[seven-link]

Are there any affiliates that have business liability insurance policies? Just wondering everyone's thoughts on if it's worth it or not.

[Mack]

Yes. Never run any business without it, ever. Period.

[ReallyBigGuy]

yes, I needed it when I got an office, but have increased limits & stuff since.

[seven-link]

My insurance agent suggested an annual policy for $861 for "Commercial General Liability" insurance. Maybe i'm just cheap, but that seems like a lot since I work out of my home and have no employees. Basically, it's just to protect me in case a merchant ever sues me which i don't see happening. I guess they could claim that I wasn't portraying their business in a good light, but then they'd probably just kick me out of their program and not sue me.

[ReallyBigGuy]

Originally Posted by seven-link

My insurance agent suggested an annual policy for $861 for "Commercial General Liability" insurance. Maybe i'm just cheap, but that seems like a lot since I work out of my home and have no employees. Basically, it's just to protect me in case a merchant ever sues me which i don't see happening. I guess they could claim that I wasn't portraying their business in a good light, but then they'd probably just kick me out of their program and not sue me.

Well, probably you won't run your car over a doctor crossing the street, and probably your house won't burn down or get robbed, but hopefully you have car & homeowner insurance...

[Mack]

When it comes to pricing insurance, ask yourself this question:

How much could it cost if you DON'T get it?

Do you promote anything you can eat? Anything that touches someone's skin? Anything a child could swallow? Collect any user information? Accept credit cards? There are 1,000 ways and 5,000 reasons you could be held liable for something, sometimes even beyond your control.

Maybe you won't be held liable in the long run, but you'll damn sure have more than $800.00 in legal fees to get you out of it.

It's just a very bad move to run any business without insurance.

[chetf]

Actually check your policy, if you are sole proprietor and like someone in seven-link's place of no physical issues - you will find liability insurance covers very, very, very, very, very, very, very little and is a pretty poor return for your money. Because it will not insure your own willful actions, but check your policy and talk to a lawyer or accountant - NOT AN INSURANCE SALES PERSON!

[Alan Hamilton]

In 1986 I invented a toll free pet id / recovery tag. Great product, great service to pet and livestock owners. The finder called the TF number, gave the operator the 10 digit owner code and the operator then contacted the owner with the finder contact. Had a lot of good samaritan value to it, people helping people(and their pets).

In 1996 I received a letter from (of all people) an insurance agent in the Houston area. Their small dog had been missing for nearly three days when someone noticed our tag on the collar. They called us and reported that the pet also appeared to be favoring his hind quarter. We contacted the owner (the insurance agent) immediately and he retrieved his pet and took it directly to his vet.

Three weeks later we received a certified letter from an attorney on his behalf demanding damages because "our tag did not protect the pet from being shot by a pellet gun while it was roaming. His contention was that if the tag were effective, the pet would have been recovered before such a thing could have happened." Eventually that rediculous claim was dropped. But the point here is to remind you that in any business, liability insurance is a sensible backup to your good intentions.

Not buying a service contract on a DVD player may be a good choice, but gambling the odds on liability in business is another story. There are oodles of attorneys who make a living by creating cases for settlement.

Good luck

Alan

[chetf]

Alan, read seven-link's post, he is an affiliate, he is not a merchant. A bit different and very different over what liability insurance will cover, which again is why anyone should consult a lawyer or accountant first before they spends any money. If you actually research the situation, the answer is not as obvious as people here may claim.

[GrainFarmer]

My insurance agent told me that they didn't offer a product that would cover what I do, which is very similar to what seven-link does. He said that if I produced a product or service, or carried an inventory of products, then I should look into getting business insurance. As the policy for that company is written, being an affiliate or even drop shipping would not be covered.

GrainFarmer

[waytogo]

This has been bugging me since I became an affiliate.


Take the Google TOS for example...

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Google, its agents, affiliates, subsidiaries, directors, officers, employees, and applicable third parties (e.g. relevant advertisers, syndication partners, licensors, licensees, consultants and contractors) (collectively "Indemnified Person(s)") harmless from and against any and all third party claims, liability, loss, and expense (including damage awards, settlement amounts, and reasonable legal fees), brought against any Indemnified Person(s), arising out of, related to or which may arise from Your use of the Program, the Site(s), and/or Your breach of any term of this Agreement


So now, supposing a buyer went to your site, clicked on a google link, was taken to the advertiser site, but for some reason later on had a disagreement with the advertiser about the purchase and ended up in a lawsuit.

Are we liable or not?

[seven-link]

Those that have coverage... what kind of coverage do you have?

My insurance agent told me that "Commercial General Liability" insurance wouldn't protect me from the threats that I can possibly see happening (merchants sue me for promoting their products in a bad light, consumers sue me for promoting a product that they have an injury with, etc.).

[helpingmoms]

I'm interested in the responses to this as well because one of my merchants is demanding that I have hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance in order to include them in any way in my newsletters. I'm not going to go that far. But I was wondering if some amount might be needed.

[markymark]

I'm speaking from a UK perspective, so 'business liability insurance' in the USA may have a slightly different meaning.

That having been said, my accountant advised against getting liability insurance on the grounds that whatever I could be liable for (not getting top ten rankings in the search engines, for example) were clearly covered by the contract my clients signed.

And that, I guess, is the point : what is it that you could potentially be liable for. Whatever it is, write a disclaimer/terms and conditions to indemnify yourself.

I can only see issues with things like saying 'Pepe's herbal pills will make you lose weight' when Pepe's herbal pills are just sugar and water and have no effect.

Most insurances are designed to profit the insurance company and if they don't really cover you in the event of problems, don't take them. That goes for things like payment protection on your credit card and unsecured loans too. It's all extra money to the insurers and has no really value.

[DoctorMike]

I'd say it depends not only on the content of your business, but also on its size. Generally, in the litigation-driven US, lawsuits tend to follow the money. It's not very likely that someone will sue you for clicking on a Google ad that took them to a product they didn't like, unless you have the same kind of money that Google or the manufacture do.

[adFinityJoe]

(*not a lawyer, please take the following as advice*)

Liability insurance is important if you have a physical location where you do business, or you have clients that come over to your home (assuming you're working from home). Since most of us don't have people showing up, it's probably not necessary. However, if you expand out to an office, then by all means insure yourself. If you hire people, it's essential.