Education consultant insurance is designed to cover common claims in this profession, such as lawsuits over professional advice errors, accidental client injury, or damage to their property.
Your expert advice is your bread and butter, but one misunderstanding or honest mistake can transform into a big, expensive problem. Luckily, education consultant insurance is there to protect you from that financial fallout, so you can focus on guiding clients towards academic excellence.
Why Education Consultants Need Insurance Coverage
First and foremost, insurance saves you from paying out of pocket if a client, whether that’s a parent or school district, blames you for a mistake and holds you financially accountable.
Let’s take a deeper look at some of the biggest reasons you need consultant insurance and why going without it isn’t a realistic option.
Advice Errors Can Lead to Lawsuits
Your clients rely heavily on your advice to make decisions. That means the most minor advice error or unintended consequence can result in a financial loss for them, which could turn into a lawsuit blaming you.
Nobody’s perfect, and even the most seasoned consultants make mistakes. Professional liability insurance is there to make sure one tiny slip-up doesn’t throw your whole career off track.
Schools and Districts Require It
Some consultants assume that since the school has its own liability insurance policy, they don’t need to carry one themselves. However, that’s not the case. The school’s policy is only designed to protect them — not you — from the mistakes they make.
Before they’ll hire you, most schools and districts will ask you for proof of professional and general liability insurance. They may also expect you to have a fidelity bond in case one of your employees (if you have them) steals from them (e.g., embezzlement or forgery). In this way, insurance is like your golden ticket to work with clients you never would’ve had the chance to.
You Handle Sensitive Information
Working with confidential data is part of your day-to-day, including:
- Student transcripts
- Test scores
- Student data
- Family information
Handling this kind of information means you can be held responsible if it’s stolen or compromised because your computer was hacked. Cyber liability insurance can cover your expenses if this happens to you, from legal fees to data recovery after a cyber attack.
Bodily Injuries and Damage to Their Property
If you work with clients on-site, there’s always a chance someone could get hurt around your equipment, like a laptop charging cord you didn’t realize would be a trip hazard.
Additionally, working in and around other people’s property means you might accidentally damage it. Maybe you knock over one of the school’s computers while setting up for a workshop, and the school asks you to replace it.
If any of the above happen, general liability insurance can cover the cost of the injured person’s medical bills or pay to replace or repair their damaged property.
Your Business (& Your Reputation) Depends On It
Lawsuits aren’t cheap, from court fees to the expense of hiring an attorney, all the way to potential judgments or settlements. Uninsured consultants may be forced to drain their savings and put their business on hold to handle legal troubles.
Insured consultants, on the other hand, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with getting those expenses covered. They can continue helping clients while responding professionally and protecting their reputation.
At a Glance: What Education Consulting Insurance Covers
You have the why behind needing insurance, so let’s dive deeper into what kinds of coverage education consultants need and how they work.
| Coverage Type | What It Does | Example Scenario |
|---|---|---|
|
Professional liability (aka errors and omissions or E&O) |
Covers legal expenses if you are sued over advice errors or omissions that caused your client to lose money |
A school hires you to redesign part of their curriculum to improve test scores, but scores drop afterwards, and they sue you for remediation costs |
|
Covers expenses related to property damage or bodily injury you accidentally cause during your work |
A student trips over your computer cord during a consultation and injures themselves |
|
|
Extends your coverage to your clients/anyone you name as an additional insured on your policy |
A school district requires you to add them to your policy as an additional insured to protect them from any mistakes you make during your work |
|
|
Covers expenses related to data breaches, hacked accounts, lost files, or stolen student info |
You fall for an email phishing scam, and your clients’ information is compromised, including their payment information |
|
|
Covers your clients’ expenses if one of your employees steals from them |
Your assistant steals a client’s payment information while helping you with billing |
|
|
Tools and equipment (inland marine)* |
Covers the gear and equipment you take with you from one client to the next, including laptops, cameras, and teaching tools |
Your laptop is stolen out of your vehicle while you’re unloading it at a workshop |
|
Covers state-mandated benefits for your employees if they have a work-related illness or injury (required in most states) |
One of your employees strains their back while carrying a box of supplies during a workshop and needs time off work to recover |
|
|
Covers your legal fees if you are falsely accused of sexual misconduct |
A student claims you made inappropriate comments to them during a session, and their parents sue |
|
|
Covers damages to or caused by the vehicle you drive for work (typically not covered by a personal auto policy) |
You get into a car accident on the way to a consultation at a school |
*These coverages are available as optional add-ons and are not automatically included in an education consultant policy with Insurance Canopy.
