Professional Indemnity

If a client claims your advice or work cost them money, Professional Indemnity answers the legal defence and any compensation.

What Professional Indemnity covers

careless™ cannot quote Professional Indemnity yet, so this page explains the cover rather than offering it. When clients pay for your expertise, they can hold you responsible if your advice or work costs them money. Professional Indemnity answers the compensation claims that follow when your advice, design, specification or service is blamed for a client's financial loss, and funds the legal defence even when the claim turns out to be unfounded. It is standard cover for businesses that sell expertise, from agencies and consultants to designers, accountants and training providers.

Negligence claims

Allegations of negligence or breach of duty.

IP & defamation

Infringement and defamation claims, where included.

Lost documents

Loss of client documents or data.

Legal defence

Defence costs for covered claims.

Confidentiality

Unintentional breach of privacy or duty.

Compensation

Claimant costs you're liable for, plus your defence.

This is a summary of cover. See the FAQ for what's not covered.

Professional Indemnity in the real world

A few everyday situations where the cover steps in.

A design error in your drawings forces a client to redo expensive work.

Where the client claims the mistake cost them money, this is the cover that answers the defence and any compensation, even while fault is still being argued.

Advice you gave turns out to be wrong and your client loses money acting on it.

Professional Indemnity is what responds to that claim, funding the legal costs of defending it and any settlement you are liable for.

You're accused of using copyrighted material in a campaign without permission.

Intellectual property claims like this fall to Professional Indemnity where the policy includes them, along with the cost of putting the dispute right.

Built for businesses like yours

Professional Indemnity is the cover businesses reach for when clients pay for their knowledge, advice or designs and then say that work caused them a loss.

Consultants & advisersDesigners & creative agenciesAccountants & bookkeepersArchitects & engineersIT & software contractorsMarketing & PR agenciesTraining providers & coachesSurveyors & property pros

What Professional Indemnity gives you

Defends your advice and your work

Where a client claims a service, design or recommendation cost them money, the cover answers the legal defence and any compensation, even when the allegation turns out to be unfounded.

Often the cover that wins the contract

Larger clients and public-sector frameworks routinely require a minimum level of PI before they'll appoint you. Having it in place keeps you eligible to bid.

Covers honest mistakes

A missed detail, a misjudged spec, a piece of work that didn't deliver: the everyday risks of selling expertise are exactly what this protects against.

The words explained

A quick guide to the insurance terms on this page.

Cover for claims that your professional advice, design or service caused a client financial loss. It's different from Public Liability, which is about injury and property damage.
PI usually responds based on when a claim is made against you, not when you did the work, so it's important to keep cover running even after a project ends.
Failing to carry out your work with the reasonable skill and care expected of someone in your profession.
The most the policy will pay for a claim. PI is commonly written at £1m or £2m, with some contracts asking for more.
The point from which your past work is covered. Claims arising from work done before this date usually aren't covered.
PI that keeps responding to claims after you stop trading or close the business, since claims can surface years after the work was done.

Questions, answered

If your business gives advice, provides a professional service, or handles client designs or data, it's strongly recommended, and often contractually required. Some regulated professions, such as accountants and solicitors, must hold it under their professional body's rules.

Public Liability covers physical injury or property damage. Professional Indemnity covers financial loss caused by your advice or work, the kind of claim that doesn't involve anyone being hurt or anything being broken.

PI is usually written on a "claims made" basis, meaning the policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is made against you, not when you did the work. That's why it's important to keep cover running even after a project ends.

It depends on your work and what clients require. £1m and £2m are common, with some contracts asking for more. We'll suggest a level when you get a quote.

Usually yes. Because PI works on a claims-made basis, a complaint about past work is handled by the policy running when the claim arrives, not when you did the job. Keeping cover in place, or adding run-off cover if you stop trading, protects you against claims that surface later.

Professional Indemnity covers claims about your advice and work. A few things sit outside it:

  • Deliberate or fraudulent acts.
  • Claims known about before the policy started.
  • Injury or property damage claims. Those fall under Public Liability.
  • Refunds of your own fees, or the cost of redoing your work.

Coming soon.

Professional Indemnity isn't available to buy just yet. Explore the packages and the cover you can get today.

See packages