Professional Indemnity Insurance may be very helpful for any company or anyone that consults or provides professional advice. While we always have the greatest intentions, physicians, attorneys, financial advisers, and anybody else who provides their professional opinion may find themselves facing a large lawsuit if the result of their advice goes bad.
Do you provide medical advice to others? Are you a financial advisor? If one of your customers suffers a medical or financial setback as a result of your actions, you may be held liable and obliged to compensate or compensate the consumer. If the stakes are high, you may owe millions, thus professional indemnity or PI insurance is required to protect your assets.
What is the Purpose of Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Professional indemnity is for anybody who delivers professional advice for a livelihood, whether self-employed or as part of a firm, including but not limited to:
- Accountants
- Architects
- Dentists
- Doctors
- Advisors on financial matters
- Lawyers
- Consultants in marketing
- Experts in medicine
- Assessors of risk
- Solicitors
In fact, getting PI insurance is so important in certain areas that your governing body or company will not allow you work without it.
What Does Professional Indemnity Cover and How Much Does It Cost?
Professional indemnity insurance with Get Indemnity TM begins from £322 per year or £26.83 per month, depending on your field of business and possible damages, and provides up to £1 million in coverage.
You may also apply for coverage for up to £5 million, £10 million, or £100 million, which will be charged appropriately.
What Does Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover?
Professional indemnity insurance serves as a safety net in case you have to compensate a client for damages. However, the total costs might be rather high. Especially when court expenses, legal fees, compensation paid out, time off work, and business disruption are taken into account.
A terrible lawsuit may sometimes grind your firm to a standstill, resulting in a negative public image and a significant loss of revenue. In reality, you may need to employ cover to pay for public relations or rebranding in order to change your public image.
While your insurance may provide up to £1 million in coverage, you may discover that this amount is insufficient after considering all expenditures.
What Are the Most Common Professional Indemnity Claims?
- Defamation occurs when someone publicly disparages you, such as in newspapers, magazines, or on the internet.
- Negligence or dishonesty – this will protect you if a customer suspects you of not doing your job well or with any knowledge.
- Claims expenditures – this protects you against any legal fees incurred as a result of claims brought against you or your company.
- Information security and privacy liability insurance shields you against any legal ramifications that may arise as a consequence of data breaches or hacking that exposes client information.
- Infringement of intellectual property — allegations that your work is a duplicate of someone else’s.
So, the question is, do I need it?
Yes, professional indemnity insurance is required if you work in a highly specialized industry where a lot is at risk.
However, unlike auto insurance for employers liability, it is not a legal obligation, so if you have a tiny business, do not interact directly with customers, or do not have a lot at risk for clients, you may not need coverage or might choose for a very low-cost policy.