Translation & Interpretation Services Insurance
A translation is relied on by people who cannot read the original, which is the whole point of commissioning it. A mistranslated clause in a contract, a dosage error in a patient leaflet or a wrong torque value in a maintenance manual is invisible to the reader until it causes a loss, and the loss can be far larger than the fee for a few thousand words.
Interpreting carries a different exposure because it happens live. An interpreter in a police interview, a tribunal hearing, a medical consultation or a commercial negotiation produces no document that can be checked before it is relied on. Where an error comes to light, it may be argued that a conviction is unsafe, a consent was invalid or a deal was struck on a misunderstanding.
Agencies sit in the middle of a supply chain of freelance linguists. The client contracts with the agency, the agency subcontracts to translators and interpreters who may be anywhere in the world, and when a mistake surfaces the agency usually faces the claim first. Whether it can recover from the freelancer, and whether that freelancer has any cover, often decides who actually pays.
We can advise translation agencies, freelance translators and interpreters on professional indemnity, including the subcontractor arrangements, specialist subject areas and public service work that affect how insurers view the risk.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Legal and contractual translation errors
Contracts, witness statements, patents and court documents where one word changes the meaning. A mistranslated obligation, deadline or claim scope can produce a commercial loss or a failed legal action, measured against the value of the matter.
Medical and pharmaceutical content
Patient information, consent forms, instructions for use and clinical trial documents. An error here can lead to injury as well as financial loss, and many professional indemnity wordings treat bodily injury differently, so the policy needs to contemplate it.
Technical and safety critical documents
Operating manuals, safety data sheets, labelling and engineering specifications. Wrong units, values or warnings can cause equipment damage, product recalls or injury, and claims may come from the end user as well as the client.
Court, police and public service interpreting
Interpreting in police interviews, courts, tribunals and immigration hearings. An interpreting error can lead to an appeal, a retrial or a complaint, and the costs and consequences of the proceedings can be pursued against the interpreter or agency.
Freelance subcontractor chains
Work passed to freelancers, sometimes through further intermediaries. The agency is usually liable to its client for their work, may have limited recourse if a freelancer is uninsured or overseas, and needs to show it chose qualified linguists.
The cover we arrange
We arrange professional indemnity and related insurance around the services you provide, the clients you work with and the contractual requirements you face. The appropriate cover and limits will depend on your individual activities and the terms available from insurers.
Professional indemnity
Claims arising from errors, omissions and negligent translation or interpreting. The policy should describe the subject areas and language pairs worked in, especially legal, medical and technical content.
- Translation errors and omissions
- Interpreting errors
- Specialist subject areas declared
- Defence costs, depending on the policy
Subcontracted linguists
Agencies need cover that responds to work done by freelancers on their behalf. Insurers typically ask whether freelancers carry their own cover and how the agency vets and checks their work.
- Work done by freelancers
- Vetting and qualification checks
- Overseas linguists declared
- Recourse against subcontractors
Injury arising from advice
For medical, pharmaceutical and technical translators, check whether bodily injury caused by an error in the professional work is covered or excluded. Some insurers can write it back, depending on the work involved.
- Patient information and labelling
- Safety warnings and manuals
- Write back where available
- Product liability position checked
Confidentiality and cyber
Translators handle unpublished patents, legal evidence, medical records and commercial documents. A breach of confidentiality or a lost file can produce a claim and data protection consequences.
- Breach of confidentiality
- Client documents and personal data
- Email and file transfer errors
- Breach response costs
Public and employers' liability
Interpreters attend hospitals, police stations, courts, factories and client offices. Employers' liability is legally required once you employ staff and can be arranged where required, subject to the policy terms.
- Attendance at client premises
- Hospital and custody suite visits
- Employers' liability where required
- Office premises and equipment
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Fee income split between translation, interpreting, transcription, localisation and machine translation post editing
- Subject areas worked in, with legal, medical, pharmaceutical, financial and technical stated separately
- Whether court, police, immigration or other public service interpreting is undertaken
- Proportion of work subcontracted, where freelancers are based, and whether they hold their own cover
- How linguists are vetted, including membership of bodies such as the ITI or CIOL and any public service registration
- Quality assurance: independent revision, proofreading and terminology checks
- Whether any work is delivered by machine translation without full human review
- Claims and notified circumstances over the last six years
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Subject mix
Legal, medical and technical content carries larger potential losses than marketing or general correspondence, and the proportion of fee income in those areas is a central rating factor.
Subcontracting and quality checks
Agencies with documented vetting, revision by a second linguist and freelancers who hold their own cover are viewed more favourably than those passing work through untested.
Interpreting in legal settings
Court, police and immigration interpreting can produce costly consequences from a single error, and insurers may ask for more detail where it forms a meaningful part of the work.
Territory and clients
Work for clients in North America or for use in proceedings there can be rated differently, because of the size of awards and litigation costs in those jurisdictions.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Unrevised machine output
Delivering machine translation as finished work, without the human review the client was paying for, is difficult to defend and may sit outside what the insurer understood the business to do. Declare how machine tools are used.
Undeclared subject areas
A practice declared as commercial and marketing translation that takes on pharmaceutical labelling or patent work has changed its risk. Insurers rate those areas differently, so they need disclosing before the work is accepted.
Bodily injury without a write back
Many professional indemnity policies exclude injury. For medical and technical translators this matters, because an error in a warning or dosage instruction can hurt someone.
Certification beyond your competence
Certifying a translation as accurate in a language pair or subject you are not qualified in weakens any defence. Insurers expect work to be allocated to linguists qualified for it.
Common questions
Do freelance translators need professional indemnity insurance?
There is no general legal requirement, but many agencies and direct clients ask for it, and a single error in legal or technical work can produce a claim far larger than the fee. It also gives an agency someone to recover from if your work causes its client a loss.
Our agency subcontracts most of its work. Are we still liable?
Usually yes, to your own client, because they contracted with you. Your policy should cover work done by freelancers on your behalf, and your agreements with them should say what cover they hold and what happens if their work causes a claim.
We translate patient leaflets. What if someone is harmed by an error?
That is a bodily injury scenario, and many professional indemnity policies exclude injury unless it is written back. Tell us about medical and pharmaceutical work at the outset so the wording can be checked for it rather than assumed.
Does interpreting at police interviews need special cover?
It needs to be declared. An interpreting error in a criminal matter can be raised at trial or on appeal, and the consequences are serious. Insurers will want to know the proportion of public service work and the registration and qualifications of the interpreters doing it.
We use machine translation tools. Does that affect our insurance?
It can. Using tools within a properly reviewed workflow is normal practice. Delivering machine output without the human review the client expected is harder to defend, so describe your process accurately on the proposal.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.