Professional Indemnity Insurance
This specialised area of insurance covers liability arising from the ‘professional services’ provided by a business.
Importantly, as the nature of modern business continues to change rapidly it’s no longer only for traditional occupations such as Engineers, Accountants, Doctors, Lawyers, Architects and Insurance Brokers. Professional Indemnity should be a key consideration for advice – from beauty therapists, book-keepers and building certifiers, to colour consultants and interior designers. If you hold a qualification and you provide advice, certification, testing or formals on which other parties depend, then chances are there is a Professional Indemnity exposure.
Arranging the correct type and level of Professional Indemnity cover can be complex. As such it requires specialist assistance from an Adviser who can help you navigate a wide range of considerations including the following:
-
Professional Indemnity is a ‘Claims Made Policy’ – this means your policy only covers you for claims made against you during the period of insurance, not before or after.
-
Wordings generally fall into three categories:
-
Negligence;
-
Acts, Errors or Omissions; and
-
Civil Liability.
-
-
But what do these actually mean, and which is best for your business?
-
Is the sum insured inclusive or exclusive of defence costs?
-
What is reinstatement and how many reinstatements does the wording cover?
-
Is there navigation and/or jurisdictional restrictions to your cover?
-
What is a retroactive date and what are the impacts on the cover?
-
Does cover include advancement of defence costs? Why is this important?
-
Are joint ventures covered, and if so, to what extent?
-
What is the impact of contracts on the cover?
-
Does cover extend to liability from contractors and sub-contractors? Does the scope of their activities impact if they are covered?
-
What is a notifiable event and when should notification be made to the insurer? What is the impact if this is not made?
-
What is continuous cover and why is it important?
-
What is run-off cover and when is it needed?