Professional indemnity insurance protects your business against claims that your advice, service, or work caused a client a financial loss. For some professions in Singapore it is a condition of holding a licence. For many others it is a practical requirement, because clients and public tenders will not engage a firm without it. We structure PI cover around the work your firm actually does and the standards it is held to.
What professional indemnity insurance covers
PI insurance meets the cost of defending a claim, and the damages or settlement where liability is established, when a client alleges that your professional work fell short. The trigger is a professional act rather than a physical accident: an error in a report, a recommendation that did not hold, a design that did not perform, or advice a court later finds fell below the required standard. Defence costs alone can be significant, and they accrue whether or not the claim ultimately succeeds.
Where PI is required in Singapore
For some professions, PI is a licensing prerequisite set out in statute. Practising lawyers must hold it under the Legal Profession Act, with minimum cover set by the Law Society's compulsory scheme. Licensed architectural and engineering practices must hold it under the Architects Act 1991 and the Professional Engineers Act 1991 respectively, and accounting entities carry their own requirement under the Accountants Act.
For many other firms, PI is required commercially rather than by statute. Singapore government contracts and a growing number of corporate procurement frameworks make it a condition of engagement, so management consultants, IT and technology providers, surveyors, and similar firms encounter it as a mandatory term before work can begin. Our insight piece sets out the profession-by-profession detail.
How a PI policy works
PI operates on a claims-made basis, which means the policy that responds is the one in force when the claim is made, not the one in force when the work was done. A project completed in one year can give rise to a claim in a later year, so continuity of cover matters. The retroactive date on the policy determines how far back past work is covered, and allowing cover to lapse can create a gap that is difficult to close later.
Where the exposure sits
The common gaps are the limit and the continuity. A limit set for a small engagement may be inadequate for a claim arising from a large or complex one, where defence costs and damages accumulate quickly. A lapse in cover, or a retroactive date that does not reach back far enough, can leave past work unprotected. Reviewing the limit against the scale of your engagements, and confirming that cover has been continuous, is where the protection is decided.
How we structure it
We take time to understand the services your firm provides, the standards and contracts it works under, and any minimum cover your licence or clients require, and we place cover with our appointed insurers around that. We review the limit and the retroactive position at each renewal as your work changes, and we remain your point of contact if a claim is made. The aim is cover that is adequate to your engagements and continuous over time.