As a result of your professional activity, you may be faced with a monetary claim arising from your negligence or omission in the performance of the professional services provided. Would you be able to face that?
It is important to distinguish between general liability and professional liability coverages.
The purpose of general liability insurance is to provide coverage for the insured's legal liability for bodily injury or property damage.
Typically, such claims are the result of accidents or other events that were unforeseeable, commonly referred to as "occurrence" claims.
Coverage under these general liability policies is triggered at the time the "event" occurs.
In contrast, professional liability policies generally do not require the existence of an "occurrence" and often correspond to "pecuniary loss" claims where there has been no personal injury or property damage.
The policy is triggered by the reporting of a claim, hence the name "claims-made" policy in the case of professional liability insurance.
General liability policies generally have exclusions that cover bodily injury or property damage arising out of specific activities and services that insurers may consider to be professional in nature. These exclusions may vary from policy to policy depending on the insurer.
If you have a car or home insurance policy, your civil liability is generally covered under these policies for amounts of 1, 2 or 5M $.
Your professional liability must be covered under a specific policy.
