ACCA Members Professional Indemnity Insurance

It protects you in your capacity

• Minimum cover for Public Liability in many service contracts often starts at £1 million.
• Professional Indemnity minimums for accountants and auditors are often set by their professional institutes.
• Cyber insurance minimums in IT contracts are becoming standardized, often requiring £1-5 million cover.
• Product Liability cover of £2-5 million is a common minimum for manufacturers supplying large retailers.

as a director or officer of the

14. The R&D tax advice claim wave

Lockton is ACCA’s recommended broker for professional indemnity insurance. Specialist insurance for accountants from £5 a month* Fast, easy online quote in 90 seconds Fast, easy online quote in 90 seconds Accountant insurance covers a great deal of risks that could face you and your business, but from professional indemnity insurance through to employers’ liability insurance policies and more – Markel have you covered. Accountants insurance is an important form of business insurance designed to protect your business against the unexpected. It’s worth noting that it’s not a single product, but rather a group of covers that can be tailored to suit you and your business needs. It can protect you against the costs involved in defending allegations of professional negligence (such as making a mistake in a piece of work), causing injury to a third party, or damage to vital equipment (or property) you use for business.

14.1 The policy backdrop

Covers such as bookkeepers’ insurance for instance, will protect you allegations of poor or incorrect bookkeeping, or the theft of a laptop containing important and confidential client data. Even with many years' experience in accountancy, an unexpected circumstance could see a claim brought against you. For instance a client could claim that you have breached their confidentiality, while another might suffer an injury at your premises and hold you responsible. Without comprehensive accounting insurance in place, your business could struggle to survive such claims. Other unexpected circumstances, such as the theft of computer equipment, or a fire or flood at your business premises, could be financially damaging for your business. company against against allegations of wrongful acts

and any damages subsequently awarded against you.

• Check if your business needs Professional Indemnity insurance as mandated by your professional body.
• Review client contracts, as they often specify minimum insurance levels for Public Liability.
• Assess the value of assets and potential business interruption to determine adequate property insurance.
• Consider Cyber Liability insurance, increasingly required in contracts for handling client data.

Cover is also provided to defend you against

PII Regulations

Legally, you are required to hold a minimum of £5m worth of cover (we provide £10m cover as standard), and it should be arranged for anyone who works for you - including temporary or casual staff. If your accountancy practice has employees, employers' liability insurance is essential cover. Legal expenses insuranceLegal expenses insurance covers a wide range of legal costs and expenses that could be incurred in the course of your business - including contract disputes, tax enquiries, attending jury service, debt recovery, personal injury, as well as any award you are required to pay following an employment dispute with an employee. Legal expenses insurance covers a wide range of legal costs and expenses that could be incurred in the course of your business - including contract disputes, tax enquiries, attending jury service, debt recovery, personal injury, as well as any award you are required to pay following an employment dispute with an employee. Directors and officers insuranceIf your accountancy firm operates as a limited company, you may wish to consider directors and officers insurance. disqualification as a director,

What is “fidelity guarantee” cover and is it required?

Accounting business insurance can protect you and make the difference. Most accountancy associations (including the ACCA, AAT, CIMA and ICAS) require members to hold a minimum level of accountants’ professional indemnity insurance to protect you if a client alleges you have made a mistake in your work - such as not filing their accounts on time, making an error in a VAT return or providing poor advice in relation to a self-assessment. Our specialist accountants’ insurance can be tailored to provide cover however you need it, as well as giving you complementary access to a 24-hour legal advice helpline and legal hub for any business-related legal issues. Professional indemnity insurance for accountants covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of professional negligence (such bet best betting app uk casino as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice). If your defence should be unsuccessful, it also covers the cost of damages awarded against you.

Current PII Regulations

Making a mistake in a piece of work could cause a financial loss to your client, and they may take legal action against you to recover their losses. This cover is crucial when it comes to protecting accountants. It’s generally considered essential protection for accountants and is usually a requirement of your regulatory body or membership association. See our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section below to learn more about how AAC, ATTA and CIMA requirements can affect the type of cover you should be applying for. In the meantime, here are some examples of claims that accountants’ professional indemnity insurance could protect against: Failing to inform a client that their business has breached the VAT threshold Failing to properly prepare and file end of year accounts Providing incorrect advice regarding a company structure Professional indemnity Insurance for accountants is available with limits ranging from £50,000 to £5m. investigations and extradition proceedings.

