Nigerians should embrace professional indemnity policy

The Managing Director, Niger insurance Plc, Dr. Justus Uranta, has stressed the need for skilled workers to have professional indemnity insurance cover.In a statement on Friday, he said that the cover would help to protect them in situations of negligence.He said, The purpose of professional indemnity policy is to protect the professional man against his legal liability to pay damages to the persons, who may have sustained losses arising from his own professional negligence or that of his employees in the conduct of the business.The Niger Insurance boss said that the policy would help professionals and businesses to have something to fall back on in case of negligence.According to Uranta, Niger Insurance offers a wide range of innovative products and customer-oriented services to its growing clientele.He said, The company is very flexible in its products development because it knows that no two customers are exactly the same. We back our products with one of the most efficient and constantly improving claims settlement procedures in the insurance market.Uranta, however, explained that the professional indemnity policy would only offer indemnity strictly on a legal liability basis but not on moral liabilities.The policy indemnifies the insured against all legal liability in respect of acts of negligence, error or omission, committed in the conduct of the insureds profession during the period of insurance, he said.The policy, he added, excludes liability falling under: public liability, fidelity guarantee, the policy express, outside territorial limits of the policy, consequential loss, as well as war, invasion, hostilities and others.He also said that the policy conditions were similar to those of public and product liability policies.Before a rate is considered for any professional indemnity risk, the underwriter must consider the total numbers of person actually engaged in the business, such as the partner and staff; the limit of indemnity selected and the numbers of offices and locations, he explained.Other issues being considered, he observed, included the claims experience of the insured, age of the partner or experience of the business as well as the ratio of partner to staff.He enjoined professionals to give due consideration to bond insurance.He explained further, Bond insurance is a financial guarantee that is usually taken by contractors to indemnify their principals (owner of the contract) against any default. According to the statement, Niger Insurance was established in August, 1962 as a specialist life company, under the name Yorkshire Insurance Company.It stated that the management team of the public quoted composite insurance company was made up of well trained, highly skilled and competent professionals.
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