Do You Need Professional Indemnity Insurance?

In short: You need professional indemnity insurance if your regulator requires it or a client contract does. Otherwise it is your choice, but you remain liable for negligent advice or work. Solicitors, ICAEW and ACCA accountants in practice, RICS-regulated firms, architects, self-employed barristers and FCA-authorised financial advisers and insurance and mortgage intermediaries must hold it under their regulators’ rules. Most consultants, designers, IT contractors and coaches have no such rule, but clients often set a minimum limit in the contract. PI pays defence costs and compensation for negligence claims, subject to the policy terms. The cover most employers must hold by law is employers’ liability, not PI.