What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) is designed to provide protection in relation to actions brought against you as a result of alleged errors, omissions and or negligence in the course of providing your professional services.
What this means in practice:
Providing a service, whether performing physical work or consulting/advisory services, comes with risk. In the event your actions or advice might have caused financial loss or damages, then you could be sued.
As an IT professional, you are required to perform your duties with a reasonable level of care and to a considered standard. However, errors can occur despite your best efforts, which may result in litigation.
To understand how Professional Indemnity insurance works, below is a list of commonly experienced PI claims:
- Data Breach
- Cost overruns
- Deadlines not met
- System failure – hardware breakdown and or software bugs
- Loss of electronic data
- Security breaches
- Failure to perform/deliver in line with contractual requirements
- Intellectual property breach
Who are the ITPA?
Information Technology Professionals Association (ITPA) is a not-for-profit organisation launched in 2016 to advance the understanding of ICT matters within the community, corporate and government sectors in Australia.
Their members are professionals within the IT industry, both in Australia and abroad who aim to advance the practice of Information Technology as a profession.
The ITPA vision is for members to deliver outcomes which enhance and enrich society through the understanding and application of technology in an increasingly online world.
ITPA was formed as an evolution of the System Administrators Guild of Australia (SAGE-AU), which was founded in 1993.
All ITPA members agree to abide by the SAGE-AU Code of Ethics, which requires that members maintain a high standard of conduct within their professional lives.
What is public liability?
Public liability insurance protects against claims made against you for losses and/or injury suffered because of your actions or alleged actions.
Whenever you are on third party premises, or third parties are at your premises, there is the potential for a public liability claim to arise following an incident.
To understand how Public Liability insurance works, below is a list of potential Public liability claims:
- Your actions cause a third party to slip, trip or fall – a trailing power lead for example
- Your equipment causes a power surge resulting in damage to a third party's site
- A person visiting your premises slips, trips or falls and suffers injuries as a result.
How can I find ways to avoid my risks?
Understanding the risks involved in your business and profession can help you mitigate the risk of an incident, and therefore a claim. Our Risk materials website RiskHQ provides education around the common risks involved with operating as a professional and/or business, and how to avoid common incidents that could result in a claim.
How do I get a certificate of currency for my contract employer?
You can obtain your quote and purchase your cover on-line, or speak to one of our customer service team. Once insured you will be provided with access to the Guild Policy Hub. This will then enable you to obtain a certificate of currency whenever you need one, instantly. Whenever a client or prospective client requests that you provide them with your insurance details, you can do so hassle free.