Professional Indemnity Insurance

You may need professional indemnity insurance in the UK if you provide a professional service, treatment or advice, including but not limited to:

• • - Coaching
  • - Training
  • - Therapy
  • - Beauty services

This applies whether you work full-time or part-time, earn a large income or a modest one, or even if you sometimes provide services for free or as a hobby. An allegation of professional negligence can arise regardless of how much you charge or how often you practice.

With Westminster Insurance, you don’t need a separate PII since the combined package includes this cover along with public liability and medical malpractice insurance. If you’re looking for professional indemnity insurance for a small business, this is especially convenient — you receive protection for the most common risks in one bundle.

Under our combined policy, PII covers claims relating to professional negligence, errors, omissions, wrong advice, breach of professional duty, breach of confidentiality, or unintentional infringement of intellectual property. It focuses on losses linked to your services rather than the day-to-day accidents that happen around the premises.

Here are a few examples that can lead to a claim:

• • - A consultant supplies a forecast, and the client alleges an error caused them financial loss.
  • - A coach delivers a programme, and the client claims that it was negligent advice and led to measurable loss.
  • - A therapist unintentionally shares private information, and the client alleges distress and costs linked to that breach.

If such insurance claims are accepted and settled, the PII covers compensation up to the agreed limit. Our policy also includes defence costs and public relations expenses.

The professional indemnity cover sits alongside other protections already built into the core policy, such as public liability for injury or property damage and medical malpractice for treatment-related injury. When an incident involves more than one angle, the insurer can assess it under the relevant section without you having to guess.

Note that this page provides a general overview; the policy wording determines the exact cover.

The main exclusions from PI insurance are:

• • - Deliberate acts
  • - Known prior claims
  • - Activities outside the services declared on your policy

At Westminster Insurance, this cover comes in one combined package with public liability and medical malpractice protection. So, some issues that are not directly covered by PII, like certain types of bodily injury or property damage, may instead fall under other sections of the same policy.

The definitions below explain common terms related to PI and combined policies:

• Professional indemnity insurance: The part of the combined policy that helps when a client alleges your professional service or advice was negligent and caused loss or harm. It can also be referred to as professional liability insurance.
• Public liability: Insurance for injury or property damage suffered by third parties because of your business activities.
• Medical malpractice: Cover for injury, illness, disease, or death arising from negligent treatment, where relevant to your declared services.
• Aggregate limit: The maximum amount payable for all accepted claims during the policy period, across the combined sections.
• Claims-made cover: The policy responds to claims first made against you and notified during the policy period, subject to the terms.
• Retroactive date: The date from which past work can be covered under a claims-made policy, shown on your schedule where relevant.
• Territorial limits: The countries where claims can be brought.
• Jurisdiction: The courts that can hear disputes under the contract.
• Defence costs: Legal and related costs agreed in advance to investigate, defend, or settle a claim; they sit within the policy limit.
• Excess: The amount you pay towards each claim before the insurer pays.
• Continuous cover: An extension that may apply if a circumstance should have been notified under an earlier policy with the same insurer, subject to conditions.

There is no fixed professional indemnity insurance cost because the insurer prices the overall risk of the combined policy, not just PI. Your premium reflects what you do, how you deliver your services, the turnover of your business, the number of people insured, the limit you choose, and any optional add-ons you select on top of the core package.

The limit you pick affects both the price and the strength of your cover. A higher limit can cost more, but it can also make it easier to meet client contract terms or legal requirements, especially in consultancy and corporate work.

Interested in learning how much this could cost for your business? Get an indemnity insurance quote. Fill in our instant quote form with accurate information about you and your services, choose what extensions you want to include, if any, and receive the price for the combined policy — it takes just 3 minutes — quick and easy.

Getting professional indemnity insurance online through Westminster Insurance takes just a few minutes. Here’s how it works:

1. Fill in our online registration form. Answer questions about your business, the services you offer and your annual turnover. Adjust the cover limits and optional add-ons according to your needs.
2. Review your quote. Note that instead of a separate professional indemnity insurance cost, the system calculates a combined price that also includes cover for public liability and medical malpractice. Need some time to think about the pricing and conditions? Your quote remains valid for 30 days. You can return to it when you’re ready.
3. Proceed to payment. You can either pay once a year or spread the cost with monthly instalments — the policy is annual, but we provide flexibility in the payment schedule. Your cover starts as soon as payment is received.
4. Receive your cover. The documents will be delivered to your inbox within minutes.

If your business grows or anything changes after the policy has been activated, you can adjust your cover limits, practice areas, or other aspects online in your account or by reaching out to our support team.