{"id":162,"date":"2020-08-05T17:18:07","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T16:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=162"},"modified":"2024-12-18T10:39:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T10:39:52","slug":"what-does-professional-indemnity-insurance-protect-me-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/what-does-professional-indemnity-insurance-protect-me-from","title":{"rendered":"What does professional indemnity insurance cover?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"What<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

If you’re thinking about buying a professional indemnity (PI) insurance<\/a> policy, ‘what does professional indemnity insurance cover?’ is a question you’ll want a straight answer to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the straightforward(ish) answer is this: \u2018claims of negligence<\/a> made against you by an unhappy client\u2019. In other words, a legal claim for compensation made by a customer who says they were left out of pocket because you didn’t do your job properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But while that\u2019s certainly true, it\u2019s not really giving you the bigger picture. Because the things you really want to know are: exactly how does it protect me? What do I get for my money? And does my policy cover me in any other ways?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How PI cover protects you<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With professional indemnity, as with all insurance, you pay money (the ‘premium’) to an insurer<\/a>. In turn, the insurer ‘agrees’ to pay out if a loss occurs under the terms of the policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, you can think of the loss as \u2018claims of negligence made against you by an unhappy client\u2019 \u2013 like we talked about above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claims usually follow on the heels of some kind of mistake you\u2019ve made. But, actually, surprisingly little has to happen to trigger your PI policy. Just an allegation is enough, well-founded or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In either case, the insurer pays for the legal costs of your defence, as well as any damages or awards due to your client \u2013 up to your policy’s level of cover. You don\u2019t pay a thing (apart from the excess if relevant).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What else is covered by professional indemnity insurance?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Your PI insurance can help with all kinds of genuine mistakes. Although if a claim comes about because you’ve been reckless, your insurer will have questions to ask and may refuse to cover it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some other instances where professional indemnity can cover legal costs and damages, depending on the policy wording: <\/p>\n\n\n\n