Here is a unique situation. You hire a temporary worker. That individual then causes harm to one of your customers. Are you responsible for the losses? It is possible that you are. Your general liability insurance may help cover the customer’s losses. However, it is always important for you to understand what your risks are in this situation. Here is a bit more insight.

It Is Not Your Employee

One of the biggest concerns about hiring temporary workers is taking on the liability risk they may present. It is not unlikely for a temporary worker to cause damage to a company. They can be more at-risk of doing this in some cases. If they do not know procedures or methods, they are more likely to cause damage or injury. That is why proper training, even of temps, is so valuable.

Even though this is not your worker, your company is still responsible to the customer. For this reason, the customer has the right to try to obtain compensation for their loss. Most often, this comes directly from you, the business owner. Incidents like this may involve the temporary agency as well. Most often, though, you need to protect yourself with liability insurance.

What Type of Insurance Covers These Risks?

This may seem like a hard-to-believe situation. Yet it can happen in any business that hires a temporary worker.

For example, you may need to fill an office position. The temp may cause injury to the customer due to a trip over merchandise. You may hire a temporary worker to handle a manufacturing position. That worker does not follow procedures. The product made is defective and could harm someone after they buy it.

The best way to protect against the financial losses this type of instance can cause is to have enough insurance. General liability insurance covers most of these risks.

It is important to speak to your business insurance agent. Determine what the level of coverage is on your policy. If you are planning to hire temporary workers, it may be important to increase the amount of coverage you have to meet these new risks.

Most of the time, temporary workers do just fine. Yet, having enough insurance in place can be essential. Because mistakes can happen to anyone, and at any time, you need to have insurance to keep your business financially protected. Talk to your agent today. Find out if you need to boost your coverage if you plan to bring on temps.