What Education Consultant Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Education consulting coverage protects your business from many risks, but it has exclusions, like any insurance policy. In many cases, you can expand your coverage via optional add-ons, but a base policy typically won’t cover the following:
- Breach of contract (e.g., a missed invoice from one of your clients)
- Car accidents while driving for work (requires commercial auto coverage)
- Claims filed after your policy ends (this is a claims-made policy, meaning the claim has to happen within the designated reporting window to be eligible for coverage)
- Employee injuries or work-related illnesses (requires workers compensation coverage)
- Independent contractors
- Intentional harm or misconduct
- Work/services you didn’t list on your application
Always review your policy for exact exclusions.
Who Does Education Consulting Insurance Cover?
This policy is designed to cover a wide range of education consultants, including (but not limited to) the following:
- Academic coaching or tutoring consultants
- Behavioral consultants
- College admissions consultants
- Curriculum and instruction consultants
- Early childhood education consultants
- Educational technology (edtech) consultants
- Grant or assessment consultants
- Instructional coaches or professional development trainers
- School improvement consultants
- Special education consultants
- Title IX consultants
While these consultants work with a variety of clients, they face many of the same liability risks that could lead to expensive consulting claims.
In the News: Parents Blame Education Consultant Over Sons’ Ivy League Rejection
Lawsuits against education consultants rarely hit the news because they’re often settled privately, or the agreement between the consultant and their client includes a confidentiality clause.
However, these lawsuits do happen.
For example, a couple in Hong Kong hired an education consultant in Boston to help their two children get into Harvard.
The parents paid the consultant to assist their sons in getting into top prep schools that would make them more appealing to the Ivy League institution. They claimed he told them he was a Harvard professor and had strong connections with the school, but later learned he hadn’t worked for or with the school for years before meeting them.
As a result, they sued the consultant for fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of contract, claiming he promised to get their sons into Harvard. While many of the details were not publicly available, the couple shared that they paid the consultant over $2,000,000 during the time they worked with him.
How Insurance Could Help
It’s important to remember that education consulting insurance will not cover your expenses if you’re found guilty of fraud or breach of contract. However, if the consultant was falsely accused, insurance could help him cover:
- Attorney’s fees
- Court fees
- His settlement or judgment
How to Get Covered with Insurance Canopy — Fast
It takes 10 minutes or less to get education consultant coverage from Insurance Canopy thanks to our 100% online application process. That means you can get your Certificate of Insurance (COI) in less time than it takes to meet with a client.
The cherry on top? This policy starts at just $21 a month, so it’s convenient and affordable. This includes essential coverages like:
- Professional liability
- General liability (including personal and advertising injury coverage)
- Free, unlimited additional insureds
Our policy limits satisfy most contractual requirements, but higher limits are available as needed.
Protect your livelihood and land more contracts with Insurance Canopy. Discover how to get education consultant insurance and get your free quote in minutes!
FAQs About Education Consulting Insurance
What insurance limits do schools typically require?
Most schools contractually require education consultants to have the following insurance limits:
- Professional liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence (max amount for a single claim)/$2,000,000 aggregate (max amount for the policy year)
- General liability: $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate
Some schools and districts may accept combined professional and general liability limits, but $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate is generally the baseline. For larger contracts with state education industries or big school districts, you may need higher limits.
How do I add a school district as an additional insured?
While filling out your Insurance Canopy application, you’ll be prompted to add additional insureds to your policy before you finish checking out.
However, you can add them at any time after purchasing by logging into your user dashboard.
Do I still need insurance if I only work remotely?
Yes. While common in-person risks like injuries and property damage may not apply, you can still be sued over your advice. Professional liability insurance can cover your legal fees in this case, making it critical to your business’ financial security.
Does education consultant insurance cover subcontractors?
No, this policy does not cover subcontractors or other types of independent contractors. These professionals need to purchase their own liability insurance, specifically general and E&O coverage.
JoAnne Hammer | Program Manager
JoAnne Hammer is the Program Manager for Insurance Canopy. She has held the prestigious Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since July 2004.
JoAnne understands that starting and operating a business takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and financial resources. She believes that insurance is the single best way to protect your investment, business, and personal assets.
JoAnne Hammer is the Program Manager for Insurance Canopy. She has held the prestigious Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since July 2004.
JoAnne understands that starting and operating a business takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and financial resources. She believes that insurance is the single best way to protect your investment, business, and personal assets.
