Reply to: Professional indemnity cover levels?

[domcobb180]

Has anyone ever claimed on theirs?

How much would you need as head of Nat West /RBS QA....

[Qdos Contractor]

Probably because those who need less don't take it out or they go elsewhere.

Probably.

[Qdos Contractor]

But you see this is what makes the whole thing a bit lfunny. Take a random snapshot of those 19 people, you will have everything from DBA's working on live corporate critical data to a service manager pushing pens and drawing diagrams. The fact that everyone in that snapshot need or want £1mil equally shows it isn't really risk based so kinda means we are just buying it like sheep with no basis. Don't get me wrong, I have mine and am happy to do so but what other contract/insurance on earth is so broadbased and not influenced by risk etc.

I agree completely - it's obviously based predominantly on what the agency/end client asks for, rather than a realistic calculation of potential liabilities. That's just the nature of the industry, and that's what we've based our policies on.

[northernladuk]

Probably because those who need less don't take it out or they go elsewhere.

I actually have met IT contractors who don't take out PI insurance even though it states they need it in their contract. The contractors I've met in other professions take PI more seriously.

And I have had the same experience but how seriously does it need to be taken I wonder? How many times have these ever been called on and paid out? I agree as I said having it so cheap it isn't worth not having it but how much of a risk are people that don't have it actually facing? Must be miniscule.

[northernladuk]

Yes. I would say 19 out of 20 IT contractors who come to us for PI ask for £1m. Obviously there are exceptions, but I would definitely say £1m is standard.

But you see this is what makes the whole thing a bit lfunny. Take a random snapshot of those 19 people, you will have everything from DBA's working on live corporate critical data to a service manager pushing pens and drawing diagrams. The fact that everyone in that snapshot need or want £1mil equally shows it isn't really risk based so kinda means we are just buying it like sheep with no basis. Don't get me wrong, I have mine and am happy to do so but what other contract/insurance on earth is so broadbased and not influenced by risk etc.

[SueEllen]

Yes. I would say 19 out of 20 IT contractors who come to us for PI ask for £1m. Obviously there are exceptions, but I would definitely say £1m is standard.

Probably because those who need less don't take it out or they go elsewhere.

I actually have met IT contractors who don't take out PI insurance even though it states they need it in their contract. The contractors I've met in other professions take PI more seriously.

[Qdos Contractor]

Really?

Yes. I would say 19 out of 20 IT contractors who come to us for PI ask for £1m. Obviously there are exceptions, but I would definitely say £1m is standard.

[DaveB]

Get it and forget it. It's a cost of doing business and a pointer to your IR35 status. Not having business insurance when you claim to be operating as a business is not going to do you any favours should Hector come calling.

[SueEllen]

£1m is very much the norm in the IT contracting industry.

Really?

Odd that I've had plenty of contracts where they stated the amount due back in the case of a claim would either be the amount they paid out or I needed £250K of PI.

To be honest you should if this is your first contract:
1. Gage how long the contract is going to be which you should have done when you met the client,
2. Get the minimum amount of cover you can get away with.

With future contracts you may need to increase the amount. The problem is once you have you need to stick with this cover in case problems are uncovered once you have left the contract.

[Wanderer]

I have recently secured a contract and have been advised that I need to take out professional indemnity cover. I have asked my agent what level of cover I need (e.g. £1million, £2million) but they said this was my decision.

Get the minimum you can get away with because it's money down the drain. I'd have none at all if I wasn't required to have it. Do a search and you will find the names of the popular PI providers and see what levels they are offering.

[Old Greg]

Put him on ignore mate. The forum starts to become useful when you do.

There are several ways to access FAQ's (some of them award winning) in addition to enjoying the friendly cut and thrust of the forum.

[northernladuk]

Thought a forum was to get a current opinion? As I said thank you for your help I appreciate it.

I thought it would be a good idea to put it as a new thread to get up to date advise. Isnt this what CUK is designed for?

It is but it is also a huge respository of questions, some of them asked almost weekly so all the information you need is there. The more a question gets asked the less people will help when it is asked again. To be honest, people get bored of answering the same questions. Sometimes you have to help yourself before other people will help you. Recommending accountants, what expenses can I claim, what PI do I need etc, are asked so much. As I said before researching can also help find other things you didn't know and didn't think to ask as well. You will find from you searches all the companies that offer it, the costs, the consensus of who everyone uses and also some interesting discussions on the reality of how many people actually used it and so on. You will see lots of discussion about taking on Public Liabilty at the same time, the cost and the pro's and cons. You will find QDOS is popular and they also give you 3 free IR35 contract checks as well and so on.

Doing the search you get 347 threads back. You got 2 answers in this thread. Which is more useful?

Put him on ignore mate. The forum starts to become useful when you do.

Funnily enough although Kanye suggests ignoring me he also re-enforces my point. When you become useful, the forum does. Just ask questions that we see time and time again you won't get the best help.

Am only trying to show you CUK's full potential. If it makes me look an arse on the way I don't really care. Next time you use search and get good answers quickly then I sleep a happy man.

[bless 'em all]

Thought a forum was to get a current opinion? As I said thank you for your help I appreciate it.

I thought it would be a good idea to put it as a new thread to get up to date advise. Isnt this what CUK is designed for?

advice

Put him on ignore mate. The forum starts to become useful when you do.

But there's always someone else coming along behind ...

[Kanye]

Thought a forum was to get a current opinion? As I said thank you for your help I appreciate it.

I thought it would be a good idea to put it as a new thread to get up to date advise. Isnt this what CUK is designed for?

Put him on ignore mate. The forum starts to become useful when you do.

[NickWallace87]

And if you searched you would have found it.

Thought a forum was to get a current opinion? As I said thank you for your help I appreciate it.

I thought it would be a good idea to put it as a new thread to get up to date advise. Isnt this what CUK is designed for?