13. Tax investigation overlap with PI

We have received several such requests to place run-off cover midway through the six-year period when insurers depart the scene. While we are obviously happy to help, you must be aware that there are very few insurers available to assist at the present time. As such, when you are contemplating retirement or cessation of practice, you must also consider the importance of addressing the continuing need for PI cover and be sure that it is placed properly. We therefore recommend that in the year or so you before you intend to close down or sell your practice, you must ensure that your PI cover is placed with a stable, A-rated insurer and that you engage the services of a specialist PI insurance broker such as Lockton to assist you with the vagrancies of the PI market. Should you be considering the sale of your practice, you also must give due consideration to run-off cover.

8.1 The AAT minimum

Again, Lockton can readily assist you (or the potential buyer) with this to ensure that past liabilities can be protected appropriately. Finally, and by way of immediate comfort to those accountants who are considering retiring from ongoing practices, there is better news: their past liability should continue to be covered by the firm’s PI policy on an ongoing basis. Often after retirement, many accountants continue to practise as consultants to the firm and the majority of PI policies will continue to provide cover for such work. Nevertheless, in each scenario, we strongly suggest that the policy wording be reviewed to make sure that cover is correctly in place; again, Lockton can help with this. Finally, if you have any questions, please contact your Lockton account manager for further advice or email accountants@uk.lockton.com. If your accountancy firm operates as a limited company,

About Apex Insurance Brokers

Traditionally, run-off insurance can only be arranged with the insurer who provided the PI cover while the practice was trading. Very few insurers, if any, will now consider providing run-offer cover for a risk that had been held insured with another underwriter prior to retirement/cessation. Moreover, any insurer will also require to have held the risk for at least two years before they will even consider providing a six-year block of cover. With few options available previously, the process is now even further fraught with difficulties, due largely to the prevailing hard market conditions for PI generally. Some insurers and managing general agents (MGAs) have withdrawn from the PI market for accountants completely, while others are reducing their overall exposure to risk and so are no longer able to offer the six-year run-off blocks of cover.

Further considerations

Similarly, seeking to curtail their exposure, insurers may only provide minimum limits of indemnity or restrict cover further by providing a single total limit on aggregated basis over the period of cover. All of this means that retiring accountants have a real problem effecting appropriate run-off cover. By way of a troubling example, we were contacted recently by a retired accountant, who had purchased an annually renewable run-off policy with an MGA on which a claim had been made. Unfortunately, the accountant had been late in returning the renewal forms and the MGA simply declined to renew the policy. In another instance, also involving an MGA, annual cover could not be renewed because the MGA simply withdrew from the professional indemnity market completely. you may wish to

consider directors and officers insurance.

Common Risks Covered by PII

Starting at £5 per month* (depending on your business requirements), arranging accountants insurance with Markel Direct is fast and easy. Our simple quote form will collect a few details about your business and provide you with a quotation for a range of covers. You can then select which covers you want to include in your policy, ensuring you only ever pay for the cover you want and no unnecessary extras. There are no hidden fees or cancellation charges when you arrange cover with Markel Direct, and you can spread the cost of your policy over 10 interest free instalments. Professional indemnity insurance for accountants is often considered a priority. Office insuranceIf you own a premises,

What insurance do accountants need?

It pays for your legal fees as well as any compensation which you may be liable for in the event of an allegation of professional negligence. Public liability insurance for accountants is another important cover to consider, protecting your business in the event someone is injured (or their property damaged) as a result of a mistake you make. Aside from these two important pieces of cover, there are a number of other forms of insurance for accountants you should consider. Rated 4.8 stars from 351 customer reviews at Google Employers' liability insuranceIf your accountancy practice has employees, employers' liability insurance is essential cover. It protects against allegations of injury or illness suffered by employees in the course of their employment with you. office insurance covers your office buildings, contents and computer equipment against accidental damage

(including theft) whilst on your business premises.

• Fines for non-compliance with Employers' Liability insurance are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
• Operating without required motor insurance can lead to vehicle seizure, fines, and penalty points.
• Breaching contractually agreed insurance levels can lead to contract termination and legal claims.
• Operating without mandated Professional Indemnity can result in disciplinary action from your regulatory body.
• Inadequate insurance can lead to personal liability for directors if the company cannot cover claims.