I’m a translator – do I need Professional Indemnity (PII) Insurance?

Yes

[end of blog….]

But seriously, to expand further though, you are offering  a professional service to businesses. PII covers you if you are negligent or make a mistake which causes a client’s business to suffer financial loss. You’re no doubt a brilliant translator, but what if you have a bad day, or a very important number is mixed up in your translation? Nobody’s perfect, and factor in tight deadlines, clients phoning up demanding their work…

If you think it couldn’t happen to you, have a read here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-lansky/lonely-planet-founder-rec_b_670848.html
(Lonely Planet Founder Recalls Worst Publishing Mistakes)

It’s not just translators who should take out professional indemnity – consider accountants, IT consultants, business consultants, journalists, architects, financial advisors, engineers and many more.

Translators can be put off PII by the cost. How much?!!  So my advice is you should shop around each year as the premiums can vary wildly. This does mean filling in forms, but you may save £100s.

There are a number of companies who do offer this specialist insurance. In no particular order…

www.theovalgroup.com
www.vantageinsurance.co.uk
http://www.s-tech.co.uk/

ITI have a partner offering a discount if you are a member – see the ITI website and ask them for details. www.iti.org.uk

I understand also that CIoL also have a partner offering discounts to their members.

Note that we are not recommending any of these companies in particular, and the last time we looked, they did offer PII. If you have further suggestions, we’d love you to comment below and tell us.