How much cover do you need? How much will it cost? What extras are useful, which aren’t? There are a lot of variables that go into answering these questions.

The amount of cover you need is obviously proportionate to the amount of damage bad advice or poor quality of service on your part can do to your client.

It’s not how much damage you think it might cause, but how much your clients think, their lawyers think, and a court might be asked to award. Policies are available from as little as a few tens of thousands of cover to many millions.

The amount of cover you’re looking for obviously has an effect on the cost of premiums. Premiums will also vary greatly for similar cover and it often pays to shop around. Other factors that have an effect are the kind of business you’re in (some are riskier than others) and whether you’re an individual or a company with staff.

Things you should expect as standard with your policy include:

  • Suitable cover for your kind of business, and all claims that might arise
  • Full cover for all legal expenses
  • Free specialist advice in case you suspect a claim might be about to be made against you

This is specialist insurance, and therefore it sometimes pays to seek specialist advice. If you have any questions, you should feel free to ask your broker or insurer for guidance.

Brokers should be members of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) or Institute of Insurance Brokers (IIB).

If you choose to deal with an insurer directly, make sure they are a member of the Association of British Insurers (ABI)

Brokers and advisers are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and you should make sure that your adviser has FSA authorisation.