Many Canadian employers are improving their business operations to minimize their workplace injury numbers. By reducing injuries and illnesses in the workplace, Canadian employers can retain lower worker’s compensation and liability insurance premiums.
Employer insurance premiums vary from one employer to another in Canada. Unfortunately for those with the highest number of workplace injury and illness cases, it can only be expected to pay higher premiums. There is a broad range of factors that determine an employer’s insurance premiums. These factors include employee numbers, annual reported workplace injuries and illnesses, coverage types, cover amount, history of negligence claims, the value of your company, and industry.
Another very important reason why ergonomics is so important in the workplace is employee safety. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to protect your employees from injuries and illnesses connected to the workplace. The most common workplace injuries are related to the following:
- Muscle strain
- Slip and fall
- Fallen objects
- Equipment malfunction
- Improper handling of equipment
- Forklift crash
Financial Protection For Ergonomics Consultants
Ergonomics consultants have many risk exposures that increase with status, employee numbers, industry, and other factors. The solution here is professional liability insurance, which covers financial loss associated with negligence claims. Unfortunately, no ergonomics consultant is 100 percent safe from such allegations. So, the only option is to get insured right from the get-go.
Professional Liability Insurance (PLI) is specifically designed to protect professionals, like Canada’s ergonomics consultants. In return, it also offers a layer of protection for consumers. For example, an ergonomics consultant was hired to implement a new seating arrangement in a corporate office. The details of the project involved the integration of ergonomic seating for senior staff members, the CEO, and other employees. Unfortunately for the corporation and its employees, the consultant’s newly developed ergonomics seating plan failed on all levels.
Who do you believe is responsible for this major catastrophe? It is fairly obvious, the ergonomics consultant is the responsible party. Of course, the only way to determine the true responsible party is a thorough investigation by a third-party. In most PLI negligence claims, the third-party is an insurance brokerage.
To activate the investigation, the ergonomics consultant or client must file a claim against the PLI policy. It can take anywhere between five and 14 business days or longer to conduct a thorough negligence claim investigation.
At the end of the investigation, the investigator will have determined the party at fault for the negligent act that led to a failed corporate seating update. Such a project could cost a corporation with hundreds of employees millions of dollars in Canada.
The only way to recover these losses is through a negligence claim or lawsuit. Most corporations will act professionally when facing negligence claims. They will start with the ergonomics consultant in an attempt to resolve the issue. If this fails, the client will move on to the consultant’s PLI insurer.
PLI does not always cover 100 percent of a negligence claim. The percentage of payout is determined by the coverage amount. Most Canadian insurance companies have minimum and maximum claim limits. So, it is possible, the PLI policy will only cover between 75 and 99 percent of the claim. Which party is responsible for the remainder? The ergonomics consultant, of course.
Other Liability Insurance Policies For Ergonomics Consultants
Ergonomics consultants have several liability insurance coverage options. These include PLI, General Liability Insurance (GLI), employer liability, business liability, and commercial general liability. All of these policies can play a role in keeping your ergonomics consultancy firm protected against financial loss related to third-party claims and lawsuits.
A custom liability policy with one or more of these types of insurance coverage may be the only way to keep your business open when facing a third-party lawsuit. With so many consumers filing accident claims in Canada, it only makes sense for every professional and company operating in the country to get covered.
Refusing to get covered will catch up with you someday if you are not very careful. You could take all the necessary precautions and still end up being sued in the long run.
General Liability Insurance (GLI)
GLI is essential to Canada’s ergonomics consultants because it protects against claims linked to third-party bodily injury, property damage, advertising mishaps, and reputational damage. Here is an example, a customer enters an establishment and immediately trips on a mat, resulting in a fractured big toe. This is what insurance companies refer to as a third-party injury, which is covered under a core GLI policy.
The first step to recovering financial loss associated with a bodily injury is filing a claim. The client or business will be required to jumpstart the investigation by filing a claim against the GLI policy. A thorough investigation will determine who is at fault for the mishap, which is most likely the business owner.
A GLI policy also covers damage related to advertising mishaps. For example, a marketing firm runs an advertising campaign that smears its client’s biggest competitor while failing to do what it was guaranteed to do. The damages resulted in millions of dollars in damage to the client’s competitor. Fortunately, the client was insured under a GLI policy that covered 98 percent of the monetary damage.
