and omissions insurance covers the majority of legal expenses that you incur, even if your lawsuit never gets to trial. In fact, the majority of lawsuits never make it to court.Â
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| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Thimble | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $260,000 | $25,000/$500,000 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| Contents coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $22,000 | $25,000/$500,000 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| Outdoor signs | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded |
| Accounts receivable | Excluded | Excluded | $5,000/10,000 | Included | Excluded |
| Money and securities | Excluded | $2,500 | $1,000 | Included | Excluded |
| Lock and keys | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded |
| Business interruption floater | Excluded | Included | Included | Included | Excluded |
| Equipment breakdown floater | Excluded | Included | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded |
| Inland marine insurance floater | Excluded | Excluded | $10,000 | Excluded | Excluded |
| Employee dishonesty floater | Excluded | $5,000 | $2,500 | Included | Excluded |
Commercial property insurance protects your notary offices and personal business property contained within it from physical damage. Some situations to use this insurance include:
A fire starts suddenly near your notary office and causes significant damage to the building and contents inside
Your business gets attacked by a smash-and-grab thief who steals some of your notary equipment
Business interruption–Helps you recover from a covered event by supplementing lost income, paying loans, and relocation costs for your notary business
Equipment breakdown–Your notary business equipment can be covered from damage caused by mechanical breakdown and power surges
Outdoor signs–Includes damage to things like signs outside your business in the scope of coverage for your notary building
Property insurance will typically cover your building for $50,000 and your business contents for $50,000. Higher limits and lower limits are available and will depend on the provider.
No, many policies will specifically exclude some types of perils. For example, earthquakes are typically excluded because of the damage it causes. Also, if you live in an area that regularly experiences hurricanes, you made need to add hurricane coverage to your policy. You will also need to buy a separate policy for flood damage.
| CoverWallet | Thimble (Best) | NEXTÂ | Hiscox | The Hartford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General liability aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $300,000 | $1,000,000/$2,000,000 |
| Commercial property coverage limit | $50,000 | $500,000 | $260,000 | $25,000 | $75,000 |
| Optional policies can be added? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name additional insureds for free? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BOP discount? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Business owner’s policy is an insurance policy for your notary business that combines the coverage of commercial property with general liability. Examples include:
A member of the public wanders onto your notary building property and trips and falls
Your business property becomes the victim of a vandal who smashes your windows and spray paints the facade of your building
Flood insurance–If you live in an area where flooding is a risk, you will want to add on flood insurance to your BOP
Cyber liability–Allows you to protect your business against the costs related to cyber attacks, data breaches, and phishing emails
Business owners’ policy for notaries will typically have a coverage limit between $1 million and $2 million and a commercial property coverage limit of $25,000 to $50,000.
