A translator's risk is a sentence that says something the original did not. The consequence is somebody else's contract, filing, medical decision or court case going wrong, which is a financial loss and therefore a professional indemnity claim.
The claims this work produces
Three shapes recur. A technical or legal mistranslation that changes meaning in a contract, a specification or a set of instructions. A certified or sworn document rejected by the body it was submitted to, with a deadline missed. And an interpreting assignment where a party says they were misrepresented. None involves injury, so professional indemnity is the cover, and limits are usually driven by the size of the client's transaction rather than by the fee.
Certified, sworn and regulated work
Documents for immigration, courts, registries and academic bodies carry formal requirements about who may certify and how. Work rejected on a technicality can cost a client an application or a hearing date, and that is a claim even where the translation itself was accurate. Insurers ask which categories of work are undertaken, and professional body membership often comes with its own insurance expectation, which sets a floor for the limit.
Confidentiality and the documents you hold
Translators handle contracts, patents, medical records, court papers and commercial information before anybody else outside the client sees them. A breach of confidence or a data breach is a real exposure and is a cyber and confidentiality question rather than an indemnity one, though the two often sit in one policy for this profession. Clients in regulated sectors increasingly ask about data handling in the contract as well as about insurance.
Subcontracting and agency work
Translators routinely subcontract to other linguists or work through agencies. Where you subcontract, the client's claim comes to you and your policy answers, so the subcontractor's own cover matters and should be evidenced. Where you work through an agency, the agency's contract usually requires you to hold a stated limit and to indemnify them, which is the practical source of the figure most freelance translators end up buying.
Questions people ask about translator insurance
Does a translator need professional indemnity?
For anything technical, legal, medical or certified, yes. The claim is a financial loss caused by the translation, which only professional indemnity answers.
What limit do agencies ask for?
Whatever their contract names, and it is usually the reason a freelance translator buys the limit they do. Professional body membership can also set a floor.
Is confidentiality covered?
Breach of confidence and data breach are cyber and confidentiality exposures rather than indemnity ones, though policies for this profession often include both.