Professional Indemnity

Canberra Insurance Brokers: Your specialists in Professional Indemnity Insurance

Canberra Insurance Brokers has a long history of assisting the local Canberra community in specialist insurance and risk management areas, none more so than the Professional Indemnity, Employment Practices, D & O Insurance and other specialist professional niche markets.

CIB recognises the changing needs of both the local Public Service community and of specialist private commercial enterprise. As such we have made an effort to provide a valuable and affordable service to those clients who do not fit the usual professional mould.

CIB is a part of the Canberra Financial Services Group and as such we can help you with more than just your Professional Insurance needs. Please refer to our main website today to find out more about what we can do for you and your business (Insert Web Address)


Why does your business need an insurance broker to look at your Professional Insurance needs?
Answer, because you don’t know what you will be missing out on if you don’t. PI policies are inherently complex. Due to the myriad of covers and policies available in the Australian market (and abroad), you need a good insurance broker who can identify where your needs are, and can ensure you are covered for all the things we know are important. Statistics have shown that direct bought policies or policies provided through cheap and easy schemes through professional bodies and associations are more often than not inferior, missing essential industry specific coverage’s and may exclude covers that are common to your business or professional needs.


What does Canberra Insurance Brokers offer to the professional person?
CIB has identified the following areas (though not limited to) as important to the Canberra professional community and appreciate the challenge of hard to place professional insurance needs.

Government (Federal/State/Local) Contractors:
Canberra is a major centre in Australia for government contractors, IT specialists for government and Human Resource management personnel. CIB already provides an excellent on-going risk management and broking service to large numbers of government contractors and as such are able to continually source better policies at competitive prices whilst helping the private contractor to meet the changing needs of their contractual requirements. CIB can work with you and your contract providers to negotiate the best policy and insurance solutions for your needs.

Specialist Science, Innovation & Information Technology:
CIB employ the right staff to understand the needs of the scientific community. We recognise that understanding your risk management needs and identifying the specifics of your work and background will make all the difference in both pricing risk and providing the most suitable product or products for your needs. We take the time to understand you and your work and work with you to find the best product available for your professional needs.

As such CIB has worked closely with a variety of underwriters and their specialists to find the best possible products for the following areas;

• Social Researchers
• Specialist Medical Researchers
• Industrial / Mining Researchers (Geologists, Seismologists etc)
• IT&C Specialists
• Innovation in Technology
• Genetic & related biochemical research

PI for Architect, Engineers, Construction Contractors and Project Managers:
With the Global Financial Crisis hitting hard in Australia, many professionals working in this diverse marketplace have found the requirements and restrictions placed upon them by insurers has become a real burden. CIB works with these professional people to find the best mitigates to serve your risk needs. We have spent many hours working with insurers to ensure our clients are presented with a range of solutions to their risk management and insurance needs.

D&O Insurance: Directors & Officers Insurance (including EPL)

D&O Insurance is shorthand for a “directors' and officers'” insurance policy. The goal of the policy is to protect directors and officers of a corporation from liability in the event of a claim or lawsuit against them claiming wrongdoing in connection with the company's business.

Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance liability policies serve many functions. They provide insurance for negligent acts or omissions committed by directors and officers of a company and also provide shareholders and employees with another means of obtaining damages against those directors and officers when they can't, or don't, pay. Beyond this, most major insurers provide covers relating to OH&S, Employment Practices, Wrongful dismissal, Discrimination in the Workplace (EEO Principles) and related areas.

Increased litigation
D&O litigation has significantly increased in the US & Europe over the past few years due to the Enron and WorldCom fallouts and the passing of the Sarbanes Oxley Act which places new rules, fines and penalties on corporations. In Australia the economic crisis has meant that corporate & professional litigation has increased by some 300% in the past few months alone.

Claims under D&O insurances have also increased in volume as companies and individuals face hard times. What this means is that individual employees or companies are choosing to sue their employer or corporate partner more often and for higher sums. The need to protect your company against possible litigation resulting from everyday management or HR decisions is becoming increasingly important.

Harder to obtain
With insurance companies paying out more for settlements and verdicts, most companies are finding that D&O coverage is harder to obtain. If potential purchasers aren't dissuaded by the high cost, the exclusionary language might just put them over the top. Some insurers now seem to exclude more in a D&O policy than they include. On top of large deductibles and co-payments, D&O policies often specifically exclude:

• Dishonest, criminal or fraudulent conduct
• Prior acts of fraud
• Fines
• Penalties
• Punitive damages
• A duty to defend (many policies only reimburse for 'reasonable' defense costs)

Despite what seems to be many drawbacks, most directors and officers (including employees), need to carry D&O insurance to protect their personal assets against potential lawsuits. It is therefore important that you speak with us today about the policy product and risk management procedures that suit your particular business and will cover you in the bad times.

Please find attached below the relevant proposal to be completed to enable us to obtain quotes on your behalf;

CGU D&O
CGU EPL
CGU Management Liability
CGU IT
CGU PI
QBE Associations
QBE PI Medical
Resource Engineers