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Rubber Ring Author Ruth Sedar

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Professional indemnity insurance (PI), or professional liability insurance as it sometimes referred to, can cover you against a client making a financial claim against your work.

PI can pay your legal costs and any compensation payments that may be due if a client takes legal action for a mistake you have made when providing your services, designs or advice. It can even pay your legal defense costs to clear your good name if you are accused of making a mistake but have done nothing wrong.

We’re sure you are very good at what you do so you may find yourself asking “why do I need professional indemnity insurance?” The reality is that we live in a compensation culture and any business providing a professional service can be challenged if a client deems the advice or service received is incorrect or has failed to meet expectations. A professional indemnity policy can cover legal defense costs as well as any award made against you. A claim can be extremely costly and disruptive and so it is wise to protect your work from the outset.

In terms of specific professions; professional indemnity can offer the following benefits:

Here at ipro, we offer professional indemnity insurance cover which can protect your IT firm whilst you offer your skills and services to protect the information technology of others. Keeping computers and software running smoothly where hacking and cybercrime pose an ever-increasing threat can be a challenging task, but you can run your business confidently knowing that our professional indemnity insurance can offer protection for such issues as:

Creative media is at the heart of almost every business with social media being the platform on which to market, advertise and increase footfall to your client’s door. Our professional indemnity insurance for creatives & media could be exactly what you need to protect yourself against the worst. This professional indemnity insurance is ideal for those involved in the following professions:

brand development/corporate identity consultants

If you infringe on somebody’s intellectual property or are accused of providing poor advice to your clients, your professional indemnity policy could protect you against costly legal defense and compensation awards.

Working as a project manager can be immensely rewarding when you see a project from design brief through to completion. However, it is not without its challenges. Many times, a looming problem can be avoided, but when there is no solution but hindsight – it may lead to a costly and stressful claim that could literally mean game over for your business. ipro offers project managers’ professional indemnity insurance which can protect you against such problems as

We know that translators and interpreters work hard on many different projects and as we are all only human, mistakes can be made. If you mistranslate or misinterpret something you client could suffer financial loss and may launch legal action against you to recover it. Defense costs and compensation payments can run into thousands, or even millions of pounds. Our policy could protect you against such things as:

Why is professional indemnity insurance important?

Professional Indemnity insurance is essential in today’s compensation culture-driven environment. It takes just one mistake for a client to lose out financially, and even if you have not made a mistake, but you are accused of doing so, legal defense costs can run into some seriously big numbers.

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Professional indemnity insurance can protect your business, and when your business is not only your baby but your livelihood, it makes sense to do just that. Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) – or Professional Liability insurance as it is sometimes known can cover legal defence costs as well as compensation payments for any acts, errors or omissions that you make or accused of making in the course of your work. 

It is only human to make mistakes but even a small mistake could result in a big loss to a client, especially when you are employed in a creative field where there are fewer rules and the finished product can be open to interpretation. You need to feel confident in your ability to carry out a project to conclusion without sweating the small (and big) stuff and the certainty of knowing you have a professional indemnity insurance policy can take some of the weight of those shoulders.  

PI can help with a variety of losses to a client so if you are a business that provides some kind of professional service to clients, offers advice, handles data or intellectual property belonging to others, then Professional indemnity insurance can help to protect you in terms of compensation claims and legal defence costs.  

The following looks into the benefits of cover for a few of the professions that we offer products for:- 

Whether you work for a small business or major corporation, IT consultants are one of the many professions that are often required under contract to hold professional indemnity insurance. An ipro professional indemnity policy could provide cover for such things as:- 

Infringement of somebody else’s intellectual property 

Media is perhaps the biggest player in the industry, with almost every business involving interaction of some kind. Risks facing the industry such as defamation and intellectual property infringement have always been there and in a compensation culture are only becoming more prevalent.

If you count yourself among marketers, graphic designers, web designers, advertising agents, public relations, brand development, corporate identity consultants, copywriters, publishers and broadcasters then professional indemnity insurance can offer protection against such issues as:

unintentional infringement of intellectual property rights

Being a project manager can be satisfying work when everything runs according to plan. As the saying goes, however, what can go wrong will go wrong some of the time and a client won’t be pleased if it leads to their loss. In a time like this it’s nice to know that project managers’ professional indemnity insurance can be there for you, when you most need it. 

Due to a partnership with the organisation The Big Word, we are proud to offer professional indemnity insurance for translators. Translators and interpreters lead busy lives, darting from phone interpretations to court hearings as well as working away on translations at home. 

Inherent risks associated with this field of work are:

Mistranslating when translating/interpreting 

Failure to meet a deadline causing your client financial loss  

Professional indemnity insurance can provide protection and help give you a peace of mind that your policy is there, should you need it and lets you concentrate on doing what you do best. 

Professional indemnity insurance can protect your business against a financial claim made against you by a client who believes they have suffered a loss due to poor service or bad advice.

It can even cover the cost of your legal defense when you are accused of a mistake, you haven’t made.

The level you require will depend on your profession and the services your company offers. Stressful and costly losses can be incurred via: –

Advice and consultancy – Clients can claim compensation if there’s a mistake in the advice you’ve provided.

An expert service – A client can make a claim if you make mistake in designs, plans or calculations.

Handling client information – You could face a claim if you accidentally disclose data or infringe on your client’s legal rights.

Some clients will insist that you have PI before you can start working for them and in some industries it is compulsory.

If you are able to choose your own level of cover then there are a few things you will want to consider selecting the right level for you. Our policy offers limits ranging from £100k all the way up to £5 million, to suit your individual requirements. Considering your type of profession or creative field of work; you may wish to consider the following:

IT Consultants -Explore rectification costs 

These could be very costly in the event of a serious mistake you’ve made. Costs could also include fees and charges for a specialist 3rd party to resolve the issue and see the project through to completion.

Creative & Media – Think about the potential legal fees in the event of a court case against you

Legal defense costs are not simply the costs needed in order to defend yourself but also those incurred by your client  legal fees incurred by your client that may become payable by YOU if a case is awarded in their favor. Costs such as these could run into eye watering figures.

Project Managers – Consider the maximum compensation that could be awarded against you

We know that you do your job properly, but everyone makes mistakes and so when considering what indemnity limit to buy, you need to consider both compensation payments as well as legal defense costs. Think about what could happen, what effect it may have and how much it would cost. We would suggest that you err on the side of caution here to ensure that your limit is enough to protect you, should you need it.

Translators and Interpreters – Consider the fact that compensation claims, and legal defense costs can vastly exceed your contract value. 

It is only common sense that the larger the company you deal with the bigger the legal department and the greater chance of a claim made against you if a mistake leads to financial loss.

You may be doing a small £50 job for a customer, but you need to remember that compensation payments and defense costs are not limited to the value of your contract. For example, if you make a mistake in the translation of some food packaging and the manufacturer must recall their product, they are going to look to you to reimburse their loss, which will be no doubt substantially more than they paid you to do the work.

As you will know, working for yourself has its benefits but it also comes with its risks. If you make a mistake (and we all do) or are accused of making one that has caused your client financial loss, then you could be responsible for both hefty legal costs and heavy compensation payments. We hope that you never have a claim launched against you but if the worst should happen and you cost your client money through a mistake, then it makes good business sense to have a policy in place that can protect you. Would your business stand a chance at surviving if a client claims you’ve lost them money?

As you will know, working for yourself has its benefits but it also comes with its risks. If you make a mistake (and we all do) or are accused of making one that has caused your client financial loss, then you could be responsible for both hefty legal costs and heavy compensation payments. We hope that you never have a claim launched against you

At ipro, our professional indemnity policy can help protect you from the risks you face in your line of work. Unlike many other providers, we include full retroactive cover which means that our policy can cover claims from incidents that happened in the past but are not yet known about, even if you had no insurance in place at the time.

What level of professional indemnity insurance do I need?

Contents insurance might not be top of your to-do list when you’re moving into a new rental flat or house. But as you carefully wrap up your fragile belongings and rummage around for a spare box to fill, you want to know that your stuff will be safe in your new home. Accidents happen, and keeping your prized possessions bubble-wrapped forever just isn’t the best idea. 

In the UK, 19% of all homes are rented — that’s 4.4 million households. If you’re a renter in the UK, you’ll have signed a tenancy agreement to agree to look after your landlord’s belongings and fixtures and fittings. But guess what your rent doesn’t cover? The safety of your own belongings.



Why do you need contents insurance?

Do I need contents insurance as a tenant?

Getting contents insurance as a tenant is actually a very good idea. And we’re not just saying that — it’s to help you! In the UK, tenants pay rent to landlords which will cover the building’s insurance, which obviously belongs to the landlord. However, you might be surprised to discover that the rent you pay doesn’t cover your personal belongings against damage or theft. So if your rented flat or house was burgled, there’s no safety net to help you claim for or replace your stolen belongings.

As well as covering your belongings against theft, contents insurance also covers your stuff against accidental damage and water damage. And if a devastating fire happens like the one at Springfield Mill, contents insurance for tenants can even help you find alternative accommodation. Here’s what happened.

In April 2020, a huge fire destroyed many homes in Springfield Mill in Derbyshire. The development is a converted grade II-listed building holding more than 100 apartments, and many tenants escaped with just the clothes on their backs. Their personal belongings were lost to fire damage and water damage where fire-fighters tackled the blaze. Some tenants were never able to return to their rented homes and had to live in hotels at the landlords’ and local authorities’ expense.

If the tenants in Springfield Mill had Contents and Liability insurance, they would have been able to claim for their lost possessions as well as alternative accommodation. Plus, if tenants in our case study had a policy with Rubber Ring, they would have had Tenants Liability as part of their Contents Insurance policy, meaning anything belonging to the landlord, like fixtures and fittings in the flats, would have been covered too. 

Rubber Ring’s Tenants Liability covers renters for up to £35,000, which should cover a lot of the landlord’s fixtures and fittings your tenant’s agreement says that you’re responsible for. So even if something major gets damaged or stolen, or if the bath falls through the ceiling, you won’t have to pay a penny for repairs.


The answer might be less than you think. There are many different Contents Insurance policies on the market, and ours is by far one of the most affordable options. From just £3.99 per month — that’s less than 13p per day — you can get covered for up to £5,000 of your stuff. Perfect for rented households with an average TV, smartphones, laptops, push bikes and more. And with a Tenants Liability policy covering you for up to £35,000, you can sleep soundly at night. As long as your neighbours are the quiet types.


Find out more about our insurance policies and get 90 second quote today to see how much peace of mind costs. You might just be pleasantly surprised.

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Ruth Sedar

Rubber Ring Author

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