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Professional liability

Professional liability for errors and omissions.

Cover against claims that can arise from the practice of your profession.

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The definition

What professional liability insurance covers.

A professional error, an omission, or a client disputing the service you provided can lead to a claim for compensation.

Professional indemnity can meet, on the terms of the policy, the compensation and the defence costs attaching to a covered claim.

A professional reviewing figures at their desk

Why cover varies

Cover has to follow the work you actually do.

The professional title on its own is not enough. Two practitioners in the same field can carry very different exposure, depending on the services they provide, the size of the projects or cases they take on, and how they work.

So we look at:

  • What you actually do — not what your title says
  • How large the projects or cases you take on are
  • Where you work: your own practice, an affiliation, or projects outside Greece

In practice

What the cover can provide.

The exact scope depends on the policy. These are the points we work through when putting professional liability cover in place.

  • Financial protectionThe insurer pays the claimant on a covered claim arising from your professional services, within the limits of the policy.
  • Defence costsLegal and technical defence costs, where covered. In many claims these are the larger part of the total cost.
  • Claims handling supportA claim is a process as much as a legal question. We coordinate the notification, documentation, correspondence and deadlines with the insurer.
  • Continuity of practiceWith cover in place, a single claim is less likely to disrupt the cash flow and day-to-day running of your practice.
  • Credibility with clientsCorporate clients, public bodies and tender processes increasingly ask for evidence of professional indemnity cover before appointing.
  • A clearer view of the workThe assessment behind the policy is useful in itself: it sets out plainly what you take on, for whom, and on what terms.

By profession

Professional liability by profession.

Obligations, terminology and the disputes that arise differ from one profession to the next. Choose yours for the detail that applies to it.

The variables

Cover that adapts to the activity.

These are the terms that shape every professional liability policy. We explain them before signature, not afterwards.

  • Professional activity

    The most important line in the policy. Cover applies to the activities you have declared, so a service that was never mentioned may fall outside it. Describing the work properly is time well spent.

  • Fee income or turnover

    A standard measure of the size of a practice, and a common basis for pricing. If the figure moves significantly, say so at renewal rather than at claim stage.

  • Limit of indemnity

    The maximum payable, both for a single claim and in total across the year. The two figures are not the same: the annual total decides how many claims one policy year can absorb.

  • Excess

    The part of each claim you carry yourself. A higher excess usually means a lower premium; the aim is to set it where the practice can absorb it without strain.

  • Territorial and jurisdictional scope

    Where cover applies and, separately, under whose courts a claim may be brought. Clients or projects outside Greece need this stated expressly; it does not follow automatically.

  • Retroactive date

    The date from which past work can be brought into the cover. For an established practice it is one of the most important lines in any quotation, and it is easily lost when changing insurer.

  • Claims-made basis

    Professional liability policies normally respond on a claims-made basis: what matters is when the claim is first made against you and notified, not only when the work was done. Cover for earlier work depends on the retroactive date, which is separately agreed rather than automatic.

  • Extended notification period

    Many policies allow claims to be notified for a defined period after expiry. It matters most when you retire or change the nature of the practice.

Our approach

How Kopatsaris + Partners works.

The same process for every profession, with a different set of questions in each case.

  1. 01.

    Understand the activity

    Which services you provide, for whom, under what contract, and with what involvement from associates or sub-consultants.

  2. 02.

    Identify the requirements

    Statutory obligations, tender conditions, client or lender requirements — whatever sets minimum limits and specific wording.

  3. 03.

    Compare and structure

    We look for suitable solutions in the market and assess them on scope and wording, not on premium alone.

  4. 04.

    Explain the terms

    Limit, excess, retroactive date, exclusions. You know what you have bought before you need it.

  5. 05.

    Stay with it

    At renewal, whenever the practice changes, and — if it comes to it — through a claim.

Common questions

Worth knowing.

  • How does it differ from public liability?

    Public or general liability mainly covers bodily injury and property damage connected to your premises and operations: a visitor injured at your office, for example. Professional liability covers the service itself. Many professionals need both, because they respond to different events.

  • Is it compulsory in Greece?

    It depends on the activity. In a few cases the law requires it: statutory auditors and audit firms, and design firms as a condition of classification in the upper grades of the public works register. For most professionals — lawyers, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, accountants — there is no general requirement. Cover is then taken out by choice, or because a client, a contracting authority or a lender asks for it.

  • What limit of indemnity do I need?

    There is no single right answer. We look at the scale of the work you take on, the profile of your clients, any contractual requirements, and what a bad outcome would realistically cost. We usually present two or three limit options with the cost of each.

  • Are fines or deliberate acts covered?

    As a rule, no. Administrative penalties and fines are excluded, as are fraudulent or deliberate acts. Professional liability responds to the unintentional error or omission made in the course of professional work.

The first conversation

Let us look at what professional liability means in your case.

We start from the work you do and end with specific cover options, each one explained.

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