If the client was not insured at the time of the incident, he would have been forced to cover the advertising claim out of pocket, which may have not ended well. You would be surprised by the high number of Canadian professionals and businesses that do not carry GLI coverage. If this were the case in this incident, the company may have been forced into bankruptcy.
Employer’s Liability Insurance
Employer’s (employer) liability insurance is a must-have for ergonomics consultancy firms with employees. Regardless of your worker numbers, employer liability is a great way to protect your firm from monetary damages caused by employee bodily injury and illnesses.
Fortunately, Canadian businesses and workers already have some level of protection against workplace injuries and illnesses. This protection is no other than worker’s compensation insurance. Worker’s compensation is a legal requirement for all companies operating within the Canadian borders. This basically means without worker’s compensation coverage, your business is not permitted to go operational.
To keep your business legal and protect your company and employees at the same, worker’s compensation combined with employer liability insurance is a must. Both of these policies will work together to provide adequate protection against injuries and illnesses related to the Canadian workplace.
With this said, it is important to note, employer liability insurance will not cover the workplace injury or illness claims covered under worker’s compensation insurance. This policy will only kick in when the claim is denied by your worker’s compensation insurer.
Disability Insurance
You biggest asset in life is your earning ability. If you are unable to work, you will need to rely on either your savings or borrow money to sustain your lifestyle. When these unfortunate circumstances occur, dependents and spouses are also impacted financially and emotionally.
Disability insurance coverage will provide you a monthly income benefit, usually totaling 70% to 80% of your income, when you are unable to work for a period of time due to injury or illness.
Types of disability insurance
- Long-Term Disability Insurance (LTD)
- Short-Term Disability Insurance
- Key Person Disability Insurance
- Self Employed Disability Insurance
- Mortgage Disability Insurance
- Temporary Disability Insurance
- Supplemental Disability Insurance
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Other Types of Consulting Businesses we insure:
If your specializing is not mentioned below, have no worries. Our insurance markets can provide liability coverage for the majority of consulting businesses.
- Acoustic Consultant Insurance
- Agricultural Consultants Insurance
- Branding Consultant Insurance
- Business Consultant Insurance
- Business Management Consultants Insurance
- Custom Computer Software Consultant Insurance
- Environmental Consultants Insurance
- Education Consultants Insurance
- Energy Conservation Consultant Insurance – Commercial/Industrial
- Ergonomics Consultant Insurance
- Fashion Consultant Insurance
- Fire Protection Consultant Insurance
- Fire Safety Consultant Insurance
- Forestry Consultant Insurance
- Fuel Efficiency Consultant Insurance – Domestic
- Fuel Efficiency Consultant Insurance – Commercial/Industrial
- Executive Consultants Insurance
- Health and Social Care Consultants Insurance
- HR Consultants Insurance
- Linguistic Consultant Insurance
- Management Consultant Insurance
- Marketing Consultants Insurance
- Market Research Analyst Insurance
- Noise And Vibration Consultant Insurance
- Planning Consultant Insurance
- Personal Consultants Insurance
- Printing Consultant Insurance
- Publicity Consultant Insurance
- Public Relations Consultant Insurance
- Quality Control Consultant Insurance
- Regulatory Consultant Insurance
- Research Consultants Insurance
- Risk Management Consultants Insurance
- Safety Training/Consultant Insurance
- Security Consultant Insurance
- Technical Consultants Insurance
- Theater Lighting Consultant Insurance
FAQ before purchasing liability insurance
- How much professional liability insurance do I need?
- How do I get a liability insurance policy?
- What does professional liability insurance cover?
- What is the difference between claims made & occurrence form of coverage?
- When will I need to be insured?
- What other professions need this type of insurance?
Other useful posts you should also read
- Canadian insurance companies that provide professional liability insurance
- How does the claims process work if I get sued because of my professional services?
- What is the cost of professional liability insurance?
- How do I apply for a professional liability insurance policy?
- How do I qualify for coverage as a professional service provider?
- What is the purpose of getting insured as a professional?
- How long will it take to get an insurance quote for my business?