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Frequently asked questions

You are certain to have questions before deciding where to place your Professional Indemnity insurance.

 

Q: What is the Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)?

IPT is chargeable on all professional indemnity insurance premiums. It is currently charged at 5% of the total premium and is in addition to the premium charged by the insurance company.

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Q: When completing the areas of practice breakdown and the fees questions, should the firm use last year’s figures or should they estimate the coming year’s figures?

The firm should use the latest annual billings for the fees questions. Annual billings normally run alongside the firm’s financial year. The areas of practice should then match this number.

If the firm does not have a full year’s annual accounts to use or if the firm is just starting up, then a best estimate of anticipated fee income and areas of practice should be provided.

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Q: What is aggregate excess?

This additional benefit limits the total excess the firm will pay for the insurance period to three (3) times the selected ‘per claim’ excess.

For example, if a firm has an excess of £1,000, they would only pay £3,000 over the course of any one year. Without an aggregate excess, a firm would have a potential liability of £1,000 for each and every claim and circumstance reported during the course of the policy period.

As the firm is able to limit its exposure in this way, we charge an additional premium for this coverage.

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Q: What is reimbursement cover?

Cover compensating for time spent after service of legal proceedings in connection with the conduct of the defence of a claim (at our request and with our express agreement). Payment is at a rate of £75 per hour for firms in Greater London and £50 per hour if a firm is outside Greater London. Cover is limited to 100 hours in respect of any one claim.  An additional premium is charged for this benefit.

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Q: What is loss of documents cover?

This will cover expenses incurred in replacing or reconstituting lost or damaged documents.  Payment is made up to £10,000 in total subject to a £250 excess per claim.

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Q: What is dishonesty of employees cover?

This provides cover for claims made against a firm arising from dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious acts by their employees or others acting on their behalf up to £100,000 in total.

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Q: Under what circumstances can a policy be cancelled?

The policy may be cancelled at any time.  Provided no claims or circumstances have been reported a pro-rata refund will be given from the date of cancellation.

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