What does insurance for Accountants & Tax Agents cost?

Every small business is different, and the same is true for accountants and tax agents. Many of the factors that make you and your business unique are used to help calculate your accountancy insurance, such as Professional Indemnity, Public Liability, and any other policies you decide to buy. Some of these factors include:

• The size of your business – What is your annual revenue or turnover? More or larger contracts could mean more risk and higher premiums.
• Where you are located – The geographic area you work in or where your offices are located can impact how much you pay for insurance.
• Who is being covered – Are all members of staff (including yourself) qualified to do their jobs?
• Your previous claims history – A history of past insurance claims may mean that you’ll pay more for a new policy or renewal.
• The amount of cover you need – More cover generally means higher premiums.

As every accountant and tax agent will answer these and other questions differently, it’s often easiest to compare quotes from multiple insurers in order to understand how much you can expect to pay for accountancy insurance.

Insurance for Accountants and Tax Agents

There are many on-the-job risks that accountants and tax agents may face. Providing a professional service to clients, damage to office computers and other equipment, and the threat of cyberattacks are just some of the events that accountancy insurance can help address.

Professional Indemnity

Accountants and Tax Agents require professional indemnity insurance to comply with professional association requirements (e.g. NZICA, CPA), professional standards legislation, or to meet the requirements of clients and/or tender processes.

Even the best of us can have a bad day with the books. That’s why Professional Indemnity insurance is designed to protect you and your business from any losses which may arise from any errors and omissions which may happen across a wide variety of accounting and tax services. Some of the most common Accounting and Bookkeeping errors are outlined below.

What is typically covered?

Even the smallest mistake can lead to expensive consequences for accountants and tax agents. Professional Indemnity insurance helps protect you against many potential risks that can happen when you provide a professional service or give advice to clients. These include:

• Errors, mistakes and omissions
• Missed deadlines
• Undelivered services
• Professional negligence
• Breaches of contract

What is typically not covered?

Professional Indemnity insurance does not provide protection for:

• Intentional damage
• Circumstances or claims known before your insurance period begins
• Acts of dishonesty and fraud
• Accidental injury and property damage

Protect your business today.

Accounting and bookkeeping errors

• Incorrect tax advice / tax preparation
• Late lodgement of returns
• Negligence in rendering professional services
• Incorrect analysis and interpretation of the numerical data
• Failure to fully comply with audit undertaking

The professional business of Accountants and Tax Agents covers a broad range of activities.

• Accounts preparation / bookkeeping
• Taxation
• Auditing
• Business valuations
• Company secretarial
• Forensic accounting
• Receivership/liquidations
• Mortgage/finance broking
• Management/business consulting
• Accounting software programs

Public Liability

Do clients visit your office for their calculations? Or do you provide an in-home service? If yes, then Public Liability Insurance is a vital type of insurance to protect your business against financial losses arising from claims of third party accidental damage to property or injury (not covered by the ACC) resulting from you going about your business.

What is typically covered?

Public Liability insurance for Accountants and Tax Agents commonly covers:

• Damage to a third-party’s property
• Damage to a third-party’s property that results in a financial loss
• Injury, illness or death caused by your negligence (that is not covered by the ACC) caused by your negligence

What is typically not covered?

Public Liability insurance does not provide cover for:

• Employee injuries
• Damage to your own property
• Compensation for personal injuries that are covered by the ACC

Protect your business today.

Claim example

An accountant acted as a trustee for a happy couple’s family trust. The clients’ marriage broke down and the accountant was accused by the wife of acting in the husband’s interests in the distribution of the assets. Whilst nothing was ultimately proven, the accountant had significant legal costs in defending his actions and position as a trustee. The professional indemnity policy, under the Trustee’s Liability section, met the costs of appointing skilled legal talent and the costs associated with it.

FAQ

Why do accountants and tax agents need insurance?

There are many everyday risks that accountancy insurance can help protect accountants and tax agents against. From claims that you have acted negligently to a cyberattack on your network, insurance can help shield your finances and keep you in business.

Accountants and tax agents may want to consider different types of insurance to help address the many risks they face:

• Professional Indemnity helps protect you against claims that arise from the services you provide, or advice given to a client or customer that results in a financial loss.
• Public Liability can help protect you when clients and other members of the public visit your offices, or you visit clients in their homes.
• Business Insurance can help protect your office against fire, storm and other damages, as well as the things inside it, like your office equipment.
• Cyber Insurance can help protect you in the event of a hack, cyberattack or data breach.

Without accountancy insurance, the costs of compensating a client or responding to a lawsuit could be left solely on your shoulders. For small business owners, these expenses can be financially devastating and potentially lead to bankruptcy and business closure. Insurance can help accountants and tax agents keep working even if the unexpected happens.

How do I buy accountancy insurance?

Like so many accountants and tax agents, you probably have a full schedule with a lot of work to complete every day. This is why BizCover makes it fast and easy to buy insurance for your small business. Find, compare and buy accountancy insurance in just minutes—and get on with your day!

It only takes a few minutes to get and compare multiple quotes from leading insurers across New Zealand. There’s no complicated paperwork to deal with, and you’ll even receive your policy documents via email as soon as you’re done. Even better, this can all be done at a time that’s convenient to your schedule—even the middle of the night!

* * As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. The information contained on this web page is general only and should not be relied upon as advice.