Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Professional indemnity definition

What does Professional indemnity mean? Professional indemnity describes the insurance legal practices and other professionals maintain to cover civil liability to clients and third parties for negligence, breach of duty and related claims, usually including defence costs. In legal services it is a descriptive term rather than a statutory definition; its scope is set by regulators’ rules and the policy wording. Across the UK and Ireland, solicitors’ firms and many other regulated legal services providers are required to maintain professional indemnity insurance (PII), but the mechanism and minimum terms differ. In England and Wales, the SRA’s Indemnity Insurance Rules and Minimum Terms and Conditions require authorised firms...

Professional indemnity insurance: claims-made cover, insuring clauses, limits, excesses, aggregation, exclusions, conditions, notification, reservation of rights, subrogation, run-off and risk management

Published by a LexisNexis Insurance & Reinsurance expert

Practice notes

What is Professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance is a type of liability cover. It offers an individual professional or a firm an indemnity and protection against claims or losses resulting from negligent acts, mistakes or omissions linked to the insured professional practice. This cover usually also includes the acts, errors and omissions of former employees. In certain sectors—such as solicitors, accountants, architects, chartered surveyors, financial advisers and some healthcare professionals—holding professional indemnity insurance is a legal requirement. Nonetheless, any person or business that supplies advice, designs or services in a professional capacity should carry this insurance. The cover is generally intended to respond to client claims for damages arising in the ordinary course of the insured's professional services. These are claims brought by a client in connection with the routine delivery of the insured party’s professional services. For detailed guidance on professional indemnity insurance requirements across different professions, see Practice Notes:

Professional indemnity insurance—solicitors
Professional indemnity insurance—architects
Professional indemnity insurance—accountants and auditors (ICAEW)
Professional indemnity insurance—surveyors and valuation professionals (RICS)
Professional indemnity insurance—FCA-regulated professionals (including IFAs and brokers)

See also Practice Note: Liability insurance—essentials.

How does professional indemnity insurance operate?

Professional indemnity insurance policies operate on a ‘claims made’ basis under the policy terms...

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Dr Jocelin Gale

7KBW

After a career in banking as a quant and equity derivatives trader in Paris, London and New York, with several bulge bracket investment banks, Jocelin was called to the Bar in 2009 and started practising upon completion of his PhD in 2011. Jocelin has appeared at all levels of the UK Courts, including the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and is regularly instructed in insurance, and particularly reinsurance, matters. Given his past experience in banking and background in mathematics and mathematical finance, Jocelin is also routinely involved in finance matters, particularly those that relate to complex financial structures or products....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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