Professional Indemnity Insurance

Technically, they are the same concept. However, in the Indian market, insurers use the name “Medical Malpractice” for doctors and “Professional Indemnity” for non-medical experts like CAs, Architects, and Engineers.

This is a critical Indian insurance term. It means the policy that is active at the time the claim is filed will pay out, not necessarily the policy you had when the work was done. This is why continuity of renewal is vital in India; if you let your policy lapse for even one day, you lose cover for all your past work.

No. Under IRDAI guidelines, insurance cannot pay for fines or penalties imposed by a government body or regulator (like SEBI or RBI) for breaking the law. It only pays for civil compensation to your clients.

Yes. If you are a consultant or lawyer and a client accuses you of making statements that damaged their reputation, the Libel and Slander extension covers your legal defense.

Yes, many Indian PI policies for IT and Creative professionals include an extension for unintentional breach of copyright or trademark. If you accidentally use a licensed image or code snippet without permission and get sued, this policy steps in.

1:1 is the best choice (the full limit is available for a single mistake) and 1:2 or 1:4 are common for smaller firms looking to save on premium, where the total yearly limit is divided across multiple potential claims.

This is the “start date” of your protection. If you have been renewing your policy since 2020 without a break, your retroactive date is in 2020. This ensures that any mistake made back then, but discovered today, is still covered.