first timer - outside IR35

[IanC]

well I have gone the ltd route. registered the domain and company name at the same time . b+c checked the contract for "outside IR35" and made a couple of changes which the agency accepted. engaged SJD as my accountants...

just about to do the signups for PCG and PII insurance etc, ran into a hiccup, reading these fora it confirmed my suspicion, seems to be common practice for Professional Indemnity to have a value named in the contract. Mine doesn't - it requires me to be "adequately" insured for "any loss,expenses damages etc" . given that I can't buy a PII policy for "any" liability, I'm going to insist on change before signing.....

Ian

[malvolio]

If they don't define it beyond "adequately", then it's your call. £1 might be considered adequate...

The normal PCG one is for £100k exclusive and up to £2m shared - more than adequate for any rational contract.

[IanC]

my call is not to sign until its clarified...as a new contractor, this smells to me very much like a "risk waiting to bite me on the bum years down the line".
Fortunately for me in this case the agency could be anybody (I negotiated the work directly with the client, then the client appointed an agency) so its in the agencies interest to sort it out.

I'm a PCGplus member now. The randall dorling PCG one looks to me like £2M shared amongst PCG members but max £1M per member - correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this means that any one PCG member has cover to £1M max. and if more than two get sued for £1M at the same time, then there is big trouble somewhere (not sure where!). So if I end up needing more than £1M personal cover, I'll have to go way up the PII fee scale methinks.

[malvolio]

Well, perhaps. There has never been a case of a freelance being sued for PI by a client, so it is not something to worry about unduly. RD's cover is all you will ever need, until you start building nuclear power stations or designing off-shore oil rigs.

[IanC]

RD's cover is all you will ever need

not in this case they asked me for £2M PII finally. It is national telco networks so probably reasonable. caunceohara looking cheapest at the mo....