Accountants Insurance

Accountant Insurance in Ontario

Whether you work as an independent accountant or own an accounting firm, your clients rely on you daily to keep their personal and commercial finances in order. Not only is this an important responsibility, but it also opens you up to a wide range of perils. Undoubtedly, you provide a valuable service to your clients, are diligent and excel at what you do. However, even the slightest error or lapse in judgment can have monumental consequences whenever finances are involved.

To mitigate these risks, you must have the right accountant insurance. Your unique accountant insurance policy must be completely tailored to your specific needs. That way, you can have peace of mind knowing you’ll be adequately covered in the event of a damaging allegation. Accidents do happen whether you work from a home office or own a commercial space. Protect your assets from theft, fire damage and more with the right Ontario accountant insurance policy.

What Is Insurance for Accountants?

While you may have to worry less about physical risks than other industries, there are still many problems that could pop up throughout your work day. For example, say you are filing taxes for a client but make a mistake. The client gets audited, and you land in a pool of hot water. The client may decide to sue you for financial damages.

Without accountant insurance, either of these situations could lead to serious financial expenses that could ultimately force you out of business if you aren’t insured.

Accountant insurance is a form of business insurance that protects you and your business from various perils during your daily operations. You should insure against professional liability, protect your commercial office space against a cyber attack, and more. Not to mention, if you have employees, it’s up to you to protect them as well. While there are coverages you can purchase to help protect your employees’ interests, it’s also important to note that the government actually provides workers’ compensation insurance.

Likewise, if you work from home, consider insuring your office space. While a house fire may be covered under your home insurance policy, replacing office furniture and supplies may not be—dependent on the policy. Since policies vary from insurer to insurer, it’s best to have your Morison Insurance broker walk you through the specifics of your policy after submitting an accountant insurance quote—so you can ensure there are no gaps and that you’re adequately covered.

Who Needs Accountant Insurance In Ontario?

Any individual working as an accountant should have the necessary accountant insurance. Many firms require accountants to have, at minimum, professional liability insurance. While we’ll dive into this type of insurance further momentarily, it covers you if you’re accused of losing a client money due to an error in your professional services. Protect yourself and your employees with the best insurance policy tailored to your needs. Individuals falling into the following categories need accountant insurance:

• Chartered Accountants
• Certified General Accountants
• Chartered Professional Accountants
• Bookkeepers

While you may be prepared to purchase professional liability insurance, at minimum, a range of other coverages available to accountants will offer further peace of mind. Remember, in the event of an accident or disaster that destroys your office or where you’re facing a lawsuit, the expenses will be incredibly high. Having to pay for expenses out-of-pocket is stress most savvy business owners will choose to avoid.

No matter the size of your company, accountant insurance is integral to protecting you, your employees and your assets. At Morison Insurance, we’ll help you protect your company with an insurance policy that works for you. Each of our licensed, qualified brokers will shop around for the best policy possible, ensuring you can breathe easy knowing you’re adequately covered.

What Does Accountant Insurance Cover?

Beyond the basics, many types of insurance are available to accountants and those working in related fields. When you partner with a Morison Insurance broker, we’ll ensure that your policy is created especially for your unique needs; much like how you know the unique ins and outs of your different clients’ finances, we know how to help you find a comprehensive accountant insurance policy designed to provide the right coverage that fits your needs.

Home-Based Business Insurance

You still need insurance if you don’t own a commercial space but operate out of a home office. You may need more than just relying on your home insurance policy if something happens to your home. In this case, you need a home-based business insurance plan to cover your office equipment and business interruption insurance. The latter protects you financially in case you cannot work due to something happening to your home (permitting the event to be covered by your policy). A home-based business policy will also cover you for additional liability for clients, delivery personnel, and employees who visit your home office.

Professional CPA Liability Insurance

Also known as errors and omissions insurance, this part of an accountant insurance coverage policy is one of the most important for accountants. Since you provide a professional service and often advise your clients, operating without professional liability coverage is foolish. This coverage protects you from client claims alleging financial loss due to misconduct, negligence, failure to deliver promised service and due to bad advice. You could be in serious legal trouble if you make a mistake or provide advice that costs your client money. An errors and omissions policy will help offset legal fees—including settlements. Furthermore, this type of insurance can protect you against alleged advertising injury, depending on the policy. 

Commercial General Liability Insurance For Accountants

Professional liability may protect you against claims related to your professional services, but it won’t protect you from third-party bodily injury or property damage claims. For this, you need commercial general liability coverage. This section of an accountant insurance policy provides financial coverage for legal costs in case of a lawsuit due to third-party injury or property damage. For instance, say a client comes to your offices and slips and falls on ice on your premises. You could be held liable for their medical fees and may have to settle if found responsible for the injury.

Commercial Property Insurance

If you own an office building, replacing the building and/or its contents after an accident or natural disaster can be a devastating financial loss—without the right insurance coverage. Commercial property insurance protects your office against physical loss or damage to the property and/or its contents due to theft, vandalism or an external disaster. This policy can be a lifesaver, as rebuilding a commercial property can be incredibly financially taxing. Not all policies provide flood damage coverage, so ask your Morison Insurance broker to clarify what is and is not included in your commercial property insurance policy when starting an accountant insurance quote.

