Insurance Agents as Independent Contractors: Best Practices To Preserve This Status Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

independent contractor vs agent

And of course you know the advice that you always get is, if you’ve got any concerns about your contract, see a lawyer. No and I would’ve thought any, and you’re talking about all of the accounts of the media consultancy. 3% is the global average according to the World Federation of Advertisers; for global advertisers it’s 3% for traditional media and 6% for digital media was the latest. They still do in most cases, they won’t go to buy media unless they have written authority to buy the media from the advertiser.

Well, what would happen there is that my client would have to pay the two thousand dollars, but then they would sue me for the other thousand. For example, if you take two scenarios of creating a television advertisement for a creative type situation. In that sort of circumstance the principal would’ve said to the agent, “Okay, you create me an ad”, and off goes the agent and it contracts with a whole bunch of sub-contractors to produce an advertisement. So the whole thing about whether or not an agency is being created, is a matter of substance over form.

Compare Small Business Loans

When I was injured in an auto accident, I retained the Abel Law Firm to represent me. I had high expectations because of the fine reputation of this law firm. However, these high expectations were exceeded because of the high level of competence and professionalism of my counsel, Luke Abel, and the kindness, courtesy, and consideration which I received from Mr. Abel and his staff.

  • I asked tons of questions and they took time to explain how things worked and why this option was better than that one.
  • By agreeing with the principal that the agency is coupled with an interest, the agent can prevent his own rights in a particular literary work from being terminated to his detriment.
  • He is very personable, caring and understanding during the entire process.
  • Working with their service was efficient, effective and made me feel in control.
  • But a rise in litigation is challenging that status, and the need to define your relationships with your agents has never been as important as it is today.

And maybe people need to start thinking more about the legal view of an agency and the more narrow confines that that entails, as opposed to the broader cover or picture that they get from the concept of agency. I mean at the end of the day, if you can be one step removed from the liability, legal liabilities that flow from the contracting decisions, that’s a better position to be in than in the front line. So, in other words, the agency is taking the risk in that sense. And as I say, it does depend on the circumstances, because you could have an actual or ostensible authority in an agency situation. The difference between the actual authority is where the principal says, “You’re allowed to do X, Y and Z on my behalf”.

Build a custom email digest by following topics, people, and firms published on JD Supra.

Labor Laws in regards to the independent contractor relationship. My son and I were in an auto accident when another driver ran a red light and we had a total loss on my vehicle, as well as some injuries that required medical treatment. When I was trying to settle for the replacement of my vehicle, I had quite a bit of trouble dealing with the insurance company of the person who hit us.

  • Businesses hire employees to perform services for either hourly or salaried compensation.
  • Each person spoke of Ed, his team and his family with such high regard and respect.
  • Not only are they terrific and intelligent lawyers but awesome people to know.
  • If you have a reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee, then you may be relieved from having to pay employment taxes for that worker.
  • Initially, it’s up to the hiring firm to determine whether any person it hires is an employee or an IC.

So they will on an annual basis, sit down with media owners going, “Well, we’ll have approximately twenty million dollars that we could invest with you, what’s our effective discount or what’s going to be our buying position as a starting point? ” So in some ways they’re defining themselves as the agent, because they’re already entering independent contractor vs employee into negotiations as if they’re agents of those collections of clients. Those sorts of arrangements would be as an independent contractor, where the agent will be liable to all of those sub-contractors. Those sub-contractors aren’t going to be, or more to the point, the principal isn’t going to be liable to those sub-contractors.

Client Intelligence

And it makes no difference whether a person works only part-time. Even a part-time worker will be considered an employee if the employer has the right to exercise control. If you misclassify an employee as an independent contractor, you could have to pay substantial back taxes, fines, and penalties. Some of the disadvantages of being a 1099 employee include you must fund 100% of your https://www.bookstime.com/ Medicare and Social Security taxes, health insurance, retirement savings, as well as any tools and equipment needed for your profession. When the hiring party controls the way work is carried out and a product is delivered, the relationship between the parties is employer/employee. A person authorized to perform all the acts related to a particular trade, business or employment.

  • My wife was in a car accident and suffered some injuries.
  • So that’s pretty much how it works whether they’re an agent or an independent contractor.
  • This is a delegation of authority to another to act in his stead; it can be accomplished by executing a simple form, such as the one shown in Figure 14.2 “General Power of Attorney”.
  • “The existence of actual authority between principal and agent is not a prerequisite to establishing apparent authority.
  • Several problematic fact scenarios recur in agency, and law has developed in response.