Are you protected? It may be a contract stipulation, so read on….

It’s becoming more common for contractors to acquire liability insurance policies. Contracts, more often than not, state that contractors must have professional indemnity insurance and/or public liability insurance.

Where contracts don’t make reference to insurance specifics it’s still the case that the prudent contractor considers relevant policies to give peace of mind.

Increasingly, litigation in many sectors means that contractors can be in the firing line if things go wrong. This has become one of the main reasons why Professional Indemnity Insurance has become a “must have“ policy opposed to an option.

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance

As we mentioned above it is not always compulsory to have Professional Indemnity Insurance, but if you provide expertise, skills or advice to clients, or have access to clients’ confidential information, or produce materials that could cause offence or infringe intellectual property rights and provide a professional service and could be challenged on your work, then we strongly recommend that you purchase Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Do I need insurance?

Our philosophy is that it is better to be prepared than be caught out. Your work may be top rate and you have never had a problem in the past. However, if the time comes and a client does think you have made a mistake that has financially cost them, your Professional Indemnity Insurance will cover you. Without it, it could be catastrophic for your business.
Professional Indemnity Insurance will cover you for the legal costs involved of defending yourself in a professional negligence case, including any compensation pay-out at the end.

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance offers protection to your business if you deal with the public, if you have clients visiting your offices or if you or a colleague need to make visits to client’s premises. For example, if a client visits your office and they drip over a chair and injure their leg, then Public Liability Insurance will cover you for this.
You may feel that this is type of insurance is not applicable to you, but some clients now insist that you have some level of cover, generally a minimum of £1M.

What does Public Liability Insurance cover?

Public Liability Insurance will cover you for legal costs and damages if someone brings a claim against you and you are found liable.

Is it an expense my business can afford?

Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance premiums are dependent on the type of work you do, the level of cover you require and the number of employees you have. They can start from a low level and increase accordingly.

To put it into a perspective, if a court case is brought against you, it could cost your business thousands. You need to ask yourself, can my business afford this if I don’t have insurance?

This article was provided to us by Caunce O’Hara, a commercial insurance broker, offering a full range of insurance products to contractors and freelancers. Visit their website: https://www.caunceohara.co.uk/