Professional liability insurance (PLI) is an insurance policy well-suited for professionals such as accountants, lawyers, and physicians and protects them against negligence and other claims initiated by their clients.

Being a specialist or a professional in your field of work is not easy and if you have expertise in a specific area of profession, it is necessary for you to get this type of insurance because general liability insurance policy do not offer protection against claims arising out of business or professional practices such as negligence, malpractice, or misrepresentation. That is why you need a professional liability insurance.

What does a liability insurance cover?
As compared to the general liability insurance, professional liability insurance is earmarked for businesses and needs to be used to protect the business and the professional against claims of negligence. This policy is very good for professionals such as accountants and doctors or others, who are engaged in offering some service to the society using their skills. Irrespective of their involvement in a mishap, this policy works like a malpractice insurance, safeguarding you of errors and omissions depending on your nature of work.

Knowing the working of professional liability insurance
Depending on the profession, your liability arising from the work you are doing may have different names. This means you may have to buy the medical malpractice insurance if you are part of the medical profession or the errors & omissions insurance as a real estate agent. Professional liability insurance is a specialty insurance that is not provided to businesses run from a home-environment and it only covers claims made during the policy period.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and there are quite a few exclusions to the policy. This is why it is important to get to know about the efficacies of the policy before purchasing it. Generally, professional liability policy will indemnify you against loss arising from any claim or claims made during the policy period by reason of any covered error, omission or negligent act committed when conducting your professional business during the policy period. Here, you should understand that incidents occurring before the coverage was activated may not be covered, although if your policy includes a retroactive date then the clause can be included.

What is retroactive date?
In simple terms the retroactive date stands for the longevity of your liability coverage. This means that you’re covered for incidents that happen on or after a specified date in your policy. In this context, having an extended reporting period always helps cover claims filed within a certain time after your policy expires or before it has been filed. This is generally a 30 to 60 day period, which you can extend for an additional cost depending on the policy you choose or the upon your agent’s advice.

What is excluded of the professional liability claim?
There is a thin line of difference between occurrences and claims raised against you. This is to say that when someone, such as your client or a person to whom you have rendered a service raises a legal issue against it then you are eligible to claim for that liability through your insurance. However, simple disputes or employee problems and certain such occurrences listed below, are not covered under the principles of professional liability insurance.

• Intentional conduct
• General liability claims
• Employees injured at the workplace
• Employment disputes
• False advertising

Keeping in mind the sensitivity of a professional liability insurance and how it can offer every professional a shelter against unknown litigations, it is always good to have a good agent by your side. Akshar, being the best insurance agent in Mumbai is the problem-solver you need to help you with your policy needs. The team is credible of 100% claim settlement and offers policies and coverages that suit your unique professional needs. This way you are shielded from all corners, come what may.