Legal Environment
Any individual, company, organisation or entity providing a professional service is exposed to litigation if a third party suffers a loss as a result of negligence. Professional services can be broadly defined as those requiring special skills including but not limited to advice, design and consulting services.
Often referred to as PI insurance, professional indemnity provides protection to ensure the financial wellbeing, safety and even survival of the insured business in the aftermath of negligence and damages claims brought by third parties.
Legal Practitioners are professionals who are qualified to provide legal advice and representation. They have in-depth knowledge of the law and legal systems, allowing them to assist individuals and organisations with a wide range of legal matters.
Types of legal practitioners:
- Attorneys: Generally, provide a broader range of legal services, including advising clients on various legal matters, drafting legal documents, and representing clients in court.
- Advocates: Primarily focus on litigation and representing clients in court.
- Conveyancers: Specialise in property law, handling property transfers and related legal matters.
- Notaries: Public officials who are authorised to certify documents, administer oaths, and perform other official acts.
- Public prosecutors: Represent the state in criminal cases, bringing charges against accused individuals.
We can offer the following sections under our PI offering for Legal Practitioners:
Extensions of Cover
- Claims Preparation costs
- Court Attendance Costs
- Criminal and Statutory Defence costs
- Defamation
- Defence Costs To Appear Before A Regulatory / Statutory Body
- Fee Recovery
- Joint Venture Or Consortium Agreements
- Liability Following Employee Dishonesty
- Loss Of Documents
- LPIIF Deductible infill
- Mitigation of Loss costs
- Non-Employee Legal Practitioners
- Non-Practitioner Professionals
- North American Jurisdiction
- Outside Directorship Liability
- Sub Contracted Duties
- Wrongful Arrest
Again, it's really important that as the insurance broker, you understand your client's business so the correct extensions can be added to the insurance program.
Why place your PI cover with SHA?
Solutions
Unique, bespoke solutions created for unique professional exposuresLongevity
PI claims can take years to manifest and then even longer to be resolved. SHA has over 35 years of experience in handling long tail claims effectively.Strength
SHA is a division of Santam, southern Africa's largest short term insurer.Professional Indemnity FAQs
What are professional services?
In the PI wordings, Professional services are broadly defined as the activities and duties which would fall within the normal scope of duties performed by a professionally qualified person properly registered in terms of the current applicable Act/s that govern/s such profession and field of business, as stated in the Schedule.
Who needs professional indemnity insurance?
- Anyone or any company that provides a professional service, knowledge or gives advice may have a need for PI cover.
- General professional services firms require this cover, examples of these are:
- Legal environment (attorneys/advocates/legal services)
- Built environment (consulting engineers, architects, QS, LS, project managers, developers, contractors)
- Financial environment. (accountants, auditors, actuaries, brokers, financial institutions etc.)
- IT firms, multimedia companies, travel agents, management consultants, valuators, loss adjusters etc
- and many others
Where do claims come from?
Claims generally come from any of the following:
- third parties with whom the client enters into a contract.
- third parties where injury or damage has been caused by the insured’s negligence during the course of professional duties.
- depending on the insured’s type of operation, claims can actually come from anywhere in the world.
What are the key exclusions?
Exclusions do vary by profession. We have several bespoke wordings available at SHA but generally the following exclusions are common:
- Fraud & dishonesty
- Fines & penalties
- Asbestosis
- Nuclear
- Pollution
- War & terrorism
