Professional Indemnity Insurance

Professional Indemnity Insurance is an important type of cover for any business, however it is particularly relevant to those in professions which provide consulting advice for a living. A professional can be anyone who "provides consulting advice or services of a skillful character according to an established discipline". A claim for compensation as a result of incorrect professional consulting advice or services, whether your business is big or small, can impact a business severely.

Professional Indemnity Insurance covers against claims for liabilities owed to a third party (typically a client of the insured) for the loss suffered by the third party arising out of the insured providing ‘professional services’. To ‘indemnify’ means to cover the insured for the liability owed to the third party for the loss suffered. Professional Indemnity Insurance therefore is a type of insurance which can protect a business, for example against claims for financial loss, or bodily/personal injury and/or property damage that arise from an act, error or omission in the performance of the professional services covered by the policy.

For example incorrect designs made by an architect or incorrect building advice provided by a consultant can all result in a financial loss to a client, and therefore result in a potential claim for compensation against the insured.

It is highly recommended that you check if the consultant advising you has current professional indemnity insurance (not expired) and if the certificate of currency actually lists the discipline they are providing advice for. For example, if a BCA Consultant is providing accessibility advice which is a specialised field, you would want to make sure the discipline “Access Consulting” is noted on the certificate of currency.