Professional Indemnity insurance
If your business involves selling your knowledge or skills, you should consider professional indemnity (PI) insurance. A PI policy covers areas such as libel, slander, professional neglect, malicious falsehood, passing off copyrights, breach of confidentiality, negligent statement or actions, error and omissions for principals and their employees.
PI insurance protects your business against compensation sought by a client if mistakes have been made or you are found to have been negligent in some or all of the services you provide.
If you are a lawyer, accountant or financial adviser, then you must have professional indemnity insurance. Professionals such as architects, consultants, advertising and PR agencies, and designers often opt for such cover as well.
Important aspect when considering PI insurance - you need to be covered both at the time of the event and when the claim is made. This is because there can often be a long delay between an event and a subsequent claim. So, if you plan to cancel your policy when you close your business or retire, you may need to arrange "run-off" cover for a period of time afterwards. Also, if you plan to change insurers, you will either need to arrange run-off cover or get agreement from your new insurer to accept new claims for prior incidents.
Key tip: document everything! To minimise potential claims you should ensure all projects are well documented. Set out specific responsibilities in your contracts with clients beforehand and deal with complaints promptly.
Contact either Neil Hancock or Christopher Bate to discuss your business needs. Alternatively please use our online enquiry form.