Literary Agents are representatives of authors and assist in negotiations with publishers. Professional indemnity insurance for Literary Agents is designed to protect Literary Agents from claims made against them by their clients.
Why do Literary Agents require Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Authors often turn to Literary Agents for several reasons. The general responsibilities and duties of Literary Agents include the following:
- Representing authors in the publishing world
- Managing the business aspect of publishing for authors
- Reading and reviewing a large number of manuscripts to decide which authors to represent
- Negotiating contracts regarding publishing rights, advances and royalties
- Suggesting edits that can improve the manuscripts before marketing
- Communicating with authors about any significant changes publishers request in manuscripts
- Assisting authors in understanding the ins and outs of publishing
- Using their publishing connections to reach key editors
A Literary Agent has to perform all of the above mentioned duties with reasonable care or he/she might face legal action. Professional Indemnity Insurance provides them with financial protection to assist in defending claims and paying any resultant damages.
Public Liability Insurance for Literary Agents
If you or any of your employees visit a customers premises your actions could cause an injury to another person. Similarly, if an accident happens whilst a member of the public comes to your place of business and they are injured you could be held liable. Public Liability Insurance protects you in the event that such accidents occur and a claim is subsequently made against you.
Public liability insurance also covers you if damage is caused to third party property while at the customers business. An example would be if an employee broke a valuable item while making a delivery at a customer’s home. The claim to replace the item would be covered by public liability insurance.