Continuous Insurance Cover. Or not.

[northernladuk]

Once again: my question is not about cancellation.

Once again: insurance vendors like QDOS are not impartial.

Your question appears to be...

I have read the insurance pages of this site and others without reaching an answer to the following question.

Is there any down side to letting your professional insurances (professional indemnity, employers liability etc) lapse during a break between contracts?

Which KB answered in the 2nd post?

Maybe start a new thread if your question has changed to 'If it's never been claimed on why should I have it' or something like that?

[DeludedKitten]

That is the question in a nut shell. Would the fact that I was covered when the incident took place not cover it ?

Not in general - you'd have to look at the terms of the current insurance policy about whether you'd be covered or not.

I've had insurance from Randell Dorling, Caunce O'Hara, Qdos, Direct Line and Kingsbridge over the years. None of the policies would have covered me in the scneario that you describe.

[unixman]

@NLUK The second post was from DeludedKitten who post a question and has so far not responded to my reply.

@NLUK You're a waste of space the way you talk to people on here, even in "professional" forums. You have hijacked the thread in order to police the posts of others, and have no genuine interest in the matter at hand. Get off the thread and go back to work.

[malvolio]

@NLUK The second post was from DeludedKitten who post a question and has so far not responded to my reply.

@NLUK You're a waste of space the way you talk to people on here, even in "professional" forums. You have hijacked the thread in order to police the posts of others, and have no genuine interest in the matter at hand. Get off the thread and go back to work.

Says the one who is refusing to take no for an answer...

[unixman]

Not in general - you'd have to look at the terms of the current insurance policy about whether you'd be covered or not.

I've had insurance from Randell Dorling, Caunce O'Hara, Qdos, Direct Line and Kingsbridge over the years. None of the policies would have covered me in the scneario that you describe.

Just looking at my current documents from QDOS, there must be 50 pages of stuff there. TBH I am not capable of interpreting that lot, and anyway I think it would say continuous cover is needed. QDOS would probably say the same over the phone, for obvious reasons. I don't really believe it. If it were true, there would be quotable cases, and quite likely insurance agents on this thread quoting them.

Time's running out for my renewal, so I will probably renew. If the question could be clarified though, it could save contractors a lot of money. The implication is that contractors must keep every insurance policy going for the rest of their lives (at the extreme) and that adds up to a lot of cash, depending on your age.

[MrButton]

That is the question in a nut shell. Would the fact that I was covered when the incident took place not cover it ?

Maybe ask YOUR insurer about YOUR policy whether it’s covered.

Why is this so hard?

[northernladuk]

@NLUK The second post was from DeludedKitten who post a question and has so far not responded to my reply.

@NLUK You're a waste of space the way you talk to people on here, even in "professional" forums. You have hijacked the thread in order to police the posts of others, and have no genuine interest in the matter at hand. Get off the thread and go back to work.

Genuine interest? I posted a number of links and quotes that answer your question with no room for doubt. I don't see anyone else has put any effort in to help you. And just to prove that you go on to say...

Just looking at my current documents from QDOS, there must be 50 pages of stuff there. TBH I am not capable of interpreting that lot, and anyway I think it would say continuous cover is needed. QDOS would probably say the same over the phone, for obvious reasons. I don't really believe it. If it were true, there would be quotable cases, and quite likely insurance agents on this thread quoting them.

What do you mean you think? I quoted you the exact wording from the QDOS site. It tells you exactly what the situation of the cover is. They cannot, however, tell you how to run your business. It's very clear that if you got caught out inbetween insurance cover you would NOT be covered. It's not up to them to make the decision for you as to whether it's risky or not.

All that said the very last line of the statement from the QDOS site answers your question? I'll quote it again for you.

How the policy operates

Professional Indemnity Insurance operates on a ‘claims made’ basis. This means that the policy needs to be in force at the time a claim is made, for example when negligence proceedings are brought against the insured. If the policy is cancelled or allowed to expire and a claim is then brought, the policy will not react, irrespective of if the claim relates to services provided when the insured was on cover. The policyholder should consider keeping the policy in force continually until they are no longer exposed to claims.

If you don't want to follow good practice and advice then that's your call. Don't have a pop at me about it.

Time's running out for my renewal, so I will probably renew. If the question could be clarified though, it could save contractors a lot of money. The implication is that contractors must keep every insurance policy going for the rest of their lives (at the extreme) and that adds up to a lot of cash, depending on your age.

It would save a lot of money but the insurance companies wouldn't make enough to cover the costs so surely if this became common practice premiums would, penalty clauses and admin fees would be introduced to cover it.

Do you really want to be the one case we quote when you get caught with no insurance for the money you are going to save? That's your call, not ours. We can only give you the facts, which I believe we've done.

[unixman]

Maybe ask YOUR insurer about YOUR policy whether it’s covered.

Why is this so hard?

Yes I take your point. The insurer created the product so he should know how it works. However, his motivation is to get your renewal, and so he might not give you an accurate or complete picture of how the product works. I don't think they would fib, but they are salesmen. Sorry for the cynicism.

[unixman]

Incidentally this thread/question applies only to professional indemnity insurance.

I don't think it applies to employer's liability, tax inquiry, IR35 etc.

[northernladuk]

Incidentally this thread/question applies only to professional indemnity insurance.

I don't think it applies to employer's liability, tax inquiry, IR35 etc.

That is your problem right there.

What do you mean it doesn't apply to those? The gaps or the common thinking to keep it going?