T H E S C O P E O F ‘ P R O F E S S I O N A L ’
Our society is increasingly serviced by a growing number of professional people. The ‘traditional’ professions such as law, accountancy, architecture, engineering and medicine are well established but today we enjoy the services of many more people deemed professional in their own right.
Project managers, recruitment consultants, media agencies, mortgage or insurance brokers, immigration services, I.T. developers, estate agents… the list rolls on. As long as a person offers advice or service based on an expert knowledge, they can be deemed a ‘professional’.
O N T H E I N C R E A S E …
Accountability As a professional person you operate in a changing environment.
Whether through media scrutiny or industry regulation, you are increasingly exposed and held accountable for the results of your actions.
Litigation Compounded by this, those
financially harmed by your actions are increasingly quick to turn to litigation to seek redress and compensation.
Costs The cost of defending legal action escalates to the point where, regardless of whether you win or lose, the legal costs alone can be financially crippling. On top of this there are often either out of court settlements or awards of damages.
P R O T E C T Y O U R R E P U T A T I O N A N D Y O U R L I V E L I H O O D
Q B E – P R O T E C T I N G Y O U R L I V E L I H O O D
QBE’s market leading Professional Indemnity insurance caters for the onerous legal liabilities of today’s professionals and can pay for your legal costs, settlements and court awards. It provides many valuable automatic extensions to cover as standard, and its optional extensions allow you to tailor the cover you truly need.
A U T O M A T I C E X T E N S I O N S
Defamation It was your honest opinion, based on personal experience, but it was found to be libellous.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Your client argued that your involvement in the project influenced your advice.
Your office manager’s ‘tidying’ spree resulted in valuable client documents being lost. You then had to deal with the replacement costs.
Fair Trading Act 1986 There was no deliberate misrepresentation but some clients continued to ‘assume’!
Breach of Contract Too late you realised that your standard terms obviously weren’t clear enough.
Intellectual Property You thought the bright idea hatched was your own – but it had been patented long ago.
Joint Venture Cover Their reputation preceded them, you thought you had control of the project but nevertheless their work caused significant problems.
Previous Business Your new partner finds out he has an unhappy client suing for work undertaken whilst at his last company.
Outgoing Principals You thought you had left all the responsibility behind when you left the company.
He was one of your best contractors – there was no reason to think someone of his experience would cause this much damage.
O P T I O N A L E X T E N S I O N S
Meets claims arising from the actions (or omissions) of dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious employees.
Pays for the cost of securing necessary representation at your profession’s Registration Board proceedings.
When your annual insurance limit is exhausted by claims, the policy can reinstate it automatically, effectively giving you twice the cover.
Automatic Reinstatement Costs of Representation at Registration Board Proceedings Fraud & Dishonesty
of Employees
Consultants, Sub-Contractors & Agents
This brochure does not attempt to provide full details of every aspect of cover, nor all exclusions or limitations which may apply. It is for information purposes only. For full details, please read our policy wordings, which are available from our local QBE office or agent, or your broker. Not all products are available in all markets. Q B E – T H E R E W H E N Y O U N E E D U S
In New Zealand, more professionals put their trust in QBE’s Professional Indemnity insurance than any other because when you face an allegation of professional negligence, and your reputation and
livelihood are at stake, you need access to the best. And that’s what QBE seeks to provide.
Our experienced claims team have an in-depth understanding of the complex legal and commercial issues which surround negligence claims and will negotiate settlements in consultation with you. Should you be sued, they can appoint some of the country’s best lawyers to help in your defence.
“I find so often when you place trust in someone in a professional
capacity things can go horribly wrong, and the situation which we were
faced with could have been just another example of this had it not been
for your help and understanding.”
“Your liability claims management team are
decisive and a pleasure to work with. Keep up the
good work.”
“Your overall service is excellent and your prompt
payment of claims is the best of any insurer I deal
with in New Zealand.”
“Thank you for your friendly and helpful service with our clients’ claims.”
“This is a great result… thank you for your efforts!”
P R O T E C T Y O U R R E P U T A T I O N A N D Y O U R L I V E L I H O O D
A D V E R T I S I N G A G E N C Y
An advertising agency was organising an ‘unfolding’ TV campaign for a new product launch. Unfortunately, they mixed the labelling of the ads which were then aired in the wrong order. The client insisted that the agency pay for the extra air-time necessary to make sense of the unfolding story line.
E N G I N E E R
An engineer was engaged to design a large sports complex. However, half way through construction, it became apparent that the complex would not be structurally sound and all the building work had to be demolished. The engineer was held liable and paid for all resulting losses.
H E A L T H & S A F E T Y C O N S U L T A N T
A health and safety consultant was contracted by a manufacturing company to assess their production systems and advise on improving factory safety. Following his recommendations the company re-designed their production line only to realise the new set-up was
potentially hazardous in a completely different way. They sued the consultant for the cost of rectifying the problem.
A R C H I T E C T
An architect drew up plans for a property developer according to certain specifications. Once completed, the intended purchaser refused to settle the contract, alleging that the building did not meet the agreed specifications. The developer was able to find another buyer but only for a much lower price. He sued the architect for the
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Whilst our full range of products can be viewed at our website, we detail below some we believe might be particularly relevant to you in your professional capacity.
General Liability – A cornerstone of your legal liability protection should be General Liability.
QBE offers a broad and well-written combination of public and product liability insurance that can help to protect your business following third party property damage or personal injury.
Statutory Liability – with legislation enacted and modified every year it is easy to unintentionally
find yourself in breach of the law. Whether health and safety, maritime, consumer, privacy or environmental, your Statutory Liability policy can pay for legal defence costs and most fines that may be awarded against you.
Employers Liability – ACC does not cover all gradual process claims, nervous shock or fright, food
poisoning or mental injury without physical injury. If an employee sues you for one of these injuries you may not have the benefit of insurance coverage, leaving your business exposed. Employers Liability can help plug this small but important gap in your commercial liability exposure.
Property Insurance – QBE’s Material Damage and Business Interruption insurance can help to
reinstate your insured business assets and cover you for income lost as a result of damage.
QBE New Zealand
QBE is the leading business insurer in New Zealand and companies in the QBE group have been providing insurance here since 1890.
Our products are managed by highly skilled and experienced professionals and distributed through selected intermediaries to both the corporate and commercial markets. We provide insurance solutions tailored to our clients’ needs, particularly in the corporate sector.
QBE operates a network of branches throughout New Zealand, which means our clients, wherever they are, enjoy accessibility, highly responsive decision making and local service.
Our full range of products can be viewed at our website.
Branch Network
We have offices throughout New Zealand: Auckland (09) 366 9920, Hamilton (07) 838 2504, Tauranga (07) 578 9002, Napier (06) 835 4565, Wellington (04) 472 5158,
Christchurch (03) 366 4629, Dunedin (03) 477 8057, Invercargill (03) 214 5120 For further details contact your insurance advisor or phone 0800 101 123 QBE Insurance (International) Ltd. Incorporated in NSW Australia. A member of the QBE Insurance Group.
