9 Responses

1. Try your local broker
   Hi Pam,

   I’d try your local insurance broker for quotes – alternatively, speak to your local Business Link or Enterprise Council, I’m sure they will point you in the right direction.

   Good luck!

   Colin Hamilton
   colin@bis-improve.co.uk

2. Insurance
   Also try FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) they have a lot of data and as a member you can get reduced rates in all types of insurance including Professional indemnity. You should also consider public liability insurance too.

   Best of luck

   Training By Design Global Ltd
   tbdgloballtd@aol.com

3. PL & PI Insurance
   Hi Pam,

   You will need to look at getting Public Liability (PL) insurance as well as Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance.

   I tried the FSB and even though I am a member, I found them to be quite expensive with their quote (over £900 per annum for both PL and PI). Barclays Bank also quoted me over £800 per annum for both PL and PI. I found G.R. Marshall & Co to be the best value and my accountant recommended them to me. I managed to get £1m PL cover and £1m PI cover for under £500 per annum for both. You should speak to Andrew Wibberley on 02380 847744.

   PL insurance is easy to get and you can get a quote over the telephone.

   PI insurance is a more complex affair. Each policy is underwritten individually and they will want to know how many years experience you have (you will have to provide a copy of your CV), exactly what services you are offering (they will want a copy of a brochure if you have one or a FULL explanation if not) and they will want copies of any standard contracts you propose to use (e.g. contract for services with a client, sub-contractors contract if you farm work out, non-disclosure agreement, End User Licence Agreements if you licence products to 3rd parties, etc.). If you have any partnerships, they will want full details of those and if you employ anyone, they are likely to also offer you Employers Liability Insurance but you don’t need this if it is just you. If you use sub-contractors, they will want to know if you insist that your sub-contractors have their own PI insurance. They will want to know the size of contracts you have had in the past and the size of contracts you plan to have in the future and will also want to know if you intend to do any of your work outside the UK. They’ll also want to know if you have been claimed against for PI in the past or have any situations pending that may lead to a claim. Make sure you have a good business plan you can forward to them.

   I tell you all this so you can be prepared for the Spanish Inquisition!

   Feel free to get in touch with me for any advice or if you want to talk about contract templates.

   Good luck!

   Gary (mobile 0788 079 0815)

4. SMG – Insurers
   Dear Pam,

   We had lots of quotes and compared policies, the most comprehensive is with SMG Professional Risks.

   We advise all our associates to use them.

   They can be contacted on 0113 294 4000

   Regards

   Maggie

5. Try ITOL
   The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (ITOL) has a Professional Indemnity Insurance arrangement with Tolson Messenger. Premiums vary according to turnover and the professional indemnity limit chosen but with a turnover of less than £100,000 premiums start from as little as £100 for £1M of Public/Product liability cover.
   The ITOL public website is at http://www.traininginstitute.co.uk

6. Professional Indemnity Insurance
   For a competitive price try Ansvar Insuarance tel 01323 737541. Excellent cover at sensible rates.

7. Via the CIPD
   When I looked into this about six months ago, the policy offered by the CIPD for their members was by far the best value.

8. Professional Liability Insurance
   CIPD have an arrangement with “Smithson Mason Ltd” for low cost Professional Liability Insurance. Their website at http://www.smg-professional-risks.co.uk should tell you all you need to know. Best Wishes for your new venture.

9. Professional Indemnity
   We get our professional indemnity from SMITHSON MASON LTD (0113-294-4000). As we have fellowship and membership of CIPD and CIM, we get a signicant reduction on our premium. This gives us £1,000,000 limit of indemnity. If anyone knows of a better deal, we would like to hear from them!