In a modern society, it is sad to have to protect yourself against litigation. You would always hope people would naturally become more forgiving of mistakes and accept modest compensation for the losses they have suffered. Sadly, the US is one of the most aggressively litigious societies in the world and, for a small business, even a small claim can be the difference between success and bankruptcy. It is not just the value of any award of damages. It is the costs payable to both your own attorney and the attorney on the other side if you lose the case. Although it is an extreme example of the problem, you may remember Pearson v. Chung in which a judge sued his dry cleaner for a lost pair of pants. The amount claimed? Only $54 million. The problem was the $100,000 cost of the defense. Fortunately, public fund-raising covered those costs with the Chung’s attorney acting pro bono in the appeal hearings. Not every attorney will act without payment. The public does not often rally round to help a small business. That is why you should review your insurance portfolio.
In general terms, almost every business should carry property insurance, e.g. to cover fire damage, general liability to cover third party claims, a reasonable amount of workers’ compensation in case your employees sue you, and Errors and Omissions to protect you against the kind of mistakes you make when following your standard business routines. Suppose, for example, you write down the wrong delivery address and ship the order to the wrong place. Or the software you lovingly craft for your client crashes his PC when uploaded. The number of possibilities are infinite which is why this type of insurance has real benefits. It is so difficult to predict all the different errors and omissions that might occur. But there is one thing of which you can be certain. The majority of your customers will sue. Even though some of these cases will be vexatious and frivolous, your own costs are covered. Fending off these suits keeps you in business and makes the premiums a good investment. more…
