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...

Silent cyber in UK professional indemnity insurance: PRA/Lloyd’s oversight, IUA and LMA clause approaches, and implications for regulated professions

Published by a LexisNexis Insurance & Reinsurance expert

Practice notes

Silent (or non-affirmative) cyber coverage, and the systemic risk it presents to the insurance market, have been of significant regulatory concern in recent years.

This Practice Note explores silent cyber within professional indemnity insurance (PII), the regulatory concerns it has prompted, and how the market has responded so far. It also reviews the contrasting approaches taken by the International Underwriting Association (IUA) and the London Market Association (LMA), and what those positions mean for underwriting practice and minimum terms for regulated professions. Cyber risks cover any exposure to financial loss, operational disruption or reputational harm suffered by an organisation resulting from the failure, unauthorised use or mistaken operation of its IT systems. Such exposures may arise from malicious conduct (including cyberattacks) and from non-malicious events (for example, system outages or accidental data loss). The frequency and visibility of cyber incidents have risen markedly. Organisations across professional services, defence, education, healthcare and charities have faced cyber events of increasing sophistication and impact. Regulatory frameworks such as the GDPR have heightened financial exposure linked to data breaches through stricter reporting obligations, expanded liability and potentially substantial penalties. The resulting losses can be severe and wide-ranging...

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Joe Bryant

Beale & Co

Joe specialises in defending lawyers and insurance brokers (and their London market insurers) against claims for professional negligence, and has an established client base including some of the largest legal and insurance firms both in the UK and internationally.He advises on the full spectrum of issues facing the legal and broking professions, from M&A lawyers facing complex corporate and tax litigation on the one hand, through to Lloyds brokers having to deal with disputed declinatures and Insurance Act interpretation on the other. He is routinely instructed by the insurance market to act for its policyholders in resolving their disputes, as well as providing coverage advice on policy interpretation.Away from brokers and lawyers, Joe also acts (again predominantly through the UK insurance market) for construction professionals, having been involved in a wide range of claims both nationally and...

Gabriella Zaidan

Beale & Co

Gabriella is a trainee solicitor with experience advising professional clients and their insurers on the commercial resolution of disputes in the UK. She works closely with financial risk professionals and construction professionals such as solicitors, engineers, architects and contractors, as well as their professional indemnity insurers, representing them in pre-action matters, all stages of litigation and adjudication processes. Gabriella also regularly provides advice to insured clients on contractual documents related to construction projects, including the review of appointments and collateral warranties....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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