Directors And Officers Insurance

You should have directors’ and officers insurance if your company is a large accounting firm. Also called D & O insurance for short, directors and officers liability insurance protects the personal assets of corporate directors and officers, and their spouses, if they are personally sued by competitors, investors, customers, employees, vendors or other parties. This policy is essential because it protects your management from actual or alleged wrongful acts while running the company.

Cyber Liability Insurance For Accountants

As an accountant, you manage compassionate and confidential information. Most of your client’s information will be found on the computer in our digital age. No matter how many cyber security tips for businesses you follow, if even one hacker infiltrates your system and finds this confidential information, the results can be devastating. But with cyber liability insurance, you can protect yourself if this valuable information is lost. 

Civil Penalties Coverage

As a professional accountant, you are likely well aware of the possibility that the Canada Revenue Agency could assess you with third-party penalties (TPPs) and that those penalties can quickly start at hundreds of thousands of dollars and, in theory, continue to climb from there. That’s what makes civil penalties coverage such an essential addition to a package of insurance for accountants. Suppose you are assessed with a third-party penalty. In that case, the civil penalties portion of your accountant’s insurance coverage will get you insurance compensation to pay the penalty up to the limits listed on your policy. While this may not account for the entire penalty, it will reduce the amount you are responsible for paying.

Legal Expenses Insurance

Throughout the course of your career, there will likely be many times when you need legal advice or services but want to avoid filing an insurance claim to access them. Legal expenses insurance for accountants is the perfect solution, as it gives you access to a legal hotline that you can call anytime to speak with an attorney and get advice on a wide range of legal matters, from small claims issues and employment matters to compliance with government directives and contractual problems. You can get the information and qualified advice you need from a licensed attorney, and you don’t have to pay a service fee or file an insurance claim. Some types of legal expenses insurance will also give you access to legal services such as document review and can cover part or all of the litigation process, including investigation, pleadings and discovery, mediation and arbitration, and appeal.

Commercial Auto Insurance

As an accountant, you may not need to use a vehicle for business purposes, as many accounting professionals have their clients visit them at their office. But suppose you do travel to your clients or need a company-owned vehicle for other work-related purposes. In that case, it should be covered by commercial auto insurance.

Additional Insurance For Accountants

As mentioned, many different types of insurance coverage are available for an accountant beyond what is listed here, and different insurers offer other policies. Depending on your needs, you might include a few add-on policies, such as disability insurance and/or life insurance.

Why Do I Need Accountant Insurance?

Not only do most firms require you to have professional liability insurance in your accountant insurance package, but if you don’t have insurance and make a mistake while working on one of your client’s finances, you could wind up in serious legal trouble. Without insurance, being forced to pay out-of-pocket for these legal costs can be financially devastating. You should also protect your office, assets and employees from unexpected risks with proper insurance.

While commercial insurance for accountants is not legally mandated by the government (except commercial auto insurance, should it be necessary), that doesn’t mean it’s not required at all. In most cases, accountants are required by their professional association to have CPA liability insurance, and the association likely has rules about how much coverage is necessary for professional liability insurance. CPA professionals should consult with their association to ensure the liability coverage they purchase for their accountant insurance package complies with the association’s requirements.

Finally, it’s essential to understand that many clients will simply refuse to work with an accounting professional who does not have the right accountant’s insurance and will require you to provide proof of coverage in the form of a certificate of insurance. You will likely also be required to provide proof of property coverage before renting or leasing a commercial space.

What Impacts Accountant Insurance Rates?

Like any insurance policy, including accountant insurance, your unique policy has no set rate. Many key factors go into determining business insurance premiums—including what additional coverages and floaters you choose to add to your policy. Other influencing factors include:

• The years of experience you possess
• Your past claims history
• The size of your business
• How much revenue do you expect to make in the upcoming year

What Information Do I Need To Begin An Accountant Insurance Quote?

When you start an accountant insurance quote through Morison Insurance, we ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible. After all, we’re taking on the work of shopping around for insurance rates—and we relish helping our clients find the absolute best insurance coverage for their needs. We want our clients to feel as comfortable and prepared as possible throughout the entire process. To that end, we believe preparation is essential. While applying for an accountant insurance quote, your Morison Broker will ask you several questions. Knowing your answers in advance can usher along the application process. A few basic questions your broker may ask include:

• Is this your full-time or part-time job?
• Do you have insurance now?
• Have you been cancelled/declined/non-renewed in the past five years?
• Have you had any claims in the past five years?
• What are your gross annual revenues?

What Else Do I Need To Know Before Purchasing Accountant Insurance?

In addition to knowing what questions your insurance broker will ask in advance, there are also a few proverbial ducks in a row you should get organized before applying for accountant insurance. This will likewise make the process much smoother. Be sure to gather the following information:

• Annual revenue estimates
• Payroll estimates
• Information on any previous insurance claims

After you receive an account insurance policy, it’s a good idea to research and confirm that you have an accounting engagement letters for your clients to avoid any issues in the future.

Where Can I Get Accountant Insurance?

You can contact our expert insurance brokers if you’re ready to begin an accountant insurance quote. 

At Morison Insurance, we always put our clients first—and it shows through our loyal clientele choosing our services repeatedly. We take great pride in providing outstanding services and finding our clients the best insurance coverage available. As a family-owned and operated business, we treat all our clients with that same family-oriented mindset. We’re building long-term relationships with all our clients, so you can know that the Morison team is always in your corner.

To learn more about accounting insurance and contact our expert brokers, call our team at 1-800-463-8074. You can also inquire about an accountant insurance quote online.