Professional Indemnity – It’s Not Just The Private Sector…

Say the words ‘professional indemnity insurance’ and it’s all too easy to think of a solicitor or accountant giving bad advice, or the latest ‘mis-selling scandal’ that’s hitting the headlines.

But today, the need for professional indemnity cover goes much wider than that and covers many sections of the public and not-for-profit sectors as well as the private sector. Social enterprise groups and community organisations are also affected.

With increasing sections of our society needing care and support – whether it’s the vulnerable child or the old person living alone – more and more organisations in the public and not-for-profit sectors are realising that they are going to need specialist and wide-ranging help with their professional indemnity cover.

This article was presented by Markel UK. For more information visit their website today

Whether you like it or not, we’re increasingly living in a ‘blame and claim’ culture – and that doesn’t just mean answering “yes” when the TV ads ask if you’ve fallen over on a wet floor. Today, many sections of the public and not-for-profit sectors have a duty of care to the vulnerable in society. But it’s becoming increasingly evident that even the most vulnerable members of society (or their relatives) are prepared to make a claim if they believe they have a case.

The number of groups who may be at risk from a claim is surprisingly high – it’s not just the local authority with responsibility for a care home, or the charity looking after clients with a learning disability.

Any organisation running an after school club or a nursery; charities offering help with rehabilitation, or any sort of children’s organisation – all of them will be at risk from claims and will need to seek expert help with their professional indemnity insurance. As the law becomes ever more complex, and opportunities for claims increase, even the small local charity will need to move away from the local insurance broker to companies who specialise in professional indemnity for the public and not-for-profit sectors.

Of course, for the directors and management of the organisations affected, the buck doesn’t stop with public liability insurance – they also have to worry about the vagaries of employment law, the duty of care they owe to staff… The list goes on, but the most likely source of a potentially devastating claim is their professional indemnity. Expert help from a specialist broker is an absolute essential: without it, they might not be able to carry on helping their vulnerable clients.