Professional Indemnity insurance (PI) is designed to cover a sole trader or business from third party claims resulting from a client claiming that you have given poor or incorrect advice, or failure to perform in the expected manor of the profession described. It is also worth noting that a client can still make acclaim, even if you have given advice for free.
Indemnity cover, also known as professional liability insurance, is designed to safeguard service-based enterprises, come what may. As a professional, you take pride in doing great work, but if disagreements occur, this cover handles the cost of putting things right – including legal fees.
Professional indemnity within trade and contractor industries
Professional Indemnity Insurance is increasingly being made available to all trades where there is an element of advice provided which if incorrect could lead to a financial loss.
Many regulatory bodies require that their members have professional indemnity insurance to certain minimum levels of indemnity depending on the occupation. Whilst PI is often associated with the profession of accountants, bookkeepers, doctors, dentists & solicitors it is also frequently used in the construction industry in a design & build contract to satisfy s collateral warranty.
What does Professional Indemnity cover?
Professional indemnity insurance is often explained in terms of what might go wrong – but what does it cover? PI can cover from as little as £50,000 and go up to £10 million or beyond. The amount you require will be dictated by the industry you are in and in some situations the contractual obligations that you may have with your clients.
Professional liability insurance helps in a wide range of scenarios such as professional negligence claims, data loss claims and allegations you’ve given poor business advice. Your professional indemnity insurance will provide cover for legal fees or compensation costs. If your business makes a costly mistake – or a customer claims it has – then this financial assistance can help you to survive and thrive beyond the court case.
If someone within your organisation fails to apply due diligence, leaves sensitive files on a train or gives damaging advice in an email, it’s easy to find yourself facing legal proceedings.
Tricky areas such as defamation and intellectual property are also covered by professional indemnity insurance. If an employee shares a questionable claim about a competitor on social media or another company says your work is too similar to theirs, having the right professional indemnity policy in place can cover the costs of legal defence and any pay outs.
Professional indemnity insurance only covers events which have occurred since you’ve held such a policy. This is called a retroactive date.
The price of professional indemnity
In recent years, especially since Covid 19 the number of insurers providing this cover has reduced with the effects that the premiums have increased.
Fortunately, we use a broad spectrum to market PI risks and would be happy to provide bespoke quotes at your request.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements.
