Interior Designer Insurance: Cost, Coverage & Providers

Interior designers provide professional services, so professional liability insurance—also called errors & omissions insurance—is a service-based liability coverage they’ll need. Professional liability extends into the area of advice or intangible elements of your business that lead to some form of harm to the customer.

If you give bad advice by recommending a floor that’s easily damaged or the wrong type of paint for a moist bathroom, a professional liability insurance policy will help investigate the claim and handle defense costs. Or, if you measure a space incorrectly and the customer then has custom-built furniture that does not fit in the space, this is a loss that falls under professional liability insurance.

Many professional liability policies come with a retroactive date. When getting a quote, a provider will even ask you for the date if you already have this coverage. This date sets a limit on how far back in time you can file a claim for a loss. This matters because if the loss happens before the retroactive date, the policy will not provide coverage.

General liability insurance, or CGL, is the most common type of liability insurance. While professional liability is important, most interior designers should consider purchasing CGL, too, as professional liability is narrower in its coverage scope, whereas CGL is quite broad.

Coverage comes in multiple categories: it protects your business from claims that, as a result of negligence, someone was injured, had property damaged, or suffered reputational harm. For instance, if it is raining outside and someone who enters your office slips, falls, and is injured, then you can file a general liability claim for their injuries.

Another reason to consider general liability is because it offers coverage for premises you rent. If your business rents an office space and it ends up damaged in some way because of your business, general liability has coverage for that, too.

Commercial property is a first-party coverage for your equipment and furniture located at a specific location. If you are renting an office space but own the furniture and equipment, such as computers, inside of the rented space, then you should consider this coverage.

There are different types of property coverages that are specific types of commercial property insurance. So, even if commercial property doesn’t fit your specific business, that doesn’t mean there isn’t another one, like inland marine, that is right for you.

Usually, providers insure the property you own only at a listed location. If you have equipment that you take to job sites or remove from your office location regularly, then look into inland marine insurance. It is specifically designed to provide coverage that travels with the listed items. However, review the value of your equipment versus the actual premium, plus deductible, to determine if this coverage is necessary.

A business owner’s policy, or BOP, is a combination of two to three coverages, namely general liability, commercial property, and usually lost income due to a business interruption. If you own an office with furniture, this is a coverage worth considering, as the commercial property portion of the BOP provides first-party coverage for buildings, structures, and contents.

Typically, a BOP is more cost-effective than purchasing all the policies separately. It also gives you the convenience of having one policy with one provider for multiple coverages.

In a world where businesses work more and more online, cyber liability insurance is increasingly a key coverage. If you handle even a part of your business online or store important information about your customers online, you’ll want to look into purchasing this.

Cyber liability has a first- and third-party component and primarily helps with the costs associated with a data breach, including the investigation, response, and notification of impacted parties. This can include attorney fees, fines and penalties, and settlements or judgments against your business.

If you have at least one employee, you will need to look into whether workers’ comp is required for your business; most states have some requirements for this type of coverage. If an employee is injured or becomes ill because of their employment, workers’ comp provides wage replacement assistance, medical bill assistance, and, in some cases, legal protection for the employer.

Curious what your state’s required threshold is for workers’ comp? We’ve done the work for you to find when workers’ comp is required in your state.

Interior designers need general liability, professional liability, and some type of property coverage, like inland marine. From there, coverages will depend on the size of your business. For example, if you employ several employees, you will likely be required to offer workers’ comp for your employees.

Costs will vary depending on the size of your business, but professional liability annual premiums can range from $694 to $1,875 and general liability costs can go from $291 to $2,500.

This will depend on what type of work your company performs. If you oversee installations on a new build or a redesign, then you can expect the general contractor to request a COI.