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  • #2295814

    Liability Waiver & Insurance

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    by ed6612 ·

    Hello,

    I am starting a small company specializing in general on-site computer services for home and home-office users in my local area. One concern that I have is the matter of professional liability. I was wondering if anyone knows where I can find information regarding the creation of a liability waiver for customers to sign prior to starting the work and how much of a protection such a document would offer against any claims relating to the loss of data for example. My business will be a sole proprietorship and I realize that I will be completely liable for my work. Would it make sense to obtain error & omission insurance coverage in this scenario or is it overkill considering the cost involved? I am planning on consulting a lawyer regarding these questions but am also curious to what you guys think.

    Thanks and have a happy new year,

    -Ed

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    • #2672313

      Reply To: Liability Waiver & Insurance

      by thechas ·

      In reply to Liability Waiver & Insurance

      The on-site is the scary part from a business perspective.

      You may need to look into getting yourself bonded to protect against frivolous accusations.

      Check most service contracts and you will find a lot of fine print.
      Bottom line, you need to make sure that your customers have full confidence in your skills and thus have no reason to suspect negligence.

      From discussions on related topics in the discussion forum, you need to have a policy for what you will do when you come across evidence of illegal activity.
      Be it porn, un-licensed software, or file sharing, you need to have a defined plan of action.

      Chas

    • #2730688

      Reply To: Liability Waiver & Insurance

      by rosstamon ·

      In reply to Liability Waiver & Insurance

      A couple of thoughts here. One is that you should consider incorporating. Sole Proprietorship will not shield your personal assets if you should ever encounter the worst, an upset customer with a lawyer. An S-Corp would more than likely suffice but you still need to have a discussiong with an accountant about getting that done. Would probably only cost about $300.00 give or take a hundred. As far as the liability waiver, you should go to a CompUSA or other similar type of place and tell them you want to have a computer fixed but would like to read the contract before you decide to have it done. It will be a little akward for you, but if you’re really interested in doing this, that won’t deter you. You will have far more difficult situations to deal with in the years ahead. But you will not regret it as long as you work hard and do a good job.
      I have a buddy doing exactly what you want to do. He hasn’t taken my advice and so far has been very lucky. But if you ever help someone and lose their valuable information, and you don’t have a disclaimer that they have signed and agreed to, then you open yourself up for a world of trouble.

      • #2728805

        Reply To: Liability Waiver & Insurance

        by ed6612 ·

        In reply to Reply To: Liability Waiver & Insurance

        Thanks for the advice. I wasn’t able to find too many sample liability waiver forms online (for a fee or free) and what you suggest sounds like a good way to get an idea of what such a form should contain without hourly attorney fees.

    • #2728804

      Reply To: Liability Waiver & Insurance

      by ed6612 ·

      In reply to Liability Waiver & Insurance

      This question was closed by the author

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