When you are covered

Many businesses are required to carry cover under the conditions of a contract. However, professional indemnity should NEVER be purchased just for the duration of a contract. All professional indemnity policies are written on what's called a "Claims Made" basis - i.e. it's the policy you have in force when the claim is made that pays out, rather than the policy you had when the work was carried out.
So, if you complete your contract and you drop your professional indemnity cover and a claim comes in subsequently, YOU WON’T BE COVERED.
If you take out professional indemnity it's a long-term commitment.

Compare quotes carefully

It’s important to ensure that all the quotes you get are on a ‘like-for-like’ basis - nothing else will enable you to make a true value comparison.
All professional indemnity policies should carry the minimum cover but many professions require additional cover found under policies especially designed for them.
Watch out for Limits of Indemnity (whether they are "any one claim" or "in the aggregate") and excesses as they can vary from insurer to insurer.

When changing insurers

If you already have professional indemnity and are changing to new insurers you MUST ensure that the new policy has "RETROACTIVE COVER" built in to cover work carried out in the past.