If you are a professional offering a service or advice to your clients, then you have an especially high duty of care in the service that you provide. 

In order to protect yourself financially should there be a breach in that duty of care, you may need professional services insurance. The breach may be an error or omission, a poor managerial decision, a breach of employer health and safety, or an action that causes injury or loss to another person.

Mistakes can happen, especially in professions where someone may be adversely affected by a professional mistake, omission, or breach in your professional service or where accuracy is paramount.

Business Insurance for Professional Services

Table of Content

What is business insurance for professionals?

As with all forms of business insurance, professional services insurance is purchased as a tailored package of insurance types that are appropriate to your specific business or service.

Business insurance for professionals will typically protect you from claims arising from a breach in the duty of care that you provide for your clients.

Some professional services who may benefit from professional services insurance include:

  • Accountants
  • Financial Advisors
  • IT Consultants
  • Management consultants
  • Designers
  • Architects
  • Carers
  • Marketing and PR consultants
  • Engineers
  • Surveyors
  • Education consultants
  • Business consultants
  • Life and career coaches
  • Counsellors and therapists

Compare business insurance quotes from every insurer.

Take our 90-second online assessment and get the best business insurance quotes on the market. Our vetted business insurance partners are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and will outline the various options available to you.

Types of insurance for professionals

Depending on the specific nature of your business or the service or advice that you offer to your clients you or your business may face diverse risks.

You can be protected from these risks with some or all of the following insurance types:

Professional indemnity insurance

Depending on the specific nature of your business or the service or advice that you offer to your clients you or your business may face diverse risks.

You can be protected from these risks with some or all of the following insurance types:

Directors and officers liability insurance

Directors and officers liability insurance (D&O), or management liability insurance, offers protection to company directors and managers whose decisions may expose them to the threat of legal action. 

Directors’ personal finances may be at risk where decisions they have made at work have led to the company being held liable for a ‘wrongful act’ such as failing to comply with regulations, breaches of health and safety legislation, and reporting errors for example. D & O insurance protects your personal finances and covers legal fees in defending yourself in such an event.

Cyber insurance

Cyber insurance can protect your business where you are responsible for customers’ personal information or hold business data electronically and there is a data breach or cyber attack. 

If you have a website, accept card payments, or use electronic banking, there is also a risk of a cyber incident.

Cyber insurance can offer financial and reputational protection in such an event.

Employer’s liability insurance

If your business has employees, even interns or unpaid workers, then you will need employer’s liability insurance.

As an employer you are responsible for the health and safety of your employees and any breach of your obligations as an employer, even an inadvertent breach, could have financial implications for your business. 

Employer’s liability insurance protects you and your business financially in the event that an employee becomes ill or is injured in the course of their employment at your business.

Tailored Business Insurance Quotes

We are Ireland’s first impartial insurance comparison website.

  • Our mission is to help consumers find the best insurance deals in Ireland

  • All research is examined through an independent market research body

  • Our central bank regulated insurance partners will provide you with free business insurance quotes from every provider so you always get the best deal

Public liability insurance

If a third party is injured, dies, or has their property damaged in the course of you carrying out your profession or business, then you will be protected by public liability insurance.

Public liability insurance will cover your business for the cost of defending yourself legally in the event of a claim, as well as any award of compensation, medical costs, or any cost rising from the property damage. 

The injury, illness, death, or property damage may occur at your business premises, or be caused by you carrying out your business activities, for example in a client’s home.

Property damage insurance

Property damage insurance will protect your property that is essential to you carrying out your profession or business.

If you are a property owner, or rent a business premises, property damage insurance will protect the building, or your fixtures, fittings, equipment, and contents from a range of risks or perils such as fire, explosions, lightning, flood, escape of water, theft or malicious damage.

You can also insure equipment that you use away from your premises, such as your laptop or equipment that you take on site on an ‘all risks’ basis. Goods in transit and property carried in company vehicles, and money or cash cover may also be added to this type of cover.

Business interruption cover may be included in a property damage policy. Business interruption cover can be provided for up to 3 years and will cover you financially should you be unable to earn or generate income due to an insured event. Business interruption cover may also provide financial protection where you  have to operate from an alternative premises.

One word of caution, do not assume that you are covered by your home insurance should you work from home. Although home insurance policies may offer protection for home office equipment, they may not offer protection where you operate professionally or a business from home so do not assume that you, or your business equipment, is covered on a home insurance policy.

Benefits of professional services insurance

Having the right types of professional services insurance cover in place will give you peace of mind and allow you to develop your service or business in confidence. 

You can focus on delivering the best possible service to your clients knowing that essential cover is in place to protect you and your business should something unexpected happen or should you make a mistake.

The financial protection offered by professional services insurance, for your personal and business finances, will mean that your business will not be derailed by the financial implications of an insured event.

If you face a claim, be it a personal injury claim, a professional indemnity claim, or a management liability claim, your business will be protected from the financial implications of legal expenses or any award for compensation or medical bills.

Your essential equipment such as IT equipment, instruments, or tools and your premises and its contents may represent a significant financial outlay and property damage insurance will protect this.

If you have appropriate insurance in place, you can carry out your professional service knowing that your equipment is protected from a range of perils. Business interruption cover also allows you to keep earning should your property be damaged in an insured event.

Having professional indemnity, directors and officers liability, and public liability insurances in place may be a condition of your professional registration or membership of a professional association.

You may also be required to have some or all of these forms of professional services insurance in place in order to be awarded a business contract. With the right types of insurance protection in place, you will be compliant with professional and contractual obligations.

Having appropriate professional insurances in place will demonstrate to your clients that you value offering a professional service and that you take your duty of care to your clients seriously.

The impression that you create is important in offering a professional service as you are your own brand and your reputation can be key in building up your service or business, especially in a small country like Ireland where word of mouth recommendations can generate business.

How Compare Insurance Works

We compare all insurance options so you can be sure you’re always getting the best deal.

1. Select Your Product

Simply select the insurance product you need a quote for e.g. life, home or health insurance.

2. Online Quote Form

Fill out one of our simple online assessments with your insurance details.

3. Free Quote Consultation

A qualified financial advisor will call you back for your free insurance quotation.

Who offers business insurance to professional services in Ireland?

Insurers vary in the specifics of the business insurance they provide. Various types of business insurance are provided by the following companies:

Allianz - Home Insurance
Zurich - Home Insurance
AIG - Home Insurance
FBD - Home Insurance
AXA - Home Insurance
Aviva - Home Insurance
An Post - Home Insurance

 (cyber insurance, professional indemnity)

Liberty - Home Insurance

(professional indemnity)

How much is business insurance?

There are so many variables in the types of professional service and businesses are so diverse that they will all have different insurance requirements and will pay different premiums for professional services insurance.

The size of your businesses, whether or not you employ others, and the nature of the risks faced by your unique professional service or business will all affect the premium you pay.

Working with a business insurance advisor will ensure that you obtain the best insurance cover for the most affordable price without over or under insuring. Business or professional services insurance may be more affordable than you think.

Contact us today

Our experienced insurance advisers can discuss your professional service with you and tailor a package of insurance types that offer comprehensive and affordable cover for your business.

Contact us today or fill in our online assessment and find out about business protection so that you can enjoy the benefits of professional services insurance as well as the peace of mind that comes with having your professional and financial liabilities protected.

offering the best advice for you in purchasing insurance

Get the lowest premiums by comparing all the policies in the Irish market

Choose your insurance type, fill out the relevant assessment and speak to a central bank regulated insurance advisor