Professional & Business Claims Defence
A Claim Has Been Made Against You or Your Business?
When somebody alleges professional negligence, financial loss or business liability, the strength of the response depends on more than simply denying the allegation.
The legal position, evidence, insurance cover, causation, financial loss and commercial consequences may all need to be understood. Insurance Dispute Service provides fixed-fee claims analysis, case preparation and litigation support, with access to specialist Direct Access barristers where appropriate.
Find the Right Route
What problem are you dealing with?
Some clients arrive with a Letter of Claim. Others already have a professional indemnity insurer involved, a reservation of rights or solicitors defending the underlying claim. Start with the issue closest to your position.
Professional Negligence Claim
A client or third party alleges that your professional work, advice or service fell below the required standard and caused financial loss.
Defending professional negligence →Received a Letter of Claim?
Understand what has been alleged, what evidence should be preserved, what insurance needs checking and what response timetable may apply.
What to do next →Professional Indemnity Insurance Problems
The liability claim is only part of the problem because your own insurer is questioning notification, cover or the policy response.
Professional indemnity disputes →Insurer Reserving Its Rights
Your insurer is dealing with the claim but has kept open one or more arguments which could later affect indemnity.
Understand the reservation →Insurer Refusing Indemnity
Your PI insurer says some or all of the professional claim, defence costs or liability falls outside the policy.
Challenge the coverage position →Already Have Insurer-Appointed Solicitors?
Understand the solicitor’s role, insurance position, scope of the retainer and whether anything important sits outside the existing defence.
Understand the arrangement →Act Early
A formal claim can bring procedural deadlines with it.
Do not assume there is one universal timetable for every professional negligence claim. The applicable pre-action protocol depends on the nature of the dispute.
For example, the general Professional Negligence Protocol and the Construction and Engineering Disputes Protocol operate differently. Identify the correct route before calculating the response deadline.
Claims by Profession
Different professions create different evidential problems.
A tax-advice claim should not be analysed like a valuation claim. A construction dispute can involve a completely different contractual and procedural framework. Start with the professional context.
Accountants & Tax Advisers
Tax advice, compliance, accounts, reporting, transactions and other professional-accountancy claims.
Accountancy claims →Surveyors & Valuers
Valuation, survey, property advice, inspection and third-party reliance disputes.
Surveyor & valuer claims →Construction Professionals
Claims involving architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and other construction consultants.
Construction claims →Financial Advisers
Suitability, pensions, investments, ongoing advice and alleged financial-loss claims.
Financial advice claims →Insurance Brokers
Placement, underinsurance, exclusions, disclosure and alleged gaps in insurance protection.
Insurance broker claims →Other Professionals & Businesses
Other substantial negligence and liability disputes requiring structured claims analysis and case preparation.
Professional negligence defence →A Different Delivery Model
Use the right expertise for the right part of the case.
A substantial dispute may involve hundreds or thousands of documents before the core issues become clear. Not every part of that work necessarily requires specialist legal time.
IDS can undertake defined claims analysis, factual case preparation and litigation support. Specialist legal advice, drafting or advocacy can then be obtained from an appropriately instructed barrister or other authorised legal professional where required.
That can provide greater visibility over the work being undertaken while still allowing specialist counsel to become involved at the stages where their expertise adds most value.
The Claim and the Insurance Policy
Sometimes defending the claimant is only half the battle.
Professional indemnity insurance may initially appear to solve the financial problem. But notification, exclusions, prior circumstances, policy limits, aggregation or a reservation of rights can create a second dispute between the professional and its own insurer.
IDS can examine that insurance position alongside the underlying professional claim.
Solicitors Already Appointed?
You may not need another defence team. You may need a clearer view of the whole position.
Insurer-appointed solicitors may be doing exactly the work required to defend the claimant’s case. But the insured should still understand the scope of their retainer, the insurance position and whether any important commercial or coverage issue sits outside their instructions.
Already Have Insurer-Appointed Solicitors? →Important information
Insurance Dispute Service provides claims analysis, factual case preparation, insurance dispute support and practical litigation support within the defined scope of its service.
IDS does not represent itself as a firm of solicitors and does not undertake reserved legal activities where it is not appropriately authorised to do so. Where a client remains responsible for conducting litigation, responsibility for procedural obligations remains with that client unless an appropriately authorised person has undertaken that work.
Public Access enables suitably registered barristers to accept direct instructions in appropriate cases. Public Access registration and authorisation to conduct litigation are separate practising rights.
Barrister fees, expert fees, court fees and other third-party charges are separate from fees for defined IDS work unless expressly stated otherwise. No particular outcome is guaranteed.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Limitation periods, insurance notification requirements, pre-action deadlines, court orders and procedural deadlines should be checked for the individual matter.
A Claim Has Been Made Against You?
Understand the claim, the evidence and the insurance position before deciding what to do next.
If you or your business is facing a substantial professional negligence or liability claim, speak to us about the position and the most appropriate route forward.