Do I need Indemnity insurance ?

[Steve D]

Hi All,

If I start doing periodic inspections, will I need indemnity insurance ?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Notsosmart]

IT's a good idea yes. Whilst Public liability Insurance covers you for claims for breakages and damage to customer's goods/premises etc it will not cover you for claims for giving negligent advice etc

Extracts from business link;
How liability insurance works | Business Link

Liability insurance

If someone is injured or their property is damaged, the person or business responsible may be sued and held legally liable for the injury or property damage. Where legal liability is established, damages will be awarded to the claimant to compensate them for their injury or the damage to their property. Where damages have been paid for an injury, the NHS is entitled to recover costs for hospital treatment, including ambulance costs. The person or business responsible will also need to pay legal costs, including the claimants'.
Liability insurance is designed to protect your business against these costs.

Professional indemnity insurance

If you are in the business of selling your knowledge or skills, you may want to consider taking out professional indemnity (PI) insurance.
What you will be covered for

PI insurance protects your business against claims for loss or damage by a client or a third party if you have made mistakes or are found to have been negligent in some or all of the services that you provide for them. PI insurance will also cover legal costs.

An extract from an insurer below:

Professional Indemnity Insurance Guide

Professional what?
If you’ve been asked to buy or recommended to have professional indemnity, but you’re still a little unclear about exactly how this insurance works to protect your business, you may appreciate this simple, easy to understand beginners guide written by leading specialist insurer

So what is Professional Indemnity insurance?
It’s the kind of insurance that protects your business from financially crippling and often reputation-damaging claims by dissatisfied clients. Because in this everything-by-yesterday world, even the most respectable companies can find themselves in dispute with a client over a mistake. Below we list some of the danger areas your business could be exposed to:

• Negligence: or breach of duty of care
• Intellectual property: unintentionally infringing on others’ copyrights, trademarks, broadcasting rights, any act of passing off
• Loss of documents/data: damaged, lost or stolen data and documents belonging to your clients
• Dishonesty: liability arising from the theft of your clients’ money

 

[Steve D]

My quote from Trades Direct for Public Liability insurance includes £50,000 of prof indemnity insurance - is it a good idea to get a proper indemnity insurance policy ?

 

[Notsosmart]

My quote from Trades Direct for Public Liability insurance includes £50,000 of prof indemnity insurance - is it a good idea to get a proper indemnity insurance policy ?

I'm afraid I can't answer that Steve, I would consult with someone who could give you proper independant legal advice, your insurer may be able to satisfy your concerns but remember they may not be independant or particularly unbiased.

 

[Steve D]

I will speak with them, but it's likely they will try to convince me I need it regardless.

All you guys out there who do periodic inspections, do you also have prof indemnity insurance, and if so, to what level ?

 

[acat]

If you are carrying out work PLI is sufficient however with a PIR you are advising the client and therefore require the extra insurance if you want peace of mind.


Chris

 

[Tester Steve]

From a previous post:

Profesional Indemnity Insurance (PI) is required for those who give advice, designs or drawings, calculations etc. For example, a solicitor may advise you that something is legal, you go out and do it and get nicked. While you have no defence in law by saying your brief said it was ok, you can sue the pants off him, so he needs PI.

An architect designs a building and it falls down because his loading calcs where wrong. He gets sued on his PI.

A structural engineer says that a damaged building will not fall down, but a day later, down it comes. He gets sued, claims on his PI.

You do a PIR on a factory. You are reporting on the CONDITION of the electrical installation, at the time of the inspection and testing. In your OPINION, the condition of the electrical installation is either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

BTW, do you need PI if you are an MOT tester?? I don't think so! Only doing the same as you are with a PIR, giving his OPINION on the condition of the motor at the time of the MOT. It is either satisfactory on unsatisfactory, pass or fail.

So you don't need PI.

Steve.

 

[D80]

So why do Napit insist on it if they are to approve you to do PIR's on their scam?