Marsh Professional liability insurance solutions: protect against negligence, third-party claims, and cyber threats
As a CPA Australia professional, safeguarding your practice and you are critically important. We understand and offer insurance solutions to cover you for the risks you are likely to encounter in professional life – and that liability might extend beyond the advice you offer your clients.
The Marsh CPA Accountants insurance solutions provides a broad range of protection for you, including:
- Indemnity cover – what is often called Errors and Omissions (E&O) cover - protection against claims that the professional advice and accounting services you provided to a client cause them financial harm due to your mistakes.
- Public liability cover – which protects you against claims from any third party (including your client or the public) if you injure person or property, and
- Cyber cover – which protects you in the event of a cyber-attack on your firm and the potential loss that might entail of client and business data, breach of confidentiality and more.
So, while professional indemnity cover is a legal requirement and essential for managing liability claims arising from a breach of duty to your clients, relying solely on it may expose you to other risks you should protect yourself against.
Public liability and particularly cyber insurance are increasingly crucial components of a smart insurance strategy. Together, these three types of cover offer CPA professionals a robust protection plan, enabling you to not only to comply with Australian industry standards but also to thrive in a fast-changing business environment.
Marsh arranges CPAs professional liability cover that adds public liability and cyber security solutions as extensions of your professional indemnity cover.
Different risks our CPA professional liability solution can covers:
Negligence and errors
As a CPA member you may face claims arising from negligence, errors, or omissions in your professional services. For instance, if a client alleges that your accounting advice led to significant financial loss or tax penalties, our Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI Insurance) can cover legal costs and settlement fees. This coverage is not just a safeguard; it’s a legal requirement for public accounting services.
Third-party claims
Public liability insurance is essential for protecting your practice against claims from third parties due to property damage or personal injury. For example, if a client slips and falls in your office or if you accidentally damage a valuable item during a visit, this coverage is designed to handle medical expenses, legal fees, and compensation costs. It’s crucial for building client trust and demonstrates your commitment to responsible business practices, especially during in-person meetings or consultations.
Cybersecurity threats
In today’s digital landscape, your practice holds sensitive client data, including financial records and personal information, making it a target for cyber threats. Our Cyber Insurance is designed to protect you from the financial repercussions of data breaches and cyberattacks, ensuring that your clients' information remains secure. Cybercrime is an area that all Australian CPAs need to take very seriously - it poses significant and growing risks to CPA accountants and their practices; Alarmingly, The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) receives a new cybercrime report every 10 minutes.1
Marsh CPA Accountants cyber insurance solution protects against a variety of cybercrime, including data breaches, hacking, phishing, malware, identity theft, scams and more. The damage done from any cyber-attack can be devastating. For example, if your firm's secure server is breached, leading to the exposure of confidential client financial information, the costs associated with recovery—legal costs, notification services, public relations, and potentially settling claims from affected clients can be exorbitant, not to mention the cost of business interruption and the damage to your practice’s reputation. Your cover includes immediate response management, cover for business interruption, privacy and security liability and much more.
This can apply as much to sole trader Australian CPA accountants as to larger firms, no professional accountant is immune to a ransom or cybercriminal attack. So having a policy in place, and a number to call in the event you’re faced with a ‘blank blue screen’, is invaluable.
The CPA Australia and Marsh relationship
Marsh Insurance has forged a valuable partnership with CPA Australia offering members access to tailored insurance solutions. This relationship ensures Australian CPA professionals receive “wrap around” insurance cover.
As a CPA Australia member joining the Marsh network you can get access to leadership material, webinars, events and up to date cyber information that comes from around the globe and is relevant to any Australian CPA practice. Sharing our learning with as broad a membership base as possible, helps educate our CPA members as to a wide variety of risks and security measures that you can put in place to combat those risks, prevent cybercrime and improve claims outcomes.
Working with a partner familiar with the nuances of CPA professional liability insurance, makes it easier to navigate the complexities of obtaining coverage while ensuring you meet all regulatory and professional standards.
Offering a composite insurance solution for CPA Accounting firm
The business landscape evolves quickly, and it’s now more important than ever for CPA professionals to be adequately covered. While professional indemnity insurance for CPAs is non-negotiable, supplementing it with public liability and cyber insurance creates a composite insurance solution that protects you against a broader range of risks.
Insurance may seem like an additional expense, but the potential cost of not having coverage can far outweigh the investment. Safeguard your career, conduct a thorough risk assessment, understand your exposure, and consult an expert well-versed in CPA professional liability to ensure that your practice is adequately protected.