Is professional indemnity insurance tax-deductible?

Yes, professional indemnity insurance premiums are generally tax-deductible for Australian businesses and sole traders as an operating expense incurred in earning assessable income.

What is the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?

Professional indemnity covers financial losses resulting from advice, services or designs you provide, whereas public liability covers third-party bodily injury or property damage arising from your general business operations.

How much professional indemnity cover do I need?

Most Australian professionals choose cover between $1 million and $10 million, depending on industry association requirements, contract mandates and potential exposure to client financial loss.

What is run-off cover and do I need it?

Run-off cover protects you against claims made after you close your business, change careers or retire, for work completed while the policy was active. Since claims can arise years after advice was given, run-off cover is crucial for long-term peace of mind.

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Check if your profession legally requires professional indemnity insurance before starting work or signing contracts
Consider policies with run-off cover to protect yourself from claims even after you stop trading or retire

How much does professional indemnity insurance cost?

That's tough to say. It'll depend on a few different factors including the type of work you do, your annual revenue, and the level of cover you'd like.

We put every effort into ensuring information on Finder is accurate. This article was reviewed by Justine McLean from our Editorial Review Board as part of our fact checking process.

In 2025, we requested three different quotes from six different insurers, to get a picture of how much professional indemnity insurance might cost for a self-employed tax agent with $150,000 annual revenue. Here's what we found:

Insurer	Cost for $250,000 cover	Cost for $500,000 cover	Cost for $1,000,000 cover	Excess payable on claims
	$684.75	$742.50	$858.00	$1,000
	$511.50	$511.50	$546.15	$0
	$1,074.56	$1,135.20	$1,377.75	$0
	$430.65	$430.65	$511.50	$2,500
	$563.78	$695.52	$869.55	$1,000
	$736.73	$800.25	$896.12	$750
Average cost	$667.00	$719.27	$843.18	$875

Data was taken from our quoting engine in February 2025 based on a sole trader tax agent looking for $250,000 in professional indemnity insurance cover.

What's covered by professional indemnity

Professional indemnity is designed to protect you and your business if you ever make a mistake at work and the client sues. It'll also protect you if you didn't make the mistake, but you have an unhappy client who claims you did. But it won't protect against everything.

Covered

Breach of duty. You fail to lodge a client's important paperwork in time.
Breach of privacy or confidentiality. You accidentally share a customer's personal information online.
Defamation, libel or slander. You publish something online which damages a person's reputation.
Intellectual property infringement. You accidentally breach copyright laws in a design you give to a client.
Legal fees. The legal costs of investigating, defending and settling claims.
Reputation repair. Public relations costs designed to repair your reputation if it's damaged.
Loss or damage to documents. A tax agency is severely damaged along with receipts given by clients.

Not Covered

Issues known prior to insurance. You receive a complaint from a customer then take out cover
Criminal conduct. You use your client's information to open a credit card.
Damage to property. You visit a client's home and accidentally break something.
Intentional acts. You use below-standard materials for a house you are working on.
Fraud and dishonesty. You claim to have qualifications that you do not.
Fines and penalties. If you are ordered to pay a fine, this is unlikely to be covered.
Bankruptcy. If your business goes bankrupt, your policy won't cover related claims.
Accidental injury. You construct a faulty wall which ends up collapsing on someone.

Key factors that will affect your quote

Professional indemnity insurance isn't one-size-fits-all. Lots of different factors are taken into account when calculating the price you pay. They include:

Your industry. Some industries are higher risk than others, which will mean paying more for your insurance. For example, the risk of a financial planner giving bad advice is likely to be higher than that of an IT consultant.
Your turnover. The more money your business turns over, the more you'll likely have to pay for your insurance policy. This is because larger businesses typically handle larger, more valuable projects.
Your past claims history. If you've made claims on professional indemnity insurance in the past, insurers are likely to see you as a higher risk.
The size of your business. Larger businesses with more employees generally face higher risks simply due to the sheer volume of work being completed.
The limit of liability. The higher your limit of liability, the higher your premium will be.
Your excess. A higher excess will typically reduce your premium, while a lower excess will increase it.

How does professional indemnity work?

Professional indemnity works a little differently to other insurance policies, so it's a good idea to know how they work before you take out a policy.

Some important things to understand

Terms	Definition
Claims made	If you switch insurers after an incident occurs, your new insurer will only handle the claim if the event happened after your agreed retroactive date and was not a known circumstance prior to policy inception.
Run-off cover	Run off cover protects you from claims that are made after your business has ceased trading or you have retired. As long as the work was completed while the policy was active, you'll still be covered.
Retroactive date	This is the date from which your policy provides cover for past work. Any work done before this date won't be covered by your policy, even if the claim is made while the policy is active.

Who needs professional indemnity insurance?

If you provide advice, services or designs to clients, you should consider professional indemnity insurance. In Australia, it is mandatory for several professions, including:

Accountants and tax agents
Architects and building designers
Real estate agents
Financial planners and advisers
Lawyers and conveyancers
Medical professionals and allied health providers

Even if it isn't legally mandatory for your specific line of work, many clients and principal contractors will insist that you hold a minimum amount of professional indemnity cover before hiring you or entering into a contract.

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FAQs

Finder writers are subject matter experts and use primary sources, in-depth research and interviews with other experts to ensure you're getting accurate, up-to-date information. Articles are fact checked in line with our editorial guidelines.
1. Australian Taxation Office: Business deductions
2. