Why take out professional civil liability insurance from Occident?
Professional Civil Liability insurance protects the assets of professionals in the field of health, education, engineering and many other activities, in the event of causing direct material or personal damage to a third party in the course of their activity.
What does professional civil liability insurance cover?
Professional Civil Liability insurance offers coverage for personal damage and losses involuntarily caused to third parties due to or in the performance of your professional activity.
Damage to files: material damages that may be caused to the files and documents you hold.
Leased premises: damage to property leased as a result of fire risks and those usually defined as complementary.
Employees' effects: damage to the possessions of your salaried staff.
Penalties for breach of the Spanish Data Protection Act: payment of the amounts resulting from penalties imposed by the Spanish Data Protection Agency for breach of the Data Protection Act is guaranteed.
Work in European Union countries: possibility of extending professional civil liability coverage to your activities in European Union countries.
Operations civil liability: material, personal and economic damage caused to third parties arising from the ownership of the premises and offices intended for professional activities.
Employers' civil liability: claims that may be made by your workers or their rightful holders for damage resulting from work-related accidents.
Criminal defence and claim for damage: criminal defence, claim for damages, rights relating to the premises, service contract, contracts on movable property, etc. The widest range of coverage for legal defence and claims.
Professional fees claim: amicable or judicial demand for fees accrued during your professional activity that are unpaid.
Income following professional disqualification: payment of a monthly subsidy to compensate net income not received during the period in which you remain professionally disqualified.
FAQs
The price of professional liability insurance depends on factors such as the professional activity you engage in, your annual turnover, or the insured amount.
At Occident, we'll help you calculate a personalised price for your professional liability insurance. Simply leave your details in the form on this page and we will contact you with a proposal tailored to your profile.
Yes, if you are self-employed, the expenses of professional liability insurance may be deductible in your tax return as part of the necessary expenses for carrying out your activity. Check with your tax adviser to confirm how to proceed with declaring it in your case.
Professional liability insurance is mandatory for those practising regulated professions, according to Article 9 of Law 7/2006 of 31 May, which states that “professionals with qualifications have the duty to cover, through insurance or an equivalent guarantee, the liability risks they may incur as a result of practising their profession”.
However, the obligation varies depending on the profession and applicable regulations:
- Lawyers: There is no national law requiring the insurance, but the Statute of the Legal Profession (art. 125) considers it a serious breach not to have it. Additionally, the Code of Ethics (art. 20) requires that lawyers have their professional liability covered to an amount appropriate to the risks of their practice.
- Architects and building surveyors: The Building Regulations Act (LOE) does not mandate this insurance, although some autonomous communities do require it (for example, Andalusia, the Basque Country, and Catalonia).
- Doctors and medical professionals: It is mandatory to practise medicine in Spain under the Health Professions Regulation Act (LOPS).
- Professional companies: Article 11.3 of the Professional Companies Act establishes the obligation to take out civil liability insurance.
Even when not legally required, it is highly recommended to protect yourself against claims for errors or omissions that may cause economic or personal harm to your clients.
If you have taken out this coverage, you can apply for it provided that the disqualification is the result of a final criminal sentence for events occurring during the performance of your professional duties. Furthermore, the event giving rise to the sentence must have occurred during the term for which the insurance policy is valid.
Our Professional Civil Liability insurance offers various coverages that are adapted to suit the following risk groups:
- Health: physicians with a higher degree, mixed specialities with or without surgery, non-physicians with a mid-level degree, non-qualified staff, medical centres and other health-related activities.
- Veterinary: qualified professionals and veterinary centres.
- Teaching: teachers and teaching centres.
- Advice, mediation or representation: law professionals and other disciplines.
- Engineering and architecture: free exercise of the profession dependent on private, public or state companies and technical offices.
It will be governed by the current sanctioning regime that lays down three types of penalties depending on their seriousness. Thus, the insured amount will be as follows:
- Minor penalty: From €900 to €40,000
- Serious penalty: From €40,001 to €300,000
- Very serious penalty: Up to €600,000