Liability clause/liability insurance
Thread poster: Anita van Houdt
Anita van Houdt
Anita van Houdt  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 23:50
English to Dutch
+ ...
Oct 17, 2019

Hi, after successful assessments I'm about to onboard with two translation agencies - one in the USA and one in Malta - but they both have sent me contracts with a liability clause.
I have always been employed by companies as a linguist, so this liability issue as a freelancer is new for me.

Please let me know your experience with liability clauses: sign them or not?

I'm hesitating to sign them without a liability insurance and here's my second question:
w
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Hi, after successful assessments I'm about to onboard with two translation agencies - one in the USA and one in Malta - but they both have sent me contracts with a liability clause.
I have always been employed by companies as a linguist, so this liability issue as a freelancer is new for me.

Please let me know your experience with liability clauses: sign them or not?

I'm hesitating to sign them without a liability insurance and here's my second question:
which liability insurance can you recommend and what does it cost approx.?
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Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 23:50
English to German
In memoriam
Should not be unlimited Oct 17, 2019

Anita van Houdt wrote:

Hi, after successful assessments I'm about to onboard with two translation agencies - one in the USA and one in Malta - but they both have sent me contracts with a liability clause.
I have always been employed by companies as a linguist, so this liability issue as a freelancer is new for me.

Please let me know your experience with liability clauses: sign them or not?


I have seen such clauses where the liability is limited to the value of the respective project (i. e. the fee you are getting for it). In other cases, I have negotiated an amendment to this effect. I think that is good practice and fair for both sides.


ahartje
Carolina Finley
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Tomasz Sienicki
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 23:50
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Anita Oct 17, 2019

Anita van Houdt wrote:
Please let me know your experience with liability clauses: sign them or not?


You have to consider how likely it is that the clause will be triggered. Many agreements that we sign contain unlimited liability clauses, but we sign them because we feel it's unlikely that the other party will ever initiate a liability action against us. For example, when you installed Windows or Microsoft Office, or when you signed up for ProZ.com or for your e-mail provider, you [probably] agreed to unlimited liability, but you did not even think about it.

Strictly speaking, though, you should not sign anything that you don't or can't agree to. Unlimited liability is something that no freelance translator can afford (financially speaking), so it makes no sense for any freelance translator to agree to unlimited liability.

In addition, it's just silly to require a freelance translator to agree to unlimited liability. Many of the contracts that we sign with agencies were written, it seems, by lawyers who thought that the contracts would be signed by large, international companies, instead of individuals working from home.

If you really don't like the clause, you can cross it out and send the crossed-out version to the client. Sometimes they accept this, and from that point onwards you have a new client. Sometimes they don't accept it, and then you must explain to them why you can't sign such a clause. Sometimes they believe you, and sometimes they don't.

I'm hesitating to sign them without a liability insurance...


Odds are that any liability insurance that you have will be cancelled if you sign a contract that accepts unlimited liability.

It's very difficult to get liability insurance anyway, because you need to convince the insurance company that it is highly unlikely that you will ever make a claim, and that means that they must be satisfied with your education, training, methods, procedures, etc. Very few freelance translators have this type of insurance.


 
Anita van Houdt
Anita van Houdt  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 23:50
English to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Liability clause/liability insurance Oct 18, 2019

Thanks Kay-Viktor and Samuel for sharing your opinion, very useful!

 
Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 23:50
Italian to English
+ ...
Where it comes from Oct 20, 2019

I'm working in Italy and it's quite common to find these clauses.

I think they come from the fact that the agencies have a lawyer draw up their contacts, and the lawyer works from boilerplates applying to other service/industry areas. The contracts are designed to protect the agency as much as possible, but don't take account of actual conditions in the sector or the feasibility for translators of obtaining insurance.

I have signed these agreements in the past and I gu
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I'm working in Italy and it's quite common to find these clauses.

I think they come from the fact that the agencies have a lawyer draw up their contacts, and the lawyer works from boilerplates applying to other service/industry areas. The contracts are designed to protect the agency as much as possible, but don't take account of actual conditions in the sector or the feasibility for translators of obtaining insurance.

I have signed these agreements in the past and I guess it's a risk. I do tell the agencies that I'm uninsured.
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Liability clause/liability insurance







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