Estate Agents

Professional indemnity insurance for estate agents and letting agents has never been more important.

A seemingly minor mistake in the description of a property can lead to an enormous claim, the legal costs alone can easily run into the tens of thousands; even responding to an allegation of negligence can cost several thousand pounds in legal fees.

In addition the professional associations and bodies for estate agents and letting agents require their members to maintain appropriate levels of professional indemnity cover.

• National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
• Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA)
• Institution of Commercial and Business Agents (ICBA)
• National Association of Valuers and Auctioneers (NAVA)

These professional bodies specify the following levels of cover for their members:

• The minimum limit of indemnity is £100,000.
• However, if a company operates as an agency in residential lettings, and the total fee income for the company from all sources is £150,000 or less, then the limit of indemnity must be a minimum of £150,000.
• If a company operates as an agency in residential lettings, and the total fee income for the company from all sources is over £150,000, then the minimum limit of indemnity must be £500,000.

Other professional bodies such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which many estate agents are members of, have their own rules for professional indemnity cover with special policy wordings agreed with insurers.

Our policies comply with the requirements of all the professional bodies (with policy wordings as appropriate), so you can be sure that you will have the cover you need both for regulatory compliance and your own peace of mind.

With people more likely than ever to sue (or at least threaten to sue) for the slightest problem, it makes sense to cover yourself with professional indemnity insurance.

We have made it easier than ever for estate agents and letting agents to buy professional indemnity insurance, our online quote system covers over 190 occupations and policies can be arranged in minutes.

Additionally if you are self-employed, you should give serious consideration to arranging public liability insurance as well, to protect you against claims for injury to persons and damage to other people’s property.

We can add the following extra cover to professional indemnity policies:

• Public Liability
• Employers Liability
• Office Contents