Professional indemnity insurance

Compare professional indemnity insurance quotes

Everybody makes mistakes, but unfortunately even small errors can lead to big claims. Professional indemnity insurance – or PI insurance – is there to protect you if your client suffers a financial loss because of your work for them.

At Simply Business we offer between £50,000 and £5 million in professional indemnity cover. Compare professional indemnity insurance quotes from our panel of top UK insurers and find the policy that best suits your needs in minutes.

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is an important cover for businesses that give advice, provide a professional service to clients, or handle data or intellectual property belonging to others. It can pay for compensation claims and legal fees that may arise if a client suffers a financial or professional loss because of your work.

For more information check out our FAQ page on professional indemnity insurance.

How does professional indemnity insurance work?

Let's look at an example: you accidentally sent an email containing confidential client information to the wrong person. Your client is now suing you for breach of confidentiality.

In the case above, we paid out £35,000, which included compensation costs and legal fees.

Our customer paid the £250 excess (your excess will vary depending on your particular policy), plus any potential costs for damaged reputation or loss of future contracts.

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Professional indemnity insurance can cover you in the event that a client loses money as a result of negligence in your advice, services or designs. It can cover legal fees and compensation payments, with the compensation often taking into account the financial loss that the client has suffered.

More specifically, professional indemnity insurance covers you for mistakes such as:

• professional negligence or breach of duty of care (making a mistake in your work or providing bad advice)
• unintentional copyright infringement (such as using copyright protected content without permission)
• unintentional breach of confidentiality (such as sharing confidential or sensitive information without consent)
• loss of documents or data
• defamation or libel (a published false statement that is damaging to a person's or company's reputation)

Read more on what professional indemnity insurance covers.

Do I need professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance can be an important cover for a range of businesses, from accountants and architects to surveyors and consultants.

Even if you’ve done nothing wrong, the cost of defending yourself against claims for negligence or mistakes that leave your client out of pocket can be very high. Find out more about who needs professional indemnity insurance.

What level of professional indemnity insurance do I need?

Your clients will often tell you the level of cover they need you to have in place. If they don’t, it’s always worth asking them before you take on the work.

If you need to change your cover level, make sure you let your insurance provider know. Underestimating the amount of cover you need can mean that any claims you make won’t be paid.

When the time comes to take out your PI insurance, make sure you check what exclusions are on your policy, and whether it includes legal expenses cover. With Simply Business, you can check the details of your policy wording before you buy.

Professional indemnity insurance FAQs

Professional indemnity insurance can be important if you give advice or a professional service to clients. Here are some answers to popular questions about the cover.

How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?

You'll need to think about the type of projects you work on, as well as whether your clients, regulator or professional body ask you to have a minimum amount of cover. You can usually choose between £50,000 and £5 million of professional indemnity insurance.

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What’s the difference between professional indemnity and public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance covers compensation claims from the public, if someone is injured or suffers financial loss and blames your business. On the other hand, professional indemnity insurance covers claims from clients who suffer a financial loss, because of a mistake you made or advice you gave.

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Is professional indemnity insurance required by law?

Professional indemnity insurance isn't a legal requirement. But regulators and professional bodies may require your business to have professional indemnity insurance, so you should check whether it's compulsory. As an example, professions like solicitors, accountants and architects may need it.

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Is professional indemnity insurance tax deductible?

Businesses can deduct 'allowable expenses' when calculating their taxable profit. Business insurance is an allowable expense, which means you can deduct the cost of professional indemnity insurance when you're calculating your taxable profit. Make sure you keep a record of your income and expenses for HMRC.

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How much does professional indemnity insurance cost?

This depends on factors like the nature of your business, the type of work it carries out, and the level of cover you choose. You can easily check how much professional indemnity insurance will cost by running a quick quote. Businesses with higher levels of risk usually pay more for their policy.

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