

Ask YC: Liability insurance for a 1099? - donw

Well, this is a first for me.  I'm negotiating a contract with one of those we-find-you-work agencies, and while they are willing to let me work as a 1099, rather than a W2 contractor, they insist that I have liability and worker's compensation insurance.  This is the first time I've been asked to provide insurance, and a quick Googling doesn't seem to have much in the way of answers.<p>But, there's lots of smart people here, and likely  some of you who do your own contracting, so you get to deal with this all the time, right?  Right?<p>I realize this doesn't fit in the 'startup' category, but six months' worth of contracting income can run a startup for more than a couple of months... and should keep me from having to take any student loans for grad school.<p>Thanks-in-advance!
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goofygrin
well... you most likley need to contact an insurance agent for liability and
omissions insurance. 1million is around 4-6k depending on where you are.

1099 can be dangerous for them since if you don't pay your taxes, the IRS can
come after them, since, well you don't have the money and they, as a company,
(likely) do.

See if you can make an LLC/scorp and just do corp-to-corp for them?

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darklighter3
Yeah, just talk to a local insurance broker and you'll get set up quick. Make
sure you know what kind of liability insurance they are requiring general
liability or professional liability (sometimes called errors and omissions).
General liability + workers comp will probably cost you a few hundred bucks a
year. Professional liability will cost a few thousand.

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xenoterracide
depends on the contracting. All of my contracts were short term, never had
more than 10 contracts from one company, which maybe 2k. But that might just
be my luck and area. Michigan has been crappy for.... anything.

