Insurance for Interior Designers

Professional liability insurance—sometimes called E&O insurance—provides a number of potential benefits to decorators, including coverage for negligence, personal injury (such as libel and slander), defense costs, and also claims against past-rendered services. Though claims such as fraudulent acts, usually aren't covered by professional liability insurance, this type of insurance is very important for professionals who regularly provide services, consultation or advice to clients, including interior designers.

Here’s an example of how professional liability insurance can protect your interior design business. An employee of an interior design company is having lunch with a friend one day, and they’re talking about a particularly difficult client who also happens to be a prominent member of the community. Their conversation is overheard and reported back to the client, who sues the interior design firm for slander, and for breaching the confidentiality agreement the designer signed when they started the project. Their professional liability insurance policy could cover the cost to defend the employee, as well as any settlement or judgment.

If a client should react negatively to your decoration recommendations or otherwise feel as if they or their business have been damaged in some way by the services you provide, you or your business may be sued. Legal problems for interior designers can come in a number of different forms.

General liability—also called commercial general liability (CGL)—covers small businesses against claims by others of property damage, as well as bodily injury and associated medical costs.

For example, suppose an interior designer is hanging new drapes in a client’s living room when the ladder falls, knocking an antique vase off a table and smashing it. The designer’s general liability insurance policy could cover the cost to replace the vase.

Learn more about how much general liability insurance costs.

For many interior designers, a business owner's policy (BOP) may be the best choice. A BOP is a combination of general liability and business property insurance and is often used to provide coverage to small businesses with the aim of protecting valuable equipment.

An interior designer whose computer equipment is stolen would be protected by a BOP, which would cover the cost to replace the equipment and get the business back up and running.

Interior designers work with sensitive data, including credit card information, personal data, and more. Keeping this data secure is important to an interior designer’s credibility and reputation, so it’s important to have safeguards in place.

Cyber security insurance can cover the costs to notify affected parties in the event of a data breach, or to restore lost data. Plus, training and breach response services can help prevent an attack in the first place, and get expert assistance immediately if a breach occurs.