Besides balancing the books and making sure a business has the right staff, it is also important to consider more unusual eventualities which can hit your financial resources. Depending on the industry, a business can face legal risks which could leave them severely out of pocket depending on your case. Private investigators, due to the sensitive nature of some of their work, and the way they are required to make recommendations and reports, fall into that category in which the legal risks are high. But private investigator professional indemnity cover is a product which for an effective and relatively low cost can protect against some of the financial implications of being sued.
While many disputes are settled without court action, sometimes legal advice is needed even in the initial stages of the complaint. If someone does go through with a complaint and then wants compensation, a business is likely to need considerable amount of legal advice and may even be ordered to pay compensation should it lose the case.
Private investigator professional indemnity cover is a type of professional insurance which will pay your legal bills up to an agreed limit. Most policies even cover the cost of compensation which may be awarded against you, should they supply.
The normal wording of a policy like this is that it will pay out for the legal defence if you’re accused of making a mistake, omission, or act of negligence in your general business. Mistakes can be costly in any industry, or if the client feels they have lost money or suffered as a result of your actions, they can make a claim.
An insurance policy like this will not put any stipulation on how valid the claim against you is, or whether or not you really have made a mistake, it will typically still pay out towards your legal costs. It also often covers allegations that you have breached confidentiality or copyright, defamed somebody, or lost important data or documents belonging to a client, and public liability insurance can also be included with some policies.
The cost of this insurance often depends on the cover limit. A policy will not pay out towards an indefinite amount of legal bills and compensation. This means you will need to put a cap on your cover, and effectively decide what the limit should be yourself. This can often be related to the size of your company. Large organisations may want protection for hundreds of thousands of pounds or even millions, while a small firm employing only one or two people will not need nearly as much.
Private investigator professional indemnity cover can also be cost effective as many insurance companies will allow you to specify an excess, as with any common insurance policy. You can even get protection for when you are between insurers or winding down a business, to avoid any periods where you are vulnerable to legal action because you’re not properly covered.
