Interior Designer Insurance

Interior Designer Insurance Ontario

What You Need to Know About Interior Designer Insurance

As an interior designer, your clients rely on your professional expertise to help them bring their vision of the ideal interior setup to life. And in some cases, they put their full trust in you to understand their likes and dislikes in order for you to design them the perfect living space. But, as with anyone who provides a service, interior designers need to be careful about simple oversights or decisions that could result in an unsatisfied client. Plus, every business should be ready for any unexpected events like fire, water damage, or theft. Of course, the best way to prepare for these situations is with a comprehensive interior designer’s insurance policy.

Insurance Coverage Options

At Insurance Hero, we acknowledge that no interior designers are exactly the same. Thus, we have several affordable coverage options to safeguard the specific needs of every interior designer. Our skilled insurance brokers know how to ask the right questions to learn about your needs and ensure you get the best coverage for your business. When you collaborate with us, you can be assured that we will get you top-quality insurance coverage at the best price. Our Insurance Heroes will put together a comprehensive policy to protect you from the various everyday risks and perils so you can do what you do best, worry-free.

Why do interior designers need insurance?

No matter how careful you are, accidents happen. This is why it is vital to have the right coverage in place to protect yourself. No matter how cautious you are, there is always a risk of having to deal with a disgruntled or unsatisfied client. If a client feels that you failed to deliver your product or service as advertised, they may decide to sue you.

Expensive lawsuits could put you and your business at risk of financial ruin. That is why it is important for all interior designers to protect themselves financially with insurance. Plus, if a dissatisfied client tries to slander your reputation, liability insurance can also help with damages.

What are the potential liabilities of an interior designer?

As someone who is providing a service to clientele, there are always risks and potential liabilities that designers can face on any given day. Below are some examples of potential liabilities that an interior designer may face.

While installing a large, heavy fixture in a client’s home, their natural store flooring is damaged beyond repair and must be replaced. The client could sue you for property damage. 

You are hired to design for a brand-new cafe, but an oversight on your part leads to the design going over budget, the wrong materials being installed, or a missed deadline. Your client could choose to sue for loss of income and negligence. 

Several years after installing a chandelier in a hotel lobby, the 400-pound light fixture falls and shatters across the lobby. It is determined by an investigation that the correct mounting requirements were not met, a grave oversight by the designer. Even though it was installed several years before, you, as the designer, would still be held liable. The hotel can sue for negligence and property damage. Moreover, any persons in the lobby who were injured by the chandler could sue you for third-party bodily injury. 

To summarize, the most likely liabilities that interior designers will run into are accusations of errors and negligence by their clients. Without insurance, especially personal liability insurance, any of these situations could leave you and your business in financial ruin, regardless of whether the client’s claims against your business are valid or not. 

What is covered by interior design insurance?

Whether you are self-employed or work for a business, it is important to protect yourself. Below are coverages you can generally find in a standard interior designer’s liability insurance policy.

Commercial General Liability Insurance

Commercial general liability protects you and your business from legal liability against third-party bodily injury or property damage claims that occurred while a client was at your office. It covers the costs of medical bills, legal fees, and repairs or replacements. This insurance policy also protects you against any advertising and reputational injuries (e.g., slander, libel, copyright infringement).

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, is absolutely essential for any interior designer. It is the most important coverage for you to have. It protects your business against claims of misconduct, negligence, failure to deliver a service or inadequate work. Professional liability covers:

  • Errors, mistakes and oversights
  • Failure to meet deadlines
  • Failure to deliver your product/service as advertised
  • Professional negligence or malpractice
  • Failure to meet a standard of care
  • Breach of contract

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber and privacy liability insurance protects your business by covering damages and legal claims if your customer’s personal information is leaked or stolen due to a data breach or theft. As storing business information online has become standard practice, this has become an essential insurance policy for any business with customers to have. 

Commercial Property Insurance

Should you work out of a brick-and-mortar office, commercial property insurance protects your office and the contents inside (e.g., equipment, inventory, etc.) by covering the financial loss from such perils as:

  • Property damage due to natural disasters, flood, fire, vandalism or theft.
  • Property damage or theft of electronics, equipment, company documents or employees’ personal belongings.
  • Inventory theft by employees.

Commercial property insurance can also include business interruption, which protects your business should you be unable to work due to an illness or injury and have to shut it down temporarily. This helps offset ongoing costs from income losses, such as bills, employee wages, etc.

Auto Insurance – Business Use

Interior designers have to travel to and from their client’s locations. It is important to let your insurance provider know you will be using your vehicle for business purposes. Your insurer may deny a claim if you are using your vehicle for work without informing them. Plus, if you have any business equipment stored in your vehicle and it gets damaged or stolen, your coverage may help repair or replace it. You can likely add this to your personal auto insurance policy.

What other types of insurance do interior designers need?

While the above coverages provide a lot of protection, every interior designing business is unique. Therefore, depending on your industry, there may be additional coverage that you can benefit from. Below are some additional options you may want to consider adding to your policy.

Tools and Equipment Insurance

Do you keep any design equipment at your home or office? Perhaps paint samples, furniture for staging or other items you need for work? Tools and equipment insurance covers reimbursement costs for equipment that is lost, stolen or damaged due to theft, vandalism, fire or flood. This policy includes tools and equipment owned, leased or rented and provides coverage whether in storage, in transit, or left at a job site.

Business Insurance – Home-Based

If you run your business out of your home instead of at a separate office, you must let your insurance provider know. Standard home insurance will not cover any business-related accidents or losses, even if they occur in the home. Home-based business insurance covers your office equipment and inventory, and it can include off-premise business interruption.

What impacts insurance rates for interior designers?

One factor that can affect your insurance premium is the size of the project you are working on. Typically, larger projects have greater potential for risks than smaller projects, so the bigger the project, the more you might pay for insurance. But it is not the only factor that your insurer will consider. In fact, there are several details that affect an interior designer’s insurance rates. While choosing which coverages work best for your needs, your insurance company will consider the following factors:

  • Your previous insurance claims history
  • Your annual and projected revenue
  • The type of services you offer
  • The industry you are in
  • The amount of training and experience you have
  • How many (if any) employees you have

Who needs interior designer insurance?

All interior designers should have insurance. As they provide a service to clients, it is vital they buy insurance to safeguard themselves from risks such as liability claims, property damage, bodily injury and more. Here are just some of the types of interior designers who can benefit from insurance:

  • Interior decorators
  • Colour consultants
  • Retail and corporate space designers
  • Production designers
  • Hospitality designers
  • Home stagers
  • Exhibition designers
  • Lighting designers
  • Kitchen designers
  • Landscape architects

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You’ve dedicated your career to helping others, so now it is time to let us help you. At Insurance Hero, we can help manage your risk and insurance costs by conducting a full commercial insurance policy review to determine what kind of coverage is best for you!

For reliable, affordable Ontario interior designer insurance, please request a quote online or call us at 1-855-777-4376. Our team of insurance heroes is happy to answer any questions you have!