Home > Business Insurance > Professional Indemnity Insurance > PI insurance from a legal point of view > Professional indemnity insurance guide - Breach of statutory duty

Types of liability - Breach of statutory duty

This is important cover, especially if you are an accountant, architect, quantity surveyor, or an estate agent. If you are an accountant you will have statutory duties under the UK Company Acts. If you are an architect, quantity surveyor or any other construction-related professional you will also have duties under the Construction Design and Management Regulations.

If you are an estate agent you need to be careful not to fall foul of the Property Misdescriptions Act. Unlike the UK Company Act and the Construction Design and Management Regulations, if your breach of statutory duty falls under the Property Misdescriptions Act you will have committed a criminal offence.

For example, under the Property Misdescriptions Act, the word ‘detached’ brought a fine for Russell Beard of Cooper Beard in Bedford when he used the term to describe a local cottage. The cottage was not technically ‘detached’ as it was attached to an old stable block. He was charged £100 for various other similar errors. Breach of statutory duty cover is therefore particularly crucial for estate agents.

Please note that professional indemnity insurance will not pay criminal fines. However, it will typically provide for any defence costs incurred.