Other Insurances Which We Strongly Recommend That You Now Consider:

• Professional Indemnity (Liability) / Errors & Omissions Insurance – legal liability insurance cover for claims made against you by clients or third parties for a breach of professional duty. If you provide advice, design, specification, certification or publication, you require this type of cover. This cover should not necessarily be viewed in terms of the likely (or unlikely) award made to a claimant but also the likely cost(s) in defending a successful / unsuccessful claim against you or your firm which could far exceed any award made by a court. Public Liability insurance does NOT cover claims against you / your firm for breach of professional duty.

• Excess Public / Employers / Professional Liability – Given the magnitude of claims which can emanate from the construction / property sector, particularly in areas of high foot fall / populace and strategic urban utilities (Luas / Gas Line etc.), I am strongly recommending that you now consider adding an Excess Layer of Public & Employers’ Liability cover to your insurance programme from now. This approach would be consistent with other large contractors / property owners across the city in high foot fall areas where a catastrophic incident could lead to heavy liability losses potentially exceeding your current liability cover limit(s).

• Cyber Liability Insurance (incl. Data Protection cover) – to protect against theft of client / supplier data to include corporate details, bank account details combined with name, address, contact numbers, email addresses etc. Effectively any sensitive data that could be on your own database. No database is 100% secure from hacker attacks as we have seen recently with attacks on Government websites incl. Ransomware attacks. Effectively cover for most losses in relation to multi-media liability issues. First party losses due to a cyber-attack / third party losses / Crises management service / Reputational costs. This type of cover is specifically excluded under nearly all general liability or packaged policies on the market but has become even more important with the introduction of GDPR regulations in May 2018.
• Directors & Officers Liability (D&O) / Corporate Legal Liability Insurance (CLL) – liability cover for the wrongful acts any directors, officers or managers of the firm with responsibility for corporate / business decisions or activities e.g. dealing with banks, arranging insurance, handling finance or money, financial reporting, strategy implementation, contract negotiations etc. Claims can be taken by shareholders, other directors, members of the public or anyone with a financial interest in the firm(s) and a defendant’s personal wealth is at risk unless protected by the company’s D&O Liability policy. Cover can also be provided for claims taken against the Company (Corporate Legal Liability or Entity cover) and the legal defence costs incurred. These claims are for pure financial losses and are not cover by Public liability insurance. This cover should not necessarily be viewed solely in terms of the likely (or unlikely) award made to a third party but also the likely cost of defending (successfully or not) a case taken against a director personally which can far exceed any award made.

D&O cover is also extendable to cover;

• Crime Insurance –losses incurred due to acts of Crimee. impersonation fraud / social engineering fraud (subject to adequate controls being in place) e.g. email is intercepted, invoice is doctored and a payment is unknowingly made to a fraudulent third party’s (untraceable) account. Also available as a standalone policy.
• Employment Practices Liability (EPL)– extended protection for actions taken against you in relation to hiring & firing risks.
• Pension Trustee Liability (PTL) – extended protection for actions taken against entities who act as Trustees for a Pension Scheme
• Other insurances which may be relevant to you;
  • Personal Accident (PA) –sole traders cannot insure themselves under their Public Liability therefore an element of PA cover is vital
  • Commercial Legal Expenses cover (generally relating to employment disputes)
  • Statutory Inspection of Lifting / Pressure Plant e.g. passenger / goods lift / hoist / teleporter
  • Contractors All Risks – cover for all works, materials, plant & tools on site
  • Employers Liability (even for labour only persons you may use who are not directly employed by you)
  • Motor Fleet – 5 or more road vehicles – special types vehicles also