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Professional Indemnity Insurance
If you provide advice, design or specifications for a fee, you will need professional indemnity insurance including all Professionals and Consultants from Acoustic Engineers to Zoologists.
You will need professional indemnity insurance if your business is:
- I.T. and Web Design
- Architect or Engineer
- Design and Construct
- Accountant
- Solicitor
- Surveyor
- Publisher, Broadcaster, Printer, Author
- Housing Association
- Charity or Trade Association
What does the professional indemnity insurance cover provide?
- Defence costs and awards should a client allege that his business has suffered due to your negligence.
- Many clients will only engage your services once you have provided evidence of insurance.
- If you employ sub contractors it is essential that you check their professional indemnity insurance before you engage them.
Ensure you are properly insured from Day One
- You need to have professional indemnity insurance in place the day you start your business
- Professional indemnity insurance policies are issued on a "Claims Made" basis. This means that a claim made years after the alleged negligence will be met by the current policy and not the policy which was in force at the time of the alleged mistake.
- It is essential to ensure that the "Retroactive Date" shown in your current professional indemnity insurance policy is the commencement date of your business and not the inception date of the current policy .
- Most underwriters will only provide retroactive cover if all previous years have been insured.
- When you close your business or retire, you will need to arrange "run off" insurance cover for several years afterwards.
Keep everything well documented
- Set out your responsibilities in a contract with your client before you start work.
- Keep copies of all instructions, modifications and complaints.
- Notify your insurers immediately you receive a complaint or intimation of an allegation of negligence, even if you believe the allegation to be groundless.
- Your insurers will only deal with claims made during the currency of the policy.
As professional indemnity insurance is a specialist area of insurance, you should always seek advice from a suitably experienced insurance broker.
To make sure you have the best advice on Professional Indemnity Insurance cover, talk to us. Call Hutt Professional Risk Management on 024 7684 6500, or email Chris.Hutt@HuttProfessional.co.uk |
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