Site icon AdvisorSmith

Business Insurance for Environmental Engineers

Insurance for Environmental Engineers

Get a quote on Business Insurance

As an environmental engineer, you work diligently to protect the natural environment. Whether you are managing waste disposal, monitoring pollution levels, or assessing the environmental impact of new construction, your focus as an environmental engineer is on preventing unnecessary environmental damage and developing solutions to environmental problems. Because of the complexity and impact of your work, a mistake or error can have dire consequences, and your firm may be held financially liable.

Environmental engineers, along with other professionals who contribute their expertise and services to large-scale projects, are susceptible to client lawsuits and claims in the event that something goes wrong. Even if everything goes right, you can still be sued. An important way to safeguard your business from such lawsuits, along with the everyday risks of running a business, is to ensure that you have the proper insurance coverages in place. For the financial safety of your business and the people that you employ, it’s important to take time to research and consider investing in the right business insurance policies.

Business insurance is a good option for your firm if:

What insurance coverage do I need as an environmental engineer?

For environmental engineers, professional liability insurance is one of the most important coverages to obtain. Other insurance types, including general liability and workers’ compensation, are also critical to running your business. Below we explain some of the more common business insurance coverages that environmental engineers should consider.

Professional Liability Insurance

As an environmental engineer, your work can have important consequences on the viability of a building structure, as well as the safety of the structure and the surrounding environment. Many of the projects you work on could provide critical infrastructure for your town or municipality, and as such, may impact a large number of people. Any error or omission in your work can end up causing significant financial damage and lead to lawsuits and claims against your firm.

Professional liability insurance, also known as errors & omissions insurance, can protect you from potential client lawsuits stemming from the performance of your professional duties. In addition, professional liability insurance for engineers generally covers property damage and bodily injury, which is typically excluded in other professional liability policies. This type of insurance is critical for anyone in the engineering discipline.

Examples:

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is one of the most commonly purchased types of business insurance and protects your business from lawsuits claiming property damage or bodily injury caused by your business or your employees. If your firm or one of your employees injures a third-party in the course of business, liability insurance can help protect your business against the financial consequences of lawsuits. Third-parties include anyone who is not an employee of your business, such as a vendor, customer, or landlord. General liability insurance covers claims from physical injuries or property damage caused by your business. It also covers non-physical injuries such as libel, slander, copyright infringement, or false advertising.

Examples:

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance is a form of liability insurance that pays out benefits to an employee if he or she suffers a work-related injury or illness. If employees decide to accept these monetary benefits, they agree not to sue your business.. In most states, businesses that have employees who are not founders or partners are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance is no-fault, which means that it pays benefits regardless of whether the employer or employee is at fault for the injury.

Workers’ compensation can cover the costs of:

Example:

Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance helps protect the value of the physical assets your firm owns or leases if that property is damaged or lost due to accidents or disasters. Commercial property insurance covers property such as buildings, equipment, inventory, furniture, artwork, and computers. Commonly covered causes of loss include fire, lightening, wind, hail, explosion, and vandalism. Note that commercial property insurance does not cover any vehicles your company owns. For that coverage, you’ll need commercial auto insurance.

Examples:

Commercial Auto Insurance

Your company likely owns or leases one or more vehicles to visit worksites or client offices. In the event of an accident involving your vehicles, commercial auto insurance can provide financial protection. This type of insurance has both liability and property components. The liability component protects your business if one of your workers is at fault for causing a crash and causes bodily injury or damages someone else’s vehicle or property. The property component of commercial auto insurance protects the value of your vehicle against crashes, theft, and other perils. Importantly, commercial auto insurance also provides protection for vehicles owned personally but used for certain business purposes.

Example:

Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy, also known as a “BOP,” is a special bundling of policies that can provide coverage for risks that are common to small business owners. BOPs combine property, general liability, and business income and extra expense insurance coverages for qualified small businesses. Importantly, a business owner’s policy can help you save money, with lower premiums than buying the individual coverages separately.

Final Word

As an environmental engineer, you work to reduce negative environmental impacts and develop solutions for environmental problems. Your work can have far-reaching effects, benefiting local wildlife and ecosystems, but mistakes can happen and the consequences can be grave. To protect you and your firm against lawsuits related to your professional work, consider purchasing professional liability insurance. For the many other risks that come with running a business, your best bet is to find the right combination of business insurance policies. From general liability to commercial property insurance, there are a number of coverages that will help to protect you and your employees in the face of any unfortunate events.

Exit mobile version