Professional indemnity insurance

Covers you against the cost of claims relating to:

  • negligence or breach of a duty of care
  • infringement of intellectual property rights, such as copyright or trademark
  • breach of confidence or misuse of information
  • defamation

You may face additional risks if:

  • you provide strategic advice to clients
  • you have access to clients' confidential information
  • you produce materials that clients publish or distribute

What's covered

We'll pay for claims against you and your agreed legal costs up to the cover level you select relating to:

  • negligence or breach of a duty of care
  • infringement of intellectual property rights, such as copyright or trademark
  • breach of confidence or misuse of information
  • defamation

But that’s not all. We work hard to understand the specific challenges your business faces so that we can tailor our professional indemnity policies to respond to the risks most relevant to your industry sector.

Please take a look at your industry-specific policy documents below for the full details of what's covered.

What's not covered

We will not pay for any claims or losses from:

  • your breach of obligations as an employer
  • harassment or discrimination
  • the use of land, buildings or vehicles
  • anything you knew or should reasonably have known about before taking out your policy that would be likely to lead to a claim or a loss
  • any work performed before the start of the policy or the retroactive date stated in your schedule
  • any acts or omissions you deliberately or recklessly commit, condone or ignore
  • an actual or possible cyber attack, hacker or social engineering communication

You must pay the amount of the excess for each claim. Plus, there may be some further significant exclusions to the cover we offer. Please take a look at your industry-specific policy documents below for the full details of what's not covered.

 

 

What level of professional indemnity cover do I need?

Ask yourself how much money is at stake. How big is the contract or the project? How big is your client? If the worst came to the worst, what level of cover would you need to pay your defence costs and the maximum compensation that might be awarded against you? Also, it’s pretty common for clients to specify a minimum level of cover in their contracts, so that can tell you the minimum amount you need.

Am I covered for work carried out abroad?

You should already have selected where your business carries out its work and your choices there will set the geographic coverage of your policy. If you are unsure about which geographic locations you are covered for, or if you are planning to start work in new territories, please give us a call.

Am I covered for work carried out before my policy started?

It depends whether you have retroactive cover or not. For some businesses this is included automatically in their policy because of the type of work they do. But for others it’s optional. Please check your policy documents and if you are still unsure give us a call. You will not be covered for any problems with your work that you knew about before the start of your policy.

How long do I need professional indemnity cover for?

It’s worth bearing in mind that professional indemnity insurance only covers you for claims made during the lifetime of your policy for work carried out since the start date of the policy or the retroactive date if you have chosen to cover past work. So, if your policy ends when a project finishes you wouldn’t be covered for any claims that are made after that date. It's therefore sensible to consider maintaining some form of professional indemnity cover for as long as you may need to defend a claim being brought against your work.