Business Insurance
Professional Indemnity
When clients hold you accountable for the advice or services you provide, professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending claims and paying any compensation awarded — protecting your reputation and your finances.
Overview
What is PI insurance?
Professional indemnity insurance — commonly referred to as PI insurance — protects businesses and individuals who provide professional advice, design, or services against claims of negligence, errors, or omissions that cause a client financial loss.
Even the most diligent professionals can make mistakes, or be accused of doing so. The cost of defending a claim through the courts — before any compensation is considered — can run into tens of thousands of pounds. PI cover meets those costs and, where a claim is upheld, the compensation payable to the claimant.
For many professions, holding PI insurance is not optional. Regulatory bodies, professional associations, and client contracts increasingly require it as a condition of engagement.
Suitability
Who needs it?
Consultants
Management, HR, marketing, and strategy consultants whose recommendations carry commercial weight. If a client suffers a loss they attribute to your advice, PI cover responds.
IT Professionals
Software developers, system architects, and IT project managers face claims for failed implementations, data loss, or specification errors. PI insurance covers defence and compensation costs.
Financial Advisers
Regulated by the FCA, financial advisers are required to hold professional indemnity insurance as a condition of authorisation. Cover must meet minimum FCA-specified limits.
Architects & Engineers
Design professionals in the built environment carry significant liability for errors in drawings, calculations, and specifications. PI cover is a professional and contractual requirement.
Policy Features
Key features
Claims Arising Basis
Most PI policies operate on a claims-made basis, meaning they respond to claims first made during the policy period, regardless of when the work was carried out.
Run-Off Cover
Extends protection beyond the end of an active policy period, essential when a practice closes or a professional retires, since claims can arise years after work is completed.
Defence Costs
Covers the legal costs of defending a claim, even where the claim is ultimately found to be without merit. Undefended claims can be significantly more costly in the long run.
Retroactive Cover
Provides cover for work undertaken prior to the inception of the policy, subject to you having no prior knowledge of any potential claim at the time cover was arranged.
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