Translation & Interpreting Service Insurance Coverage Checklist
The coverages a translation & interpreting service business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — why each matters, and the gap most often missed.
Pull out your current policy and check the box next to any coverage you can confirm is already in place — anything unchecked is worth a quick conversation with your advisor. Coverage checklist for translation agencies, interpreting services, remote interpreting providers, and localization firms. Priorities reflect typical exposure for this class; confirm against your actual services, settings, and linguist arrangements.
Tick each coverage you can confirm you carry — anything left unticked is a good question for your next policy review.
| Have it? | Coverage | Why this business needs it | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional Liability / E&O (incl. Bodily Injury) | Covers claims that an error caused harm — confirm it covers bodily injury from medical interpreting, which many E&O policies exclude. | Core | |
| Cyber / Privacy Liability | Covers breaches of patient, legal, and client documents you handle. | Core | |
| Commercial General Liability | Covers injuries and property damage when interpreters are on site. | Core | |
| Independent Contractor Insurance Requirements | Not a policy you buy — require contract linguists to carry their own E&O. | Prevalent | |
| Hired & Non-Owned Auto | Covers interpreters driving to hospitals, courts, and homes in their own cars. | Prevalent | |
| Employment Practices Liability | Covers claims by staff, including misclassification of contract linguists. | Prevalent | |
| Workers' Compensation | Required for employees; may be owed to misclassified contractors. | Prevalent | |
| Media / Intellectual Property Liability | Covers claims over copyrighted source material and translated marketing content. | Situational | |
| Abuse & Molestation | Needed when interpreters work with minors or vulnerable adults. | Situational | |
| Crime / Social Engineering | Covers payments diverted by fake invoices or vendor instructions. | Situational | |
| Business Personal Property | Covers office and remote-interpreting equipment. | Situational | |
| Umbrella / Excess Liability | Adds limits; hospital and government contracts may require it. | Situational |
The coverage gap most often missed
The gap most often missed by translation and interpreting companies is bodily injury. Many E&O policies cover only financial loss, but an interpreting error in a hospital can lead to injury or death — one misunderstood word left a patient quadriplegic and produced a $71 million settlement. Federal rules now require health care providers to use qualified interpreters and human review of machine translation, so your work is more likely to be relied on, and blamed. Confirm your E&O covers bodily injury, and require contract linguists to carry their own coverage.
Send us the checklist and we'll review your translation & interpreting service coverage line by line, then market it across multiple carriers that compete for your account.
Related: Translation & Interpreting Service Insurance · Translation & Interpreting Service Supplemental (apply) · All coverage checklists
Frequently asked questions
What insurance does a translation & interpreting service business need?
The core coverages for a translation & interpreting service business are Professional Liability / E&O (incl. Bodily Injury), Cyber / Privacy Liability, Commercial General Liability. This checklist also lists the prevalent and situational coverages worth considering, with a plain-English note on why each matters.
Is this checklist insurance advice?
No. It is a free educational tool to help you have a more informed conversation with a licensed professional. It affords no coverage and is not insurance, legal, or financial advice — only your actual policy language governs what is and isn't covered.
Can Cory Washington & Co. review my translation & interpreting service coverage?
Yes. Share your checklist and we'll review your program line by line, market your account across multiple carriers, and explain the trade-offs in plain English. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
This checklist is a free educational tool from Cory Washington & Co. to help you review your own coverage and have a more informed conversation with a licensed insurance professional. It is general information only — not insurance, legal, or financial advice, and not a recommendation to buy, change, or cancel any policy. Coverage terms, availability, limits, and requirements vary by policy, carrier, and state, and only the language in your actual policy governs what is and isn’t covered. Checking or leaving blank any item above does not indicate that you are adequately insured or under-insured. Using this checklist does not create a client, agency, or fiduciary relationship. Always consult a licensed professional about your specific situation.