Professional indemnity insurance (PII) provides professionals with essential protection against claims for negligence from clients and in many cases is a compulsory requirement of professional bodies.  Unfortunately some professionals have been misled into buying inadequate cover by under-qualified brokers or a poor quality online policy, warns Brunel Professional Risks.

A new trade association to represent the interests of managing general agents (MGA) is expected to be launched on 1 January 2012.

An insurance broker was effectively blamed for causing a serious fire at its client’s premises in a recent legal case that highlighted the risks faced by brokers in advising their clients on the duty of disclosure and of providing risk management advice.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) considered restricting access to products such as Exchange Traded Funds, Structured products and Life Settlements Funds according to information revealed by New Model Adviser® magazine, following a Freedom of Information request to the regulator.

Surveyors acting for Landlords in assessing end of lease dilapidations must follow the Dilapidations Protocol from 1 January 2012, or face penalties if they find themselves contesting a claim in court.

Drivers Jonas, a professional surveying firm was been ordered to pay £18.05m in damages by the courts in September after being found liable for negligently overstating the value of a factory outlet retail centre in Chatham Historic Dockyard.

The risks inherent in a solicitor witnessing a client’s transaction are brought home in a case where the Master of the Rolls ordered the retrial of a professional negligence case in which a solicitor was alleged to have failed to ensure his client fully understood the nature of the documents.

Eleven percent of people are including online passwords in their will, leading to an explosion in the number of cases of fraudsters targeting the estates of the deceased for online assets, such as bank accounts, according to a report in Law Society Gazette here.