Insurance for Advice-Based Work
Professional Indemnity Insurance in St. Maarten
Clients in St. Maarten, from small businesses to hotel and property owners, often rely on a professional's advice. Professional indemnity insurance is designed to help individuals and practices when a client alleges that advice, design or work was negligent, incomplete or mistaken, and that it cost them money.
In short: Professional indemnity insurance is designed to help pay legal defence costs and compensation when a client claims professional advice or work was negligent and cost them money. It is often considered by individual professionals and practices, such as accountants, architects, engineers, consultants and advisers.
What Is Professional Indemnity?
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance is designed to help pay for legal defence and compensation if a client or third party makes a claim arising from professional services. It is aimed at people who give advice or expertise for a fee, where a mistake may relate to a decision made on their advice rather than to a damaged object.
Who May Want to Consider It?
- Accountants, auditors and tax advisors
- Architects, engineers, surveyors and designers working on villas, hotels and commercial buildings
- Lawyers, notaries and legal consultants
- Doctors, dentists and therapists, who may also look at medical malpractice cover
- Insurance, finance, real estate and business consultants, including advisors to small firms in Philipsburg and Cole Bay
- Trainers, coaches and educators
Some professional bodies and clients may ask for PI cover as a condition of registration or of signing a contract, so it may be worth checking requirements early with the relevant body or client.
What It May Cover
- Negligent advice or error: claims that advice or work fell below the standard expected.
- Breach of professional duty and unintentional breach of confidentiality.
- Loss of documents: the cost of recreating client documents entrusted to a professional.
- Defence costs: investigation, legal fees and expert reports.
- Dishonesty of employees, as an extension with some policies.
Points to Check Before Buying
- Limit of indemnity: how it relates to the size of the projects and decisions advised on.
- Retroactive date: work done before this date may not be covered.
- Claims-made wording: how cover continues without gaps, including after retirement or closing a practice (often called run-off cover).
- Excess: the amount payable on each claim.
- Exclusions: such as fines, deliberate acts or certain contractual guarantees.
Professional Indemnity for Professionals in Sint Maarten and Saint Martin
Professionals in Sint Maarten (the Dutch side) may work in small practices or on their own, advising owners, developers, hotels and local companies. Building projects in areas such as Simpson Bay, Cupecoy and Oyster Pond, accounting for businesses in Philipsburg, or legal work involving property all rely on advice that a client may later question. When considering a policy, it may help to ask about the limit of indemnity in relation to typical projects, the retroactive date, how cover continues if the practice closes, and where the policy applies, since some work crosses to Saint-Martin or other nearby islands. The currency of the limit and premium is worth checking as well. An advisor can explain what applies to a particular practice.
Related Cover
Professional Indemnity or Professional Liability?
The two terms describe closely related cover. Indemnity is the term more often used for individual practitioners and partnerships; professional liability is more often used for companies selling services. An advisor can explain which wording may suit a particular situation. Other policies to review alongside it include cyber liability and general liability.
Contact Us
You can speak with an advisor about your profession and the size of a typical engagement. An advisor can compare options from insurers and explain the wording of the policies. Request a call back or call +1 721 542 5078.
Frequently asked questions
What is professional indemnity insurance?
It is cover designed for claims arising from professional services, such as negligent advice, errors, breach of professional duty and loss of client documents, together with the legal costs of defending a claim. What is included depends on the insurer and policy wording.
Is professional indemnity the same as professional liability?
They are closely related. Indemnity is the term more often used for individual practitioners and partnerships, while professional liability is more often used for companies. An advisor can explain which wording may fit a particular situation.
Do professionals in St. Maarten need professional indemnity insurance?
Whether it is required can depend on the profession, the professional body and the client. Some bodies, clients and contracts may ask for evidence of cover, so it may be worth checking requirements early. A legal adviser or the relevant body can confirm what applies, and an advisor can explain how a policy may fit.
Does professional indemnity apply to clients on the French side or on neighbouring islands?
It depends on the insurer and policy wording, in particular where cover applies and where a claim could be brought. Professionals who advise clients in Saint-Martin, Anguilla, St. Barths, Saba or Statia may want to ask about territorial scope, and about the currency in which the limit is set.
What is run-off cover?
Many policies are written on a claims-made basis, so a claim usually has to be made while the policy is in force. Run-off cover is an arrangement some insurers offer for claims about past work after a professional retires or closes a practice. Availability depends on the insurer.
Is professional indemnity available on the French side (Saint-Martin) as well as in St. Maarten?
The Enterprise Insurance offices are in Philipsburg and Cole Bay on the Dutch side. Insurers, rules and supervision differ between Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin, so availability depends on where the person, property or business is located and on the insurer. An advisor can explain what may be possible and whether a French-side insurer or intermediary is needed.
Last reviewed by the Enterprise Insurance team, St. Maarten. This website gives general information about insurance. It is not personal advice, a recommendation or an offer of cover. Terms, limits, exclusions and availability depend on the insurer and the policy wording.
Insurers an advisor may approach
Depending on the type of cover, an advisor may request quotes from insurers such as NAGICO, ICWI, Gulf Insurance, Ennia, Caribbean Alliance Insurance and Guardian Group. Which insurers can quote depends on the risk.
Contact Enterprise Insurance
If you would like to talk through your insurance needs, you can call or visit one of the offices in Philipsburg or Cole Bay, or request a call back using the form. An advisor can discuss your situation, explain how different types of cover work and answer questions about policies you already have. What suits you depends on your own circumstances.
- PhilipsburgIllidge Road #60, Philipsburg
- Cole Bay69 Welfare Road
- Call us +1 721 542 5078+1 721 544 3050
Request a Call Back
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