[ Focus: Insurance] Protect and N
o matter how professional and skilled you are, there are no guarantees that nothing will ever go wrong with a job. And that is why it is critical to have the correct insurance cover in place to make sure
both you and your clients are fully protected against injury or damage. But what if there is an error that leads to financial loss for your client? Would your insurance pay for that? In this article, we look at two products that provide a level of cover for such eventualities – professional indemnity and a professional negligence extension to a public liability policy. There is often a lot of confusion over the two. And it’s not surprising. Policy wordings are legal contracts with many terms that mean little to anyone outside the insurance industry. No different, I suspect, to presenting a non- electrical expert with a document that talks about amps, joules, thermionic valves and diodes!
But it is essential to understand about these two covers, as they could protect you from a very costly situation – one that could even cost you your business.
Are you covered if an error leads to financial loss for one of your customers? Agneta Desouza, underwriting manager at the Electrical Contractors’ Insurance Company (ECIC), explains why it’s important to get the right insurance, and the key difference between a professional indemnity policy and a professional negligence extension to a public liability policy
Are you covered?
Imagine completing a job to the best of your or your staff’s ability, knowing that the system you have built and installed totally complies with the specification. As far as you’re concerned, it’s a job well done and the client is happy. It subsequently comes to light, however, that the specification was not actually what the client wanted or needed. And, as a consequence, the client loses money. The result? An unhappy client who not only wants the system put right, but who also wants to be compensated against this loss. Understandable really. Thankfully you’re insured, so you’ll be able to claim for all this... right? Not necessarily.
Whether you are a contractor working on straightforward domestic light and power installations or on more complex industrial applications, the chances are you will have a specialist contractors commercial combined policy in place. This will cover you for things like employers’ liability, public
survive July 2012 ECA Today 63
SHUTTERSTOCK / NATA-LIA
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