Engineers are governed by codes of and regulations of their institute which require them to work to the highest standards. Sometimes however things don't work out as planned and unintentional mistakes can cause financial damage to a client and big lawsuits against the engineer. Its pays to guard against the unexpected.  

Permanetly employed engineering professionals are afforded the luxury of being protected against claims of negligence by their employer's professional indemnity cover. But the growing number of engineers who work independently on contracts or consulting jobs are not. 

Say, for instance, you are a freelance design engineer. Any errors in your product / building / software / utility design may end up being very expensive for your client. Inaccurate design of a air conditioning system. Miscalulating the stress load a component can take. In such cases, the client is well within his rights to sue you and claim any financial loss from you. Professional indemnity insurance acts as the perfect foil to engineers in the event of things going totally off beam. 

It not only provides you with a financial warchest to cover legal fees, it also covers can compensation costs if you are found liable. If you want to avoid the financial and legal impacts of a disgruntled client taking you to court, where better to put your money than buying a professional indemnity policy?  Having professional indemnity cover protects & also lends a touch authenticity as clients expect all suitors to have cover in place before awarding work. For just a few hundered pounds a year, engineering your professional safety & future income cannot be bad!