Thursday, May 31, 2007

Indemnity Insurance

Why professional indemnity insurance is indispensable?

IT contractors are especially vulnerable, when undesirable situations that occur out of unmet deadlines are concerned. A brief look over our shoulders will bring plenty of such evidences where IT contractors and small business have vanished. Of these, contractors are the obvious losers… they are neither supported by funds to counter the legal aspects nor the professional expertise to decide what best can be done to inflict minimal losses. The situation is equally grim for startups.

The need for professional indemnity insurance had been felt quite long ago, but what lacked was anticipation. In fact, even today most contractors do not foresee the risks, and think their work is fine and so is their clientele. The dream breaks when an allegation is suddenly placed, sending them totally in disarray. The cost to defend a claim, the cost to cover a litigation, the cost to give a compensation, everything take their respective tolls on the contractor…and the obvious result is bankruptcy.

What can professional indemnity insurance protect you against?

  • Libel & Slander
  • False acknowledgment of authorship
  • Copyright infringement
  • Trademarks infringement
  • Intellectual property right infringement
  • Confidentiality infringement
  • Breach of normal rights, and
  • Negligent statement causing harm to clients