Are you self-employed, and do you provide services and professional advice to your clients? Perhaps you work on contracts or as a freelancer, or via your own private limited company.

If so, have you considered what could happen if one of your clients or staff took legal action against you? This can happen in all kinds of professions, such as graphic designer, computer programmer, white-collar engineering and interim management. And following the example set by the USA, employees and clients are increasingly turning to litigation to settle disputes.

Disputes are notoriously difficult to deal with. They take up a huge amount of time and distract you from your business (potentially leading to a serious loss of income). It can be particularly worrying if you’re up against a large client with big budgets to spend on litigation. If you lose, you could have significant compensation and costs awarded against you.

Cover available

To protect you, we have developed an exclusive insurance package underwritten by one of the world’s biggest insurers, ACE Europe. The package includes:

• Professional indemnity (PI) insurance – This essential protection will cover your defence costs and any resulting damages awarded as a result of a negligence action against you. Cover can be arranged for up to £1,000,000 per claim*, inclusive of costs and expenses. There is no excess for the first claim, with £250 excess payable for each claim thereafter.

There is no excess for the first claim, with £250 excess payable for each claim thereafter. Should it be required by contract we can also provide a quotation up to £2,000,000 on request.

• Public/products liability insurance – This provides indemnity against your liability for causing accidental injury or damage to a third party, or to third-party property, which is sustained in the course of your business activities. You will be covered for up to £1,000,000 per claim for public liability, with a maximum value of claims* in one year of £1,000,000 for products liability. The excess is £250 for every third-party property-damage claim.
• Employer’s liability insurance - you must have this, by law, if you have any employees. It indemnifies you in respect of liabilities under statute or common law. The policy we offer provides cover of up to £10,000,000 per claim*, with no excess payable.

*A valid policy must be in force at the time the claim is made for cover to apply: any claims made after the expiry of the policy will not be covered, even if they relate to work undertaken during the policy period.

Exclusions

This policy is not suitable for accountants, actuarial work, architects, building contractors, civil engineers, consulting engineers, estate agents, FSA-regulated activities, IFAs, providers of legal advice (including contract preparation), mortgage brokers, the pharmaceutical industry, quantity surveyors, the railway industry, solicitors, structural engineers, surveyors or valuers. Also, no section of our cover extends to the supply of computer hardware.

Ask for a quote today

Complete our online form for an instant quote or for more information, call Iwona Polak on (020) 7444 0014 or email iwona.polak@dkri.co.uk.