No matter how diligent we are mistakes can and will happen, even in the best run businesses. Many or even most of these will go unnoticed or will not result in any significant consequence, however sometimes luck runs out.
This is where professional indemnity comes into play. It provides protection for negligent advice or service provided by you, against claims made by disgruntled clients for any resulting financial loss or damage to their reputation.
Investing in professional indemnity insurance cover means that not only will your legal costs will be met, but should a claim be proven, also the cost of meeting any compensation payments, up to an agreed limit. Professional indemnity will also cover you even if the allegations made against you are false.
PII provides five levels of cover up to a maximum of £2,000,000. Prices start from just £165 pa.
Coverage includes:
- Any negligent act, error or omission.
- Unintentional Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.
- Loss of Documents/Data entrusted to the insured.
- Unintentional libel, slander, defamation.
- Unintentional breach of confidence, confidential duty or misuse of information.
One important aspect to bear in mind when considering professional indemnity insurance is that, because there can often be a long delay between an event and a subsequent claim, you need to be covered both at the time of the event and when the claim is made. This means that 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.
