PR consultants’ insurance

Why do PR consultants need professional indemnity insurance?

You’ll know this better than anyone: despite best intentions, things go wrong. When clients are paying you money, ‘things going wrong’ can mean the sort of expensive, time-consuming mistakes that have consequences. That’s when you need all the help you can get.

Professional indemnity insurance for PRs might not be all the help you can get but it’s pretty close. If a client alleges you’ve done something wrong or not done what was agreed, and they’re pointing an angry finger and asking for damages, your policy steps in. It pays for legal experts to fight your corner, pays to put things right and pays any compensation you’re liable for.

Handily, it also stops that angry finger-pointing in the first place. If you spot a potential problem with your work, your policy pays to fix it before your client makes it a much bigger, more expensive problem. Landmine sidestepped.

Put simply, having PR consultants’ professional indemnity insurance means you can get on with what you do best: running your business.

How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?

Professional indemnity insurance protects your business. No one else’s.

So you have to decide what level of cover is enough for you. Consider what you do, who you do it for and how much it’s worth. Think about worst-case scenario and what could go wrong. What’s the most expensive mistake you could make (or be accused of making)?

Always bear in mind that you can’t have too much cover. Your legal defence can cost many tens of thousands of pounds – and that’s before the compensation bill from your client arrives. Your level of cover has to be enough to cover all of this.

It’s a tricky one to get right. Have a read of this guide or call us if you need more help.

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Negligence claims and allegations made against you by clients and third parties, because of mistakes you’ve made and things you’ve failed to do.

Specifically (but depending on the policy wording):

• Defamation
• Intellectual property infringement
• Loss of documents or data
• Negligent misrepresentation or misstatement
• Employee dishonesty
• Virus transmission
• Breach of confidentiality

But that’s not all. Some professional indemnity policies can fix a mistake before your client is even aware of it, thereby preventing a claim in the first place.

What else do I need?

If you have any employees, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. If an employee suffers an injury or illness as a result of working for your company, they can sue it for damages. Your insurance can cover their compensation, plus any legal fees.

If you visit clients, or they visit you, consider getting some public liability insurance. This covers you if someone is injured, or their property is damaged, and you’re to blame.

Office and property insurance covers the things in your office (furniture, plants, fixed IT equipment etc) and portable insurance covers gadgets and technical equipment away from the office (laptops, tablets, projectors etc). If you’re not sure it’s worth insuring, add it all up – it’s probably worth more than you think.

Business interruption insurance means you can still work when your office is out of action. Be it flood, fire or flea infestation, you’re covered for the costs of setting up elsewhere and for any lost revenue in that time.

If you’re a company boss, you can protect yourself with directors’ and officers’ insurance. Anyone can accuse you of not running your business with due care, and in the UK, company directors are personally liable for their actions. The good thing is this insurance covers your defence costs and any compensation you have to pay. So you can put away your chequebook.

Why should I buy my insurance from you?

Glad you asked.

The simple answer is: we know what we’re doing. Professional insurance is all we do so we know what you need, even if you don’t.

We also know that buying insurance can be, well, a bit of a pain. So we make sure getting yours is quick and hassle-free.

We do all that while treating you like a human being, too. You won’t find a call centre here. Or a phone menu. And we’ve banned nonsense insurance jargon.

Anything else? Well, there’s the great stuff you get, such as an ‘I’m insured!’ badge for your website – perfect for the professional professional.

Also, we’ll give you money each time you recommend us.

If you’re after a second opinion, have a look at our customers’ feedback. They’re the ones you should really listen to.