{"id":390,"date":"2011-08-01T15:48:37","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T15:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=390"},"modified":"2024-07-11T15:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T14:40:06","slug":"understanding-professional-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance","title":{"rendered":"What is professional liability insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock.jpg\" alt=\"Finally understanding the differences between professional liability insurance and other insurances can feel like escaping a maze.\" class=\"wp-image-18883\" style=\"width:300px;height:150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Business insurance is riddled with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/faqs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">incomprehensible terms<\/a> and never-ending jargon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, hands up who knows what \u2018indemnity to principals\u2019 means? Who can tell us what happens if your policy has a \u2018material damage warranty\u2019 on it? Answers on a postcard, please \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Words of wisdom?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just knowing what kind of professional insurance to ask for has its fair share of problems.&nbsp;To illustrate the point, have a look at this list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Professional liability insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Personal indemnity insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Errors and omissions insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Professional indemnity insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public liability insurance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>They\u2019re all the same thing aren\u2019t they? After all, they sound pretty similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well no, they\u2019re not <em>all<\/em> the same thing. But the fact they sound so similar causes considerable confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Professional liability &amp; co explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, only four of the insurance types listed above are real: professional liability insurance, errors and omissions insurance, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/professional-indemnity-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">professional indemnity insurance<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/public-liability-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">public liability insurance<\/a>. Personal indemnity insurance was a red herring (although, tellingly, we do still get asked for it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the four real policies, one protects you against claims of physical damage to people and property (public liability insurance) and the other three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/what-is-professional-indemnity-insurance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">protect you against claims of professional negligence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference depends on which side of the Atlantic you\u2019re on: errors and omissions insurance and professional liability insurance are American terms for what we in the UK call professional indemnity insurance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Confused?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The right end of the stick<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So why does this matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, first, it\u2019s important you know what type of professional insurance you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That might sound obvious but, if you\u2019re not sure what you\u2019re after, it\u2019s easy to end up with public liability when what you actually wanted was professional indemnity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, it highlights a wider point. If you\u2019re not sure what the words mean, how do you know what cover you have?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don\u2019t have to spend hours trawling through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/faqs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">glossaries<\/a> and jargon busters to get up to speed. The quickest and easiest option is to ask a knowledgeable broker to explain it to you instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we\u2019ll be happy to. Although if you ring up and ask us straight off &#8216;What is professional liability insurance?&#8217;,  we might ask you in return if you&#8217;ve been watching too much American TV. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em> Image used under license from Shutterstock.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Business insurance is riddled with incomprehensible terms and never-ending jargon. For example, hands up who knows what \u2018indemnity to principals\u2019 means? Who can tell us what happens if your policy has a \u2018material damage warranty\u2019 on it? Answers on a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129,130,132],"tags":[137,299],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-professional-indemnity-insurance","category-public-liability-insurance","category-small-business-advice","tag-insurance-explained","tag-professional-indemnity-insurance"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>What is professional liability insurance<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Professional liability insurance, professional indemnity, public liability, personal indemnity. All the same, right? No. Here&#039;s why.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is professional liability insurance\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Professional liability insurance, professional indemnity, public liability, personal indemnity. All the same, right? No. Here&#039;s why.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PolicyBee news and risk advice\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-01T15:48:37+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-11T14:40:06+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Naqvi\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PolicyBee\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PolicyBee\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Naqvi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kate Naqvi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02f6db3fba7701d6c2445913ab17816b\"},\"headline\":\"What is professional liability insurance?\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-01T15:48:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T14:40:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\"},\"wordCount\":395,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"insurance explained\",\"professional indemnity insurance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Professional indemnity\",\"Public liability\",\"Small business advice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance\",\"name\":\"What is professional liability insurance\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/understanding-professional-insurance#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/man-flying-out-of-maze-escape-concept-graphic-shutterstock.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-01T15:48:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-11T14:40:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/02f6db3fba7701d6c2445913ab17816b\"},\"description\":\"Professional liability insurance, professional indemnity, public liability, personal indemnity. 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