Insurance an Investigator Actually Needs

These are the policies I carry for a recovery-based investigative agency, with what I actually pay. Your numbers will differ by state, by claims history and by what you do, but the order of magnitude holds.

General liability

About $26 a month for a $1,000,000 policy.

Covers bodily injury, property damage and advertising injury arising from your business. This is the foundation, and it’s the one a landlord will require before they will rent you commercial space. Clients ask for the certificate too, so you’ll be producing it regularly whether you’re in an office or not.

Legal expense insurance

About $40 a month. Comparable plans run $250 to $500 a year.

This is the one people skip and it’s the one I would keep last. It gives you access to a panel of attorneys for business and personal matters — defamation defense, contract disputes, review of an agreement somebody sent you, a letter that needs answering properly.

If you publish anything — articles, videos, case write-ups, posts in a group — you’re exposed to somebody deciding they’ve been defamed. They don’t have to be right. A frivolous suit still costs thousands to make go away. Forty dollars a month against that isn’t a close call.

Surety bond

About $125 a year for a $10,000 bond.

A bond guarantees you’ll meet your contractual obligations. My state doesn’t require one. I got one anyway, early, because attorney clients ask — and if you aren’t bonded some of them will simply not engage you. For $125 a year it removes an objection before it is raised.

Some states do require a bond for licensed activity, at higher amounts. Check yours before you assume this is optional.

Commercial auto

Roughly $1,200 to $2,400 a year per vehicle.

If you drive for the business, your personal policy may not cover a claim that happens while you’re working. Insurers do ask what you were doing, and a denial after the fact is an expensive way to learn this. If your work involves any real mileage, get the commercial policy and stop thinking about it.

Workers’ compensation

Varies widely; often around 1% of payroll.

Mandatory in most states the moment you have employees, and the thresholds are lower than people expect — in some states a single employee triggers it. Covers medical costs and lost wages for a work injury. If you’re a sole operator with no employees you may be exempt, but check, because misclassifying a contractor who should have been an employee is its own expensive problem.

Self-defense coverage

Around $200 a year with multi-state protection and bail assistance.

Legal defense and damages coverage for a self-defense incident. Relevant if you carry a firearm, professionally or personally. I carry US Law Shield with the add-ons for bail and expert witness costs. This one is a judgment call about your own circumstances rather than a business necessity.

Where to start

If you’re opening tomorrow and can’t afford everything, the order is general liability, then legal expense, then the bond. That’s roughly $70 a month and it covers the exposures most likely to end a small agency, while also answering the two questions clients ask.

One thing worth doing regardless: read what your professional liability position actually is. General liability covers physical harm and property, not a claim that your work product was negligent. Errors and omissions cover is a separate purchase and it’s worth pricing once you’re taking work where somebody relies on your findings.