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Professional indemnity explained
Pro bono work is professional work you do without charging a fee, whether for a charity, a community group, a friend or a client you choose to help. It matters because not charging does not stop someone suing you if the advice is wrong.
Part of: Professional indemnity insurance
In short
Giving advice for free does not remove your legal duty of care: a duty can arise wherever you assume responsibility for advice and someone reasonably relies on it. Professional indemnity policies are usually defined by the type of work you do, not whether you were paid, so unpaid work carried out through your firm and within your declared professional business is commonly covered, subject to the terms. Advice given in a personal capacity, outside your firm, or in a role such as charity trustee is usually not covered by your business PI and may need separate cover.
Often, yes, if the work is done through your business and falls within the activities your policy covers. Most professional indemnity insurance describes cover by reference to your professional business, not by reference to fees, so a free piece of work for a charity client is usually treated the same way as a paid one, subject to the policy terms.
The gaps appear when the free advice is not really your firm's work: a favour for a neighbour given in your own name, a role on a charity board, or advice in an area your firm does not practise. Those situations are where professionals are most often surprised.
Liability for careless advice does not depend on a contract or a fee. In Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465, the bank reference at the centre of the case was given without charge, and the House of Lords still recognised that a duty of care could arise where there is a special relationship and an assumption of responsibility. Our notes on negligent misstatement and assumption of responsibility explain the principle.
Context matters. A passing comment at a social event is less likely to give rise to a duty than a considered opinion given in a professional setting, on a matter where you know the person will act on it. The more your free advice looks like a normal professional engagement, the more likely the law will treat it as one. The same reasoning lets some people who are not your clients sue you; see does PI cover claims from non-clients.
| Situation | Usual PI position | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pro bono client taken on through your firm, within your normal services | Commonly covered, subject to the terms | The work is part of the insured professional business |
| Free advice in an area your firm does not practise | Often not covered | Outside the declared activities; see work outside your business description |
| Favour for a friend or relative, given in your own name | Often not covered | May not be work done for or on behalf of the insured firm |
| Employee advising privately outside work | Not covered by the employer's policy | Not done in the course of the employer's business; see PI for a side business while employed |
| Sitting as a charity trustee or school governor | Usually outside business PI | A governance role, not professional services; trustee or D&O cover is designed for it |
| Volunteer adviser at an advice charity | Depends on the charity's own policy | The charity's PI may cover volunteers if they are included as insureds |
Wordings vary. Some policies define the professional business narrowly, which is why the policy form matters.
Professionals are often asked to join a charity board because of their expertise. As a trustee you make decisions about running the charity, and claims about those decisions are not professional services claims. Section 189 of the Charities Act 2011 gives charity trustees a power to buy trustee indemnity insurance out of charity funds, subject to conditions. Our guides to trustee indemnity insurance, charity trustee PI versus trustee indemnity and D&O for charities cover the options.
The line blurs when a trustee also gives the charity professional advice, such as an accountant reviewing the accounts or a surveyor inspecting a building. That advice is professional work, and whether it is covered depends on whether it is done through your firm and within your policy.
Regulated professions may also have rules. The SRA says in its not for profit sector guidance that there are no longer special rules for pro bono work, so solicitors doing it must still comply with the SRA Principles and Code. It also says solicitors carrying on reserved legal activities in a not for profit body must make sure the body holds adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance.
Illustrative example 1. An architect's practice agrees to produce outline drawings for a community hall at no charge. The work is logged as a normal job and done by the practice. If a defect claim follows, the practice's PI would usually respond as for paid work, subject to the terms.
Illustrative example 2. An employed tax adviser tells a friend over dinner how to structure a property sale, and the friend acts on it. The employer's PI is very unlikely to cover this, and the adviser may have no cover at all.
Illustrative example 3. A chartered surveyor is a trustee of a heritage charity and is asked to sign off a condition report in that role. The charity's trustee cover may not respond to a professional negligence claim, and the surveyor's firm's PI may not either if the work was not done through the firm.
Apex arranges PI and charity trustee cover for UK professionals; a broker reads every enquiry.
Yes. A duty of care can arise without a contract or fee where you take responsibility for advice and the person reasonably relies on it. Casual remarks in a social setting are less likely to create a duty than considered advice given in a professional context, but not charging is not a defence in itself.
Usually, if the pro bono work is done through your firm and falls within the professional activities your policy covers. Most wordings define cover by the type of work rather than whether you were paid. Advice given privately, or outside your declared activities, is often not covered. Check your policy's definition of professional business.
Generally not. Employer policies usually cover work done in the course of the employer's business. Advice you give privately to friends or family, outside work, is unlikely to fall within that, so you may have no cover if a claim is made.
Trustees usually need trustee indemnity or charity D&O cover for decisions about running the charity, rather than PI. If a trustee also provides professional services to the charity, such as accountancy or surveying, that advice is a separate exposure and may need to be covered by the trustee's own firm's PI.
It is good practice. A short letter confirming who the client is, what you will and will not do, and that the work is done by your firm helps show the work falls within your professional business. It also reduces disputes about scope, which are a common source of claims whether or not a fee is charged.
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Get a PI quote Request a callbackApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
