Is insurance needed?

[J. B. Sites]

Hello again. I have another questions that might sound a little wierd. I spoke with a proffessor of mine that said he has investigative insurance in case anyone tries to sue him in civil court for his investigations. I'm wondering if this is something that I will need to have as a trainee, or does IPIU provide this? Or perhaps the individual agencies provide it. It would be great if anyone can shed some light on this question.

[Robert Donovan]

As a trainee, you do not need insurance. The agencies you're working with will provide that.

As an independent contractor trainee that would be considered "business insurance", and the cheapest rate is not an Investigative Policy, but a General Business Policy, which can be as cheap as $100 a year.

If you're just starting out and your assignments are low profile, chances are you will not have much of a need for investigative liability insurance, because you are not advertising to the public directly.

IPIU has a Private Investigative Agency Owner Manual that is due to be released this year that walks you through the steps. The good news is that they are going to award 10 of these manuals free to members in a drawing. So keep checking in the Educational Forum where it will be announced.