Professional Indemnity Insurance

Our world is continuously changing as the change is only thing constant. Since ever the Globalization, our world has changed or we can say improved much more. This improvement is not only financially but in all possible aspects. Over the past decades so many professions came into existence because our improved life needs those. Yes we can opt for those professions if we like those but every profession carries some responsibilities. Although we do not want something wrong to happen, sometimes we cannot just stop those from happening. Those are the casualties of any profession. What if we could protect ourselves financially in the time of casualties, wouldn’t that help those being a little miserable? I think the answer is yes and any professional would possibly agree with me. Professional Indemnity Insurance is so helpful when something is gone wrong and a professional is liable to compensate for that. This insurance is designed for professionals to cover financial liability for any mistakes and errors committed by them while rendering their service.

Dalveer Singh is an experienced orthopedic surgeon. Last year a patient came to consult him as he had severe bone fractures on his right leg. Dalveer decided to do two surgeries to cure him completely. The first surgery gone perfectly well but when the second one was going on, something happened and as a result the patient’s right leg became a little shorter than the left one. That patient made a lawsuit against him. As Dalveer is an experienced practitioner, he had his Professional Indemnity Insurance. The insurance company paid for the claims of the patient and also covered the cost of legal liability and defense costs. Like Dalveer other professionals like engineers, architects, lawyers, advocates, chartered accountants can opt for the insurance. This insurance covers almost all major mishaps like professional negligence, unintentional breach of copyrights, loss of goods and money and even claim investigation and defense cost. Although in some cases the insurance company decline the claims like intentional damage, contractual liability of a professional, any act of terrorism or insolvency etc.

There are many companies both from public and private sector who are offering the professional indemnity insurance in the market. As a professional we need to choose the suitable product for ourselves which will provide the adequate cover. Sometimes a financial planner can help to find out the right amount of cover needed because it is a little tricky assessment. We need to do the assessment based on the things like how bigger a claim can be made, types of profession, need cover for number of person etc. We need to go forward to the company selection after the need assessment. Whereas the cheapest product can be easy on our pocket but we can always choose the company we trust most. Companies fix the premium based on the things like kind of profession, experience and the past records of the professional, number of person for whom need the indemnity cover, age etc. and companies pays up to a certain limit which is known as Limit of Indemnity. The limit is need to be fixed when taking the insurance. Any amount beyond that limit need to be borne by the policyholder. The limit is fixed per accident (AOA) and per policy period (AOY). AOA stands for Any One Accident and AOY is Any One Year. AOA is the maximum amount payable per mishap and this limit can vary from company to company. If a professional take the safety measures like maintain complete records in case he is an accountant or sign a bond for the chance of mishap in case he is a lawyer or doctor, insurance companies usually reduce the premium amount. The premium is payable on yearly basis and one can always switch the insurance company if he is not satisfied with their product or services. If something happens likewise you need to fill the claim form of the company. The company will investigate the situation and pay the claim likewise.

When we say professional, it means that we must adhere to the prescribed code of ethics of every profession. As a professional it is our fiduciary responsibility to give best to our clients by taking client’s interest first. But no one in this word is perfect. Often while carrying out our duties we make few mistakes, which prove to be very critical when comes to our valuable clients. Indemnifying ourselves by taking professional indemnity insurance, insure us against these liabilities but in no way it can be seen as an easy way out or an excuse for ignoring our duties. Like Dalveer as a doctor, me as a financial advisor and many others likes our job very much. We will do whatever it takes to serve our client that’s the very core thing of being a successful professional in our respective industry. When serving our client professionally we also know that there is a little chance of mishap and we cannot eliminate this uncertainty. Whereas this very uncertainty makes us careful but the mishap can lead to even death to someone. When that bad thing happen we cannot help them emotionally but certainly can cover their loss financially. Bad things happen in our professional life but those things cannot keep us from being a professional because we meant to help a lot of people with our special skills. Professional Indemnity Insurance is a great product when comes to these things. It help us to being mentally peaceful when we are practicing and that can lead us to be leader in whatever job we are doing.

Well at last I must tell you that being a financial planner and while working in this field, I often see people come to me with tensed faces and worried about how to make their future financially secured. I must share at first they seem quite skeptical about disclosing their financial information, but when I gradually earn their trust and break the ice between us then they start discussing their needs and required information more confidently. After this when I see them relaxed and their tensed face getting replaced with a confident smile I feel lively and more enthusiastic towards my profession. After all this is the thing for which we are there for you.