Professional indemnity insurance for your small business

If you own your own small business, operate as a small trader or work as a freelancer, then professional indemnity may be an insurance policy worth considering.

Why might it be relevant to me as a small business owner, sole trader or freelancer?

When you own your own business, operate as a sole trader or work as a freelancer, you are (usually) solely responsible for any legal implications arising from your work, and any contracts you sign as part of performing a professional service will usually stipulate that all legal liability resides with you.

In this day and age, litigation is becoming more and more common, and any claims against you, be they legitimate or unfounded, typically require significant funds to investigate, defend and settle. The damage to reputation can also take a financial toll.

While you may be confident in your abilities and have a proven track record of satisfactory performance, that doesn’t cancel out the possibility of legal action being taken against you.

Professional indemnity insurance may not be necessary for you, but it’s certainly worth doing some research, having a chat to people in similar industries and situations as yourself and then making an informed determination about whether it’s worth considering for you and your business operation.

What is Professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is all about litigation and helping to provide cover for any claims against you that relate to errors, omissions or acts by you in the course of your provision of professional services.

The types of claims for damages against you include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Personal injury
• Property damage
• Failure to meet the terms of a contract (e.g. failing to meet a deadline or achieve the specified result of a contract)
• Financial loss
• Dispensation of incorrect advice/information
• Defamation

What does it cover?

While policies vary among insurers, some typical elements of professional indemnity insurance cover include the following:

• The costs of investigating, legally defending or settling claims
• Costs associated with personal injury or property damage claims
• Civil liabilities — resulting from things like defamation, theft of intellectual property, copyright infringement, breach of contract duties, etc.