Accountants & Lawyers

As the type of services accounting and legal firms provide expands, their risk profile can move outside the coverage areas of their traditional professional indemnity policies. Understanding the complexities of professional advice, the types of claims that may ensue, and existing commercial relationships is essential.

Whether a claim involves an allegation of professional negligence in advising an ASX-listed company or an individual client, we are experts at managing claims against accountants and lawyers. We have advised insurers and their insureds on claims involving global and national professional services firms, small-mid urban and rural firms, and sole practitioners. We also work with insurers and brokers on policy wording and coverage issues so that their knowledge and products match the growing capabilities and breadth of practice of modern accounting and legal firms.

Financial Planners & Stockbrokers

Financial planners and stockbrokers have had the spotlight shone on them from all quarters over the last few years. It is an area fraught with potential claims. Our team has defended claims against national financial planning and stockbroking firms, as well as small firms and individual professionals. We work with insurers and their insured clients to achieve fast and definitive settlement of claims, sensitive to possible reputational damage.

IT Professionals

Almost every business is reliant on IT and consequently IT professionals. From data collection and analysis to e-commerce, tech security to healthcare, the systems and advice that technology professionals provide make them vulnerable to traditional risks of their products being fit for business purposes, and new cyber threats.

Policy wording and coverage is constantly changing. We work with insurers to help them craft policies that will cover future risk areas. When a claim occurs, our team works swiftly with insurers, technology companies and individual professionals to map out the options and resolve claims sensibly and quickly.

Construction Professionals

When things go wrong in the building and construction sector, fingers are pointed first at those who recommended, installed or maintained equipment and infrastructure.

Professional liability claims against architects, surveyors and other construction professionals are usually not clear-cut. They often involve complex contractor and sub-contractor relationships, product liability issues, dual and overlapping insurance, and co-contribution. OH&S and EPL concerns are common and subrogated recovery claims are also often waiting to be pursued.

Our experienced Construction PI team is adept at unpicking complex events and has vast experience advising on significant, reputation-damaging and potentially catastrophic claims across the industry.

Valuers, Real Estate & Strata

Professionals providing valuations and advice to property owners and investors are always balancing present property knowledge with an expectation of the future real estate market. Sound tricky? You’re right and when things go wrong, PI claims often follow.

Strata is another sector fraught with potential for claims.

We act for insurers and their insured property professionals in all types of real estate-related PI claims. From valuations that prove inaccurate, through to property management issues, we have advised on a broad range of PI claims in the sector, helping national and multi-national agents as well as sole practitioners. We also work with insurers to draft policy and coverage wording.

Defamation Claims

Defamation is a class of action that is particularly personal, both for the alleged perpetrator and the victim, and lawyers managing these claims need to demonstrate empathy and have a cool head to resolve claims efficiently and appropriately.

We have defended defamation claims against corporations, firms and individuals across many different sectors. From caricatures published in the national media to advertisements dropped in letterboxes, we’ve seen defamation cases originate from a wide range of media, some clear cut, some complex and oblique. Whether the claim is from deliberate or unintentional statement or portrayal, we manage expectations, find swift resolutions, draft apologies and negotiate settlements.

Other Professionals

From arborists and actors to viniculturists and veterinarians, we advise a broad range of professionals and their insurers when faced with professional liability claims and actions for financial loss.

The services sector is becoming more professionalised and integrated and insurers and brokers value our advice to develop policies that provide appropriate coverage for professionals working in the most diverse circumstances.

We often work with individuals who are unfamiliar with the insurance and legal process, and for whom a claim can be catastrophic to their business. When a claim happens we do everything possible to help them understand the process, what lies ahead, the basis of the strategy we recommend and the likelihood of success.

Disciplinary proceedings

When licensed professionals face disciplinary proceedings before their professional bodies it’s not just reputations at stake but often livelihoods making it even more important to quickly gather the facts, form a clear strategy, mitigate and resolve.

We have advised insurers and their insured professionals in disciplinary proceedings following claims of professional misconduct, professional negligence, financial misappropriation, and wrongful advice. We act in suspension and expulsion proceedings following convictions, and where there are allegations of breaches of codes of practice or ethics.

We have appeared before state and national professional bodies governing medical practitioners and healthcare workers, lawyers and accountants, financial services professionals and real estate agents.