Thousands of South African professionals run a daily gauntlet of operating businesses and offering fee-based consulting services without the safety net of professional indemnity (PI) insurance. Professional Indemnity insurance is designed to protect the likes of architects, engineers, attorneys, brokers, doctors, estate agents – essentially any professional individual or practice – who takes a fee for providing a service. Our own experience shows that many professionals, particularly independent consultants, operate without cover, exposing themselves to financial ruin in the event of a mistake that results in a claim. PI insurance is designed not only for traditional professionals who provide advice or a service to their customers, but anyone who holds themselves out to be an expert in a particular field and whose expertise and advice the public might rely on, for example an IT expert.