Member News | NiHao Global and the importance of professional indemnity insurance

A question that must be asked before using any translator or interpreter

你听说过职业责任险吗?

China is country of over 1.3 billion people. Each of them has different levels of skill or expertise in their fields. The country has changed so fast that the skills, systems and people are lagging behind. This leads to a great risk for Western countries and companies when they enter the market.

There are, however, companies and individuals in the market that are striving to set new standards. Laws and processes are evolving along with training. This, coupled with the number of Chinese now coming back to the home country as the “phoenix rises”, is leading to an enhancement of skills, processes and systems adopted from their Western corporate counterparts.

中国有13亿多人口,在各自所从事的领域,每个人的技能或专业知识的掌握程度或等级也有所不同。中国的发展是如此之快,以至于人们的技能和思想以及制度往往有所滞后。这就为西方国家和公司进入中国市场带来很大风险。然而,中国市场中也有公司和个人正在努力制定新的标准,相关法律和流程也在不断向前发展。与此同时,很多国人从海外归来,利用他们从西方汲取的经验,以期促进技能、流程和制度的提高与发展。

A key component of what the returning Chinese are delivering relates to risk management. When it comes to the selection of a service provider, three major factors which must be considered include 1) qualification; 2) experience; 3) do they carry proper insurance, such as professional indemnity insurance.

从海外归来的中国人士所传递出的关键一点便是风险管理。在选择服务供应商时,我们应当考虑以下几点:1)资质;2)经验;3)是否投保职业责任险以及其他必要的保险。

There is no need for further explanation of the first two things, as they are almost an essential. As to the third – professional indemnity insurance – it is required by law in some countries for certain kinds of professional practice, and is also sometimes required under contract by other businesses that are the beneficiaries of the advice or service. In developed countries such as the USA and European nations, professional indemnity insurance has been very popular. However in China, few companies have realized its importance, especially in the language service sector. Without proper insurance, a company service provider, or especially an individual interpreter or translator, might not be able to afford to pay damages in the unfortunate event of a lawsuit. Signing major contracts or entering into business arrangements with a party that is not covered with professional indemnity insurance will guarantee neither the company’s interests nor their clients’. If something goes wrong, you may have to spend extra time and energy fighting a lawsuit, which may prove to be in vain, considering the relatively less well-established or less standard laws in China.

人人皆知前两点是必不可少的要素,在此不做过多解释。关于第三点——职业责任险,按照某些国家的法律规定,这是一种职业行为准则,有时服务受益方也会要求在合约中加入这样的条款。在欧美等发达国家,职业责任险非常盛行。然而在中国,尤其是语言服务领域,很少有公司能意识到职业责任险的重要性。如果没有投保适当的保险,当翻译员的工作不幸出现问题的时候,其所在公司很可能无法承受如此大额的赔偿,更别提自由翻译了。与此类服务供应商签订重大合同或者进入任何形式的商业协议将无法保证任何一方的利益。如果发生意外,您将需要额外花费时间与精力去追索赔偿,考虑到中国相关法律的不完善性与标准的缺失,这种追索行为最终可能徒劳无功或得不偿失。

Thanks to its Western origin, Nihao Global realizes the trend and importance of professional indemnity insurance, which makes it among the few, if not the sole company in China’s language service sector that is covered by such insurance for translating and interpreting services and ultimately for the benefits of the clients.

由于妮好国际的西方渊源,我们对职业责任险的趋势和重要性有着深刻的认识。积极投保职业责任险为我们的口笔译服务以及客户的利益提供了保障,这在中国的语言服务领域尚属凤毛麟角。