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Yes, you really need to be insured as a translator

Regarding insurance companies, there are many insurance contracts for translators, starting from the least protective to the most complete ones. As a reminder, insurance is not mandatory as translation is not a regulated professional activity. The professions concerned are lawyers, architects, nurses, doctors, midwives, physiotherapists… Luckily, translators are not!

Yes, not even a professional liability contract is required by law! You’re under the impression that you can’t harm anyone translating from your computer at home, sipping tea wrapped in a blanket? Your job is probably less risky than firefighters for example, but let’s act as if you were a responsible professional and explore the marvellous world of insurance.

Be careful because the moment you start working, your personal civil liability won’t be effective. Insurances are well-known to look for any error or changes that can best benefit them and not you: read the small print at the bottom of your contracts before signing them!

Most people don’t think insurance is useful until the very moment they need it and discover they are not covered. If a client finds out that there is an error in the 10,000 copies he made after your translation, he can send you the bill. As most translators aren’t rich, a slight error can make you go bankrupt. If you translate a medical document and it happens that a mistake you made led to the death of a patient, the family can ask the company to pay for damages. Then the company can ask you to pay for them. They can easily reach thousands of euros.

Business liability can get you out of trouble

The first and most useful level of insurance is business liability. It can be defined as the civil liability of a professional towards a non-professional who hired him or her through a contract. For the business liability to be engaged, three elements are required:

• An error (made by you)
• A damage (to your client)
• A causal link between the error and the damage.

The damages can be:

• A personal injury: in case a client visits you and breaks his leg because of your freshly-mopped floor.
• Material damage: in case you visit a client and you break something owned by the company.
• Intangible damage: when a client loses money because of something you did. This is the most common case in translation.

Business liability is engaged when there is a breach of the professional’s obligations, specifically written in the contract or resulting from the practices in the business.

It protects you in your professional exercise of translation. If for some reason, your computer catches fire (yes, anything can happen!) and destroys your house or your neighbour’s flat, your house insurance can decide not to reimburse you if they prove you were working. Also, if you mistranslate something that leads to someone’s harm or death, your business liability will save you from paying damages.

Your business liability could be engaged only when you are running your translation business, in case of an error or negligence that leads to material, insubstantial or financial damages, or physical injuries.

Most insurance companies offer this kind of contract, with prices starting from €100 to €250 per year, depending on the options you chose (covering a flat dedicated to professional use, computers, printers…). For example, for €10,22 a month, MAIF (one of the best insurance companies in France), covers the payment for damages resulting from your translation (not delivered in time, with errors…), if you harm someone and if you need to hire a lawyer to defend you in court against a client who suddenly decided to sue you. If you want your equipment to be covered, the same company will charge you €14,90 per month.

Multirisk protection to adapt your insurance to your needs

Fortunately, you can benefit from way more than a business liability insurance: when looking for an insurance company, ask them about their “multirisk” contracts. They are more protective because they include more options like what follows.

Legal protection contracts are designed for prevention and assistance. You can rely on your insurance company to give you specific and personalized advice for any legal question. If you want to sue a bad payer or change your company status for example. Assistance will be provided if your business liability is engaged: the insurance company usually takes care of everything and explains you the case, can recommend you a lawyer and pay him or her, and help you to enforce a decision in your favour. This type of protection covers everything in your daily translator’s life, in case of a conflict with a client or your landlord for example.

Your health is the most precious thing. That is why you must consider subscribing to an additional healthcare cover. The French healthcare system, known as the “Sécurité Sociale”, is not enough to cover all health expenses: that’s why having an additional healthcare cover (“complémentaire”) is strongly recommended. Don’t hesitate to ask your business liability insurance company if they have a type of contract including it. Your health can be affected by the translator’s way of life: sitting in front of a computer makes you vulnerable to back pain or to the loss of sight. If you want your glasses to be fully reimbursed for example. Such tools are vital for you.

Finally, and to follow what has been hitting the headlines for the past few weeks, let’s talk about retirement! It is common knowledge that micro-enterprises are at a disadvantage when it comes to retirement. You have to keep in mind that every micro-enterprise has to pay contributions to the Organization for the Collection of Social Security and Family Benefit Contributions (known in French as “URSSAF”). The contribution percentage can vary depending on the turnover made. It may be interesting to think about paying for an additional pension cover. It may not be easy at the beginning, but when the moment comes, you will be happy to have made this choice.

Written by Valentin Morat, M1 TSM 2022-2023

Sources:
Société française des traducteurs’s webstite: https://www.sft.fr/fr/homepage
MAIF’s website: https://www.maif.fr/
https://www.tradupreneurs.fr/assurance-professionnelle-pouvez-vous-vous-en-passer/
https://www.confrerie-des-traducteurs.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3103