Professional Indemnity Insurance - A Beginner’s Guide

Get a quote and buy online in minutes for office and/or professional indemnity insurance

Protect your business with professional indemnity insurance and read this simple guide to professional indemnity from leading specialist insurer Hiscox.

What is Professional Indemnity?

It’s the kind of insurance that protects your business from financially crippling and often reputation-damaging claims by dissatisfied clients. Because in this everything-by-yesterday world, even the most respectable companies can find themselves in dispute with a client over a mistake. Below we list some of the danger areas your business could be exposed to:

• Negligence: or breach of duty of care
• Intellectual property: unintentionally infringing on others’ copyrights, trademarks, broadcasting rights, any act of passing off
• Loss of documents/data: damaged, lost or stolen data and documents belonging to your clients
• Dishonesty: liability arising from the theft of your clients’ money

Different professions, different Professional Indemnity.

Which particular risks you are most likely to face depends very much on the nature of your business – obvious enough, you would think, but other insurers make no distinctions in their policies.

An IT consultant is often left dangerously exposed by the service contracts he is required to work under. Breach of either specific or implied terms in a contract is a well known risk in IT.

A Marketing consultant on the other hand is considered more exposed to dangers such as unintentional breach of privacy, or defamation (accidental libel or slander).

Management consultants are vulnerable to claims of negligence any time their recommendations fail to come up to a clients’ expectations.

At Hiscox, we use our insight into these three professions to offer cover against the problems that each are most likely to experience. How will it protect my business? Professional Indemnity from Hiscox works in a number of ways:

1. It will cover you if you make a mistake in the professional services you have provided that leads to a dispute with a client. If the dispute becomes complicated and nasty, Hiscox can defend your claim - right through to the High Court, if necessary. Even if you lose, the policy will still cover you for any damages you then become liable for, subject to the level of cover your business is insured for.
2. The policy will also cover the cost of fixing any mistake on your part, thus avoiding a larger claim being made. Fixing a problem before it becomes an even bigger problem is simple common sense. Our approach helps all parties avoid wasting considerable time and resources on long and drawn-out litigation.
3. You are also protected if you lose or damage any clients’ documents in your care or if one of your employees are involved in the theft of a clients’ money.

Other benefits include:

• Direct access to specialist claims staff and advisors who understand your industry
• Access to specialist legal teams to defend a claim in court
• Avoiding large legal costs your business would otherwise have to pay for
• Protecting your reputation as well as the bottom line

How much cover do you need?

No two businesses are the same and there is no single amount of cover that suits all. Nobody knows your business and the exposure it faces better than you. Our advice would always to buy as much cover as you can reasonably afford.

Often, your client will set a minimum limit of the indemnity they require. This can depend on the specific nature of the services you’ve been contracted to provide, or they could have a set limit for all their service providers. For example, many UK government departments will require their contractors and consultants to have at least £5 million of cover.

It’s also worth considering taking our retroactive cover for work that you’ve already completed before the policy commences. By doing this, you will have all bases covered. You will be asked whether you want retroactive over when getting a quote on our website.

6 steps to a peace of mind.

There are just 6 quick and easy steps involved in buying from our website (or less than 30 seconds to get a full quote). We have designed the site so that you know exactly what stage you are at in the process. Just follow the bowler hat shown on the right hand navigation bar of the home page and, as long as you have the required information available (see below), it can take as little as 3 minutes.

If you want, you can complete your purchase and opt to pay for your policy online. We will issue your customised policy documentation on the spot so you can download, save or print them off straight away. Our team of account handlers are also available to guide you through any stage in the process and answer any questions. Simply contact them on 0845 365 1730 (between 9.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday).

What information do we need?

To make the process as easy as possible we will need to know the following, so have the information to hand before applying:

• Your profession or industry sector – so we can offer you a tailored policy
• Your business name, a contact name and a valid email address to send your policy to
• Your business trading address
• Your annual gross income, annual fee income or your estimated first year’s revenue if the business is just starting up
• Your answers to questions about your business activities and previous claims history
• The date cover is to begin
• Your bank details for payment

Why Hiscox?

Some other insurers offer a one-size-fits-all Professional Indemnity insurance, regardless of the profession involved. We don’t. Our strengths include:

• Leading specialist insurer
• Long history of creating unique insurance solutions
• Quick and easy – get a quote and buy online with same day cover
• Add-on policies including contents, computer equipment & Public Liability
• Expert legally trained claims team
• Easy payment options including interest free monthly Direct Debit

At Hiscox, you’ll find the extraordinary is simply standard policy.

www.hiscox.com/professions

Hiscox Insurance Company Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Telephone calls may be monitored or recorded for training purposes. If your turnover is more than £200,000 you may be referred to a Hiscox recommended insurance broker. This scheme is valid for UK businesses only.

Get a quote and buy online in minutes for office and/or professional indemnity insurance