Working writers, and even retired writers, need insurance. For many of us, putting ones writing pursuits under the umbrella of an LLC.
Legal blogger Dave Griswold of the law firm Wolters Kluwer shares helpful insights in an article explaining the ins-and-outs of Limited Liability Companies.
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https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/how-to-form-an-llc-what-is-an-llc-advantages-disadvantages-and-more
Of course, an LLC should have its own bank account, and assets should not be co-mingled. If you co-mingle your assets, you might endanger the protections. It's called "piercing the veil".
As of this year, there's not much to the "veil", because one must file a Beneficial Ownership Information report with FinCEN. For more information about the BOI, see here:
https://www.fincen.gov/boi
One also needs insurance. Maybe you assume that you have it, but it might be wise to check on that every few years.
Last week, legal bloggers Scott P. DeVries and Torrye Zullo for the Hunton Insurance Recovery blog owned by Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, shared a drily fascinating analysis of a new trend in insurance coverage relating to social media activities: Defence Coverage.
The trouble with some insurance is, it may cover bodily injury but not mental injury, or it might cover both types of injury. One need to check ones insurance. These days, there are increasing numbers of lawsuits from plaintiffs who are concerned about epidemic-levels of social media addiction among young people.
Apparently, reading something "distressing" can cause physical harm.
"Some courts have held that a mental injury, accompanied by physical manifestation, qualifies as “bodily injury.” Physical manifestations have included weight loss, hair loss, fragile fingernails, loss of sleep, headaches, stomach pains and muscle aches."
The focus is on insurance protection for the wealthiest of social media companies, but they do refer to "influencers" and advertisers, too. It is unlikely that a lowly author would be worth suing, and one does not want to put ideas into anyone's head.
One can take that last clause in more ways than one!
Happy Memorial Day to all American readers!
All the best,
SPACE SNARK™
