Traditionally, only a handful of professions were at risk of a Professional negligence claim. Nowadays, any professional that possesses skills and expertise in the service they have to offer is at risk of a civil liability claim. Everything has the potential to become a target, from advertising and marketing to consultancy and inspection. This has made sufficient protection to guard against professional negligence, an essential component for all businesses in the modern world. To protect your business from expensive legal disputes and civil liabilities here is what you can do:

Offer Clear Contracts

Having a contract between a service provider and a client is a highly-effective method of reducing your company’s risks. When written correctly, they can reduce the probability of misunderstandings and can restrict a number of damages. The contract must be clear and unambiguous and should include the following:

• A specific description of the services you provide
• Limitations of liability
• Consequential loss exclusion
• Performance standard.

This will supply your business with a level of protection, but you could still be liable for damages if you are found to be negligent.

Risk Management Strategies

Your risk management strategy has to be tailored to your business. This will allow you to identify, evaluate, and control any risks involved. To protect yourself against professional negligence claims and civil liabilities, you should offer employees a program that provides professional training and qualifications, and a standard contract that has been assessed by a legal professional. A conflict of interest policy and procedure, written guidance for customer engagement, a second pair of eyes sign-off procedure, and a file audit process should be incorporated.

Handle Your Complaints

Whether they are written or oral, complaints can be challenging to deal with. However, they can provide you with some useful feedback that can be used to improve the services your business has to offer. All complaints should be handled and investigated personally and professionally. Dealing with them as a business owner or manager will allow you to address any disputes before they accelerate into an expensive, stressful, and time-consuming professional negligence claim. A complaint procedure register should be put in place to investigate and record a complaint and how to address it.

Professional Liability Insurance

Even the most experienced business owner can make a mistake. Professional liability insurance will cover you and your company if you are found to have been negligent in the professional service you provided to your client. The Hartford offers excellent professional liability insurance coverage in minutes. You can find all of the information you need to ensure you fully understand the level of cover required for your particular business on their website. A quote is just a few clicks away, so there is no better time than the present to find the right level of cover for your business.

The above guide is for information purposes and may not work for your business in particular. You should always do your own research and rely on advice from a professional to ensure the highest level of protection for your business.

The Best Ways to Protect Your Business Against Professional Negligence was originally published in BetaPage on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.