For IT contractors purchasing Professional Indemnity insurance from Qdos, you will see you have the option to add ‘cover for past work’. If this option is not selected you will only be covered for claims arising out of work undertaken after the policy start date.
This is also known as the Retroactive date of your policy. If you select cover for past work, or if you purchase PI and you are not an IT contractor your retroactive date will be shown as “none” on policy documentation. This is to say that cover is not limited to acts or omissions the policyholder makes after a specified date and you would be covered, subject to policy terms and conditions, for all services provided previously.
If you are an IT contractor and require cover for work you have undertaken prior to the policy start date, bearing in mind that previous Professional Indemnity insurance policies you may have held would not react after they expire, it would be prudent to select cover for past work. This will be particularly relevant in the following circumstances:
You have had a gap in your cover.
- e.g. if you have failed to renew a Professional Indemnity insurance policy you may have held in the past.
You have changed insurance provider to Qdos from another company.
- Once your policy with your previous provider has expired, you will be unable to make a claim should the need arise.  As such, you should ensure that your new policy covers you for the time you were insured with another provider.
If you have not previously been insured.
- If you have provided services in the past which require cover under your new policy, retroactive cover must be included.