CPA and Accounting Insurance (2024)

What Is Accounting Insurance?

Accounting insurance is a type of business insurance that helps protect your small business from the unique risks the financial services industry presents. You may have heard other names for this insurance, like:

Certified public accountant (CPA) insurance
Accountant insurance

Accounts and CPAs regularly handle sensitive information and manage their clients’ finances, which can be risky.

Our business insurance coverage can help protect you from these kinds of risks so you can run a successful financial firm.

How Much Does Accounting Insurance Cost?

Accounting insurance costs vary because every small business is unique. Insurance companies look at different factors when determining your insurance cost. This can include your accounting firm’s:

Claims history
Location
Number of employees
Type of work

The best way to find out how much accounting insurance will cost your business is to get a quote.

Who Needs Accounting and CPA Insurance?

Tax preparers
CPA firms
Accounting firms
Accounting private practices
Payroll accounting services
Payroll preparation services
Auditors
Circulation auditors
Payroll auditors
Billing services

Here for You, 24/7

We know you need to show your proof of insurance often. So, we make it easy to access whenever you need it.

What Insurance Do CPAs and Accountants Need?

Many accountants start with a Business Owner’s Policy(BOP) for their insurance needs. This insurance covers some claims that can come up during normal business operations.

A BOP includes three essential types of coverage for small business owners, such as:

General liability insuranceto help cover claims that your accounting business caused bodily injury or property damage to someone else.

Commercial property insurancehelps protect your owned or rented building and equipment you use to operate your accounting firm. This includes your:

Computers
Documents
Filing cabinets
Office furniture

Business income insurancehelps replace your lost income if you can’t operate your small business because of covered property damage.

Other types of coverage you can get for your accounting business include:

Commercial auto insurance
Employment practices liability insurance
Home-based business insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance, also known as workers' comp insurance
Professional liability insurance for accountants, also known as

Accounting Insurance You Can Count On

When Mueller & Company lost their electricity because of a storm, they couldn’t bill their customers. See how we helped the CPA firm save lost revenue.

Covering Your Accounting Firm’s Team

When you think of workplace injuries, the accounting industry probably doesn’t come to mind. Office jobs are usually considered pretty safe. However, repeated movement and bad ergonomics can lead to repetitive stress injuries that could put your employees out of work. With accounting insurance, you can get coverage to help protect your team.

In 2018, there were 2,900 workplace injuries within the accounting industry.¹

Employee Injury

“We were in the middle of busy tax season when one of our senior accountants got diagnosed with carpal tunnel. Years of typing resulted in needing a few weeks of rest and time off work.”

Workers’ compensation insurance gives your employees benefits to help them recover from work-related injuries or illnesses. It can also help replace most of their lost wages if they have to miss work. This coverage can also helps ensure the insurer is protected from lawsuits if an employee gets hurt or sick from their job.

Service Mistake

“One of my employees gave financial advice to a client about their business. They ended up losing thousands of dollars and sued us for damages.”

Accountants professional liability insurance helps cover your legal costs if your accounting business gets sued for negligence or making a mistake in the professional services given. You can add this coverage to a BOP or buy it as a standalone policy.

Covering Your Accounting Firm’s Operations

Accounting firms often handle personally identifiable information about clients. Storing this type of data makes your firm a target for cyberattacks, and a data breach can really impact your business’ operations. That’s why getting the right type of accounting insurance coverage is essential.

There were 1,509 data breaches in the finance industry in 2019.²

Computer Hacking

“Our data storage provider notified us they were hacked. Some of our clients’ personal information was stolen, so we had to notify them and offer credit monitoring services.”

Data breach insurance can help cover your accounting firm’s costs incurred as a result of a breach of PII. Some insurers call this coverage cyber liability insurance.

Power Loss

“A transformer blew on a power line near our accounting firm. We lost power and had to close our doors for a few days until the utility company could get us back up and running.”

We offer Business Income for Off Premises Utility Services to help replace your firm’s lost income if you can’t open because damage to the utility company’s property caused you to lose power.

Covering Your Accounting Firm’s Property

Property damage can happen anywhere, at any time. With accounting insurance coverage, you can help protect the equipment and software that your firm relies on.

Burglary, theft and damage from water, wind and fire are some of the most common property damage claims that small business owners face.³

Damaged Records

“A pipe burst at our accounting firm, ruining some important boxes we had stored. The water completely destroyed the documents inside of them.”

Our valuable papers and records coverage can help pay to recreate important paperwork if they’re damaged from water, fire or another unexpected event. This coverage applies to your business’ ledgers, financial statements or employee and client files.

Computer Virus

“Our accounting firm’s computer system got infected with a virus. We ended up having to replace all our employee desktops so we could start working again.”

Our commercial property insurance can help protect your firm’s computers, software and data. If they need repairs or replacing because of a virus or power failure, this coverage can help pay those costs.

Accounting and CPA Insurance Made for Your Firm

We’re an experienced insurance company that knows every small business is unique. Our specialists will work with you to make sure you get the right coverage to create an accounting insurance policy that fits your business’ needs.

Find out more about other financial service professions we insure:

Investment Manager Insurance
Bookkeeper and Tax Preparer Insurance

CPA & Accounting Insurance That Has Your Back

Get the protection you need to help keep your small business running successfully.

Start Quote

For Larger Firms

Larger accounting and financial firms typically require specialized insurance coverage.

Learn About Business Needs

The Hartford shall not be liable for any damages in connection with the use of any information provided on this page. Please consult with your insurance agent/broker or insurance company to determine specific coverage needs as this information is intended to be educational in nature.

The information contained on this page should not be construed as specific legal, HR, financial, or insurance advice and is not a guarantee of coverage. In the event of a loss or claim, coverage determinations will be subject to the policy language, and any potential claim payment will be determined following a claim investigation.

Certain coverages vary by state and may not be available to all businesses. All Hartford coverages and services described on this page may be offered by one or more of the property and casualty insurance company subsidiaries of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. listed in theLegal Notice.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries under the brand name, The Hartford, and is headquartered in Hartford, CT. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s Legal Notice.

* Customer reviews are collected and tabulated by The Hartford and not representative of all customers.