Professionals who provide services and advice have a duty to offer proper advice to their clients. Examples of professionals include but are not limited to financial advisors, engineers, quantity surveyors, accountants, medical practitioners, pharmacists, graphic designers and freelancers. Because of the nature of the work, professionals are exposed to huge financial risk should a client sue them for professional negligence.
Professional Indemnity Insurance is among the most important risk management strategies professionals and/or businesses should consider.
What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Professional Indemnity (PI) is an insurance cover that protects professionals and/or businesses against professional liabilities that may arise due to error, negligence or omission when providing advice or services to clients which may lead to financial loss. An example could be when a financial advisor left out or omitted key information about an investment portfolio when providing financial advice, which led to a client incurring financial losses.
What does Professional Indemnity Insurance cover?
The PI provides cover against legal costs which may arise when defending a claim and any compensation that may be payable to the client. The professional or business will transfer the risk to an insurer in exchange for an annual premium. The PI should be renewed annually to ensure you are adequately covered.
Are there any exclusions?
As with many financial products and services, terms and conditions apply. This is the case with the PI cover. Where the professional or business deliberately intends to do something wrong or any cases that happened prior to taking out the cover, the PI will not pay out.
What documents are required for the cover?
To get cover, the following documents will be required. Please note, however, that the list of required documents is not exhaustive as it also depends on the profession. The documents will include a proposal form which is profession-orientated, copies of academic certificates or qualifications, a record of work experience and competencies etc. Other factors such as the profession’s income or fee, type of contracts in place, past claims and the jurisdictions or countries the professional operates or works in are considered.
Because insurance principles can sometimes be difficult to understand, I hope that this article empowers you to ask your insurance brokers questions and have deeper conversations regarding your policies. If done well, insurance can help you protect yourself and/or your business. For more information remember to visit www.alliance.co.ls/professional-indemnity/
References
CNBC-TV18 2016, What is Professional Indemnity Insurance? YouTube, 16 May, viewed May 16, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ5QC5l2GeQ
Rupiya, A 2020, InsureTalk: Liability Risks Perspective and Insurance Covers Options, The Reporter Lesotho, 2 November, viewed 17 May 2023, https://www.thereporter.co.ls/2020/11/02/insuretalk-liability-risks-perspective-and-insurance-covers-options/
