Do you need professional indemnity insurance in Belgium at the request of a client or simply to thoroughly protect yourself against professional misconduct? You are certainly not alone. Professional indemnity insurance is one of the most common and most necessary insurance products for practitioners of an ‘intellectual profession’. This group includes self-employed individuals who provide intellectual services or products from a defined specialisation such as: consultants, lawyers, architects, notaries, doctors, accountants, etc.
What does professional indemnity actually mean? Specifically, it means that any damage caused to third parties that results from an intellectual professional error during the exercise of your professional activity is covered by professional indemnity insurance.
This insurance has multiple benefits:
The financial consequences of claims under a contract are covered.
The insurance is a signal to your client that you conduct your work in a professional manner. You cover the risks to which you and the client are exposed.
Assignments often involve a certain amount of pressure, and professional indemnity insurance gives peace of mind, knowing that any errors in their execution are insurable.
It is important to note that professional indemnity is complementary to civil liability. Professional indemnity relates to contractual risks, whereas civil liability is of a non-contractual nature. An example of the latter is knocking over a vase at a client’s premises.
Professional indemnity insurance is compulsory for a number of professions. These include financial consultants, architects and notaries. For consultants, professional indemnity insurance is not compulsory, yet more and more clients require this as a standard feature in their contract negotiations. A professional indemnity policy with Vanbreda carries certain benefits that you cannot do without in your activity:
One policy for your activities
One premium based on your turnover and the desired cover
Low excess
Free cover Civil liability for commercial operations
Free cover Entrusted property
Free cover Civil liability for subsequent delivery
Free cover Legal protection
Often your client will ask you to include a specific insured amount in the cover of your professional indemnity policy. Your turnover is an important measure. It is common for clients to require ‘small’ or ‘starting’ consultants to take out a high level of professional indemnity cover. This is, of course, a must for specific risks, but not always necessary in the case of standard risks. We have found that five times your turnover is a good indicator for the maximum insured amount with regard to professional indemnity.
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