What is professional indemnity insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance, also known as PI insurance, is a type of business insurance for companies and consultants which provide professional services to clients. It can help cover the cost of compensation and legal fees if you’re accused of providing negligent services or poor advice that leads to losses or damage for your client.
Whether you’re in financial services or digital marketing, any organisation which provides a professional service or gives advice could be sued if the recipient is unhappy with their work. A customer might say you were negligent, delivered the wrong training or made a mistake which cost them money.
As a professional, you take pride in doing great work, but if disagreements occur, this cover can help with the cost of putting things right – including legal fees and any compensation.
Online quote in 5 minutes
Get a quote
Guide to professional indemnity insurance
Watch our video guide to understand more about professional indemnity insurance, and how having PI cover in place may help to protect your small business from unexpected scenarios and related costs.
What does PI insurance cover?
Professional indemnity insurance, also known as PI, is often explained in terms of what might go wrong – but what does it cover? From Hiscox, PI policies can provide up to £10 million cover for legal fees or compensation. 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.
Hiscox professional indemnity cover also provides industry-specific policies for tailored protection. As your business grows, we’ll help you to cover indemnity risks along the way.
Professional indemnity insurance can help across a wide range of scenarios such as professional negligence claims, data loss claims and allegations you’ve given poor business advice.
If someone within your organisation fails to apply due diligence, leaves sensitive files on a train, or gives damaging advice in an email, you could face legal proceedings. Read our FAQ guide to learn more about breach of confidentiality.
Tricky areas such as defamation and intellectual property are also covered by professional indemnity insurance. If your social media intern shares a questionable claim about a competitor, or another company says your work is too similar to theirs, having the right professional indemnity policy in place can help 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.
Not sure what you need?
Tell us about your business – we’ll build your business insurance quote and help you explore any other insurance needs.
Start my quoteRelated guides & FAQs
How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?
The amount of PI cover you’ll need will depend on the specific circumstances of your business. Discover how much professional indemnity insurance you need with this article.
Who needs professional indemnity insurance?
Clients in some sectors might require businesses to have a PI insurance policy before they begin work. Find out who needs professional indemnity cover with this guide.
What is the difference between public liability and professional indemnity insurance?
PL and PI insurance both cover compensation claims, but in different circumstances. Our guide covering the difference between the two explains all.
Disclaimer:
Our FAQ pages provide general information and background around the topic covered. FAQ pages are reviewed and monitored periodically by our insurance experts. But the content is not intended to be read as advice and any material is for general information purposes only. If you would like advice for any content, please seek professional assistance.