What is Professional Liability Insurance for Professionals? It is financial support that has the purpose of reducing the economic consequences that a professional assumes when he has been sued for the damages that he has caused to his clients or third parties. These damages can be material losses or direct or indirect injuries.
Anyone who provides an intellectual service is subject to making mistakes, omissions, negligence or carelessness that can cost him his professional prestige forever and even cause loss of all his assets, for example, an engineer may have a millionaire claim for any carelessness that has had in some construction that costs the lives of people or a doctor can be sued for a surgery that did not go as expected.
That is why it is important that, regardless of the type of service provided, a professional knows and contracts Professional Civil Liability insurance that will guarantee not to fall into debt.
What does a Professional Liability Insurance cover?
In general, this policy covers the legal costs and expenses of defense against claims, as well as any compensation or payments derived from a legal claim.
And although the risks covered by each company may vary, the main ones include:
- Errors, omissions, or professional negligence when providing a professional service, job, or advice.
- Loss of documents.
- Expenses of the insured in mitigations or rectifications.
- Payments for judicial bonds.
- Damage caused by fire and explosion.
- Accidental damage caused by water.
- Work accidents.
- Damage to properties, leased or loaned properties, whether they are buildings, land, premises, or facilities.
- Moral damage.
Whom does Professional Liability ensure?
Among the main professionals that this type of policy covers are insurance agents, technical, civil and construction engineers; notaries public architects, project managers, lawyers, designers, specialists in geotechnics, hydrology, and even doctors.
And depending on the contracted plan, it can be insured to a person individually or it can cover entire companies or organizations.
On the other hand, some insurers offer special Professional Civil Liability policies, for administrators or managers like Mapfre or for professionals who work on a specific project like HDI that has a Professional Civil Liability policy for Unique Projects.
Benefits of taking out Insurance for Professionals
Among the main ones are:
- Legal defense in the hands of experts.
- Depending on the insurer, it covers different professional activities.
- Coverages can be adapted to each case.
- It is a guarantee that gives peace of mind for both professionals and their clients.
- Provide monetary aid.
What does professional policy not cover?
In general, the following claims will not be covered:
- Responsibilities or claims that occur before the validity of this policy.
- The economic consequences that come from revealing secrets, falsehood, insults, defamation, and slander. As well as those derived from the breach of trust, fraud, dispossession, a cover-up of a crime, theft, and operations with resources of illicit origin.
- Claims for malicious actions of the insured.
However, according to the profession in question, there are certain restrictions, for example:
For Insurance Agents:
This coverage does not apply when the Agent does not carry out his activity with strict adherence to the powers authorized by the National Commission of Insurance and Bonds (CNSF). Not when you do not have definitive authorization from CNSF to be a source of insurance or bonds; It also does not cover fines for any law, regulation, responsibilities for breaches of contract, or claims for not contracting a policy.
For notaries:
It will not cover the notarial suspension for intentional acts and the commission of crimes when the notarial function is definitively suspended for whatever reason and certain costs have to be assumed. It also does not cover any type of liability that is not strictly civil or those caused by the action of the insured with legal entities in which he has capital participation, nor the amount of money for administrative-economic sanctions. Among other aspects that must be consulted in the general conditions of the policy.
For Doctors:
When the claims are derived from blood transfusions or the activity of blood banks. Also for damages to third parties caused by providing services under the influence of narcotics, medications, and substances that alter the functioning of the nervous system. Neither does it cover those damages to third parties that are the result of intentional treatments or due to violation of professional secrecy. Other aspects that are not covered are responsibilities that are aimed at reimbursing the insured's professional fees; damages related to AIDS, genetic damages, those produced by the application of general anesthesia to a patient, or those derived from medications prescribed by the insured.
It should be noted that the professionals who are excluded in a CR for a medical professional are anesthesiologists.
For Lawyers:
It does not cover compensation when the insured is an employer and is accused of wrongful termination, breach of contract, harassment, or discrimination. It also does not cover the payment of fines, taxes, or punitive damages, when the professional's failure has been to accumulate monetary benefits. Nor are the consequences for plagiarism or violation of confidential information or fraudulent actions committed by the insured, up to any harm caused by a computer virus or hacking. Among other restrictions.
Professional Civil Liability insurance is a tool for the prevention of indebtedness and the care of personal and third-party assets, and this can be purchased from insurers such as GNP, HDI, ABA de Chubb, AXA, MAPFRE, among others.
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