New Contractor : PI / Professional / Employee Liability Insurances

[northernladuk]

Bored maybe?

But seriously. A BA can't do much damage if they are acting legally.

They don't have to do damage to cost the company money. They can act negligently which then costs money to fix. If the BA's on the project I work on don't get it right first time the whole dam thing will get screwed. I would get this insurance if I was them!

Being bored doesn't mean you can drop bombs on the forum without applying any common sense whatsoever... That is my job!

Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) but more commonly known as errors & omissions (E&O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance that helps protect professional advice- and service-providing individuals and companies from bearing the full cost of defending against a negligence claim made by a client, and damages awarded in such a civil lawsuit. The coverage focuses on alleged failure to perform on the part of, financial loss caused by, and error or omission in the service or product sold by the policyholder.

[diesel]

It took me ages to explain to the agent that i dont need EL, although they kept on insisting on it. Anyway they eventually agreed after i quoted some guidance text to them to not buy it unless i employ someone as a subistitute for my role. (anyway i do have EL as it was part of a bundle insurance offer i have) but still i like to explain things properly rather than getting pushed by an agent who does not understand all the proper requirements.

[prozak]

You are kidding right? What is up with you today?

Bored maybe?

But seriously. A BA can't do much damage if they are acting legally.

[kaiser78]

I have my cover through QDOS at a pretty cheap rate.

Probably not the must bullet proof cover you will get, but is sufficient for what I need, given it was a requirement of the clientco/agency and not specifically the role I am undertaking.

[prozak]

The vast majority of contractors will have £1m PI, £1m PL and £10m EL. To ask for £5m across the board is uncommon and probably over the top.

Just so you know (so you can compare - not a sales pitch), for an IT contractor we can do £5m PI, £5m PL and £10m EL for £479.57 combined. I'm sure most insurers/brokers will also provide cover at the limits you require, but may not offer them online.

Yep. Seems good enough for me.

[northernladuk]

Agencies really are such idiots.

What could a BA possibly do to require PI.

You are kidding right? What is up with you today?

[Notascooby]

This usually happens when an agency tries to back-to-back insurances...

I'm currently fighting having to have 5M PI and 10M EL / 10M PL....but for the sake of £50 per month I'll do this whilst in the contract.

[Qdos Contractor]

The vast majority of contractors will have £1m PI, £1m PL and £10m EL. To ask for £5m across the board is uncommon and probably over the top.

Just so you know (so you can compare - not a sales pitch), for an IT contractor we can do £5m PI, £5m PL and £10m EL for £479.57 combined. I'm sure most insurers/brokers will also provide cover at the limits you require, but may not offer them online.

[prozak]

Thanks Steely Dan. It is a limited company with me and spouse. I do have all three insurances of upto £1M through the group policy of my accountant.

It is not a specialist job as such. I am BA working on IT projects.

Agencies really are such idiots.

What could a BA possibly do to require PI.

[Clare@InTouch]

I'm sure someone will correct me as appropriate, but if you are a one man band (no employees) then you are not obliged to have EL insurance at all. I had to point this out to a big organisation recently. I was exempt from needing it for the contract (I checked my facts first on Business Link) but I think I had to provide a statement of sorts to claim the exemption, which they accepted.

£5m sounds excessive to me. Mine's normally £2m, just for comparison, but the role which you're up for might have different requirements.

Agreed, EL isn't necessary if you're just you.

.....if you are a Limited Company with 2 or more working directors then you MUST by law have this cover even if you are a husband and wife team under the Employers Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. There is an exception to this legal requirement which is a Limited Company with only ONE working person who is a director and owns fifty per cent or more of the issued share capital, i.e. there are no other persons whatsoever doing any work in the company.

Do I really need Employers Liability Insurance (EL) and what happens if I don’t have it?

[Master]

Thanks Steely Dan. It is a limited company with me and spouse. I do have all three insurances of upto £1M through the group policy of my accountant.

It is not a specialist job as such. I am BA working on IT projects.

[SteelyDan]

I'm sure someone will correct me as appropriate, but if you are a one man band (no employees) then you are not obliged to have EL insurance at all. I had to point this out to a big organisation recently. I was exempt from needing it for the contract (I checked my facts first on Business Link) but I think I had to provide a statement of sorts to claim the exemption, which they accepted.

£5m sounds excessive to me. Mine's normally £2m, just for comparison, but the role which you're up for might have different requirements.

[Master]

Hi, I am new contractor, just got my first contract. They agency has mentioned all the 3 insurances of upto 5 Million in the contract. 1 Million seems to be the common level everywhere and I am even struggling to find quotes for £5 Million.

When queried, the agency saying that this is a client requirement and have actually queried the client again, but say they have to do whatever the client requests.

Is this common? If yes, can you please suggest where I can get £5M cover? Alternatively, can I say that I can take only 1 Million?