Professional Indemnity - Freelance Claims Scenario's

In today’s fast-changing, increasingly litigious world, it’s never been more important for freelancers, contractors and consultants to be covered by high grade professional indemnity (pi) insurance. Deadlines are a fact of life, but sometimes in the race to get a job done, mistakes can happen, causing loss or damage to clients and potentially resulting in huge claims being made against you.

Here are some professional indemnity claims examples made against freelance consultants.

IT Contractor

The insured was a website specialist. He was retained to build an online booking system for a travel company. It was alleged that system contained coding errors causing it to crash. The cost of the claim included the cost of re-programming a new system & lost sales incurred during system downtime.

Insurers settled at £250,000

Design Engineer

The insured was an air conditioning specialist. He was retained to design an air conditioning system for an office building. It was alleged that the design was faulty. The offices upper floors were intolerably hot. The cost of the of the claim included the cost of redesigning, constructing & fitting a new system.

Insurers settled at £280,000

Consulting Engineer

The insured was a structural engineer. He was retained to provide structural calculations for a first floor extension of a residential building. It was alleged that the calculations were inaccurate. The building experienced subsidence during building works. The cost of the claim included substantial repair costs.

Insurers settled at £170,000

Marketing Consultant

The insured was an advertising specialist. She was retained to produce a magazine advertisement for a double glazing company. It was alleged that she inserted incorrect contact details in the advertisement. The advert generated poor sales as a result. The cost of the claim covered lost revenue & damage to the clients brand.

Insurers settled at £155,000

Accountant

The insured was an auditor. He was retained to audit a company accounts. It was alleged he failed to detect errors in the company accounts. The company made strategic decisions based on the accounts the insured approved.

Insurers settled at: Undisclosed