Company directors, who can be sued over business decisions, are at risk, as are accountants. Claims in professional indemnity cases tend to be more complex and expensive. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is in discussions with HIH's provisional liquidator, KPMG, and expects to make an announcement tomorrow about how professional indemnity policy-holders will be affected. Many professional organisations are warning members to buy immediate short-term cover, in case their existing policies are not honoured. But they have not yet been able to allay fears about the status of outstanding claims from earlier policies.
Doctors also have cause for concern.
Negligence claims can be made by patients years after procedures were carried out. Solicitors, too, are nervous, as HIH also underwrote the LawCover scheme, the solicitor's compulsory professional indemnity insurance scheme. The doubts have created chaos for lawyers representing HIH customers in court actions - some suspending the cases for fear of never being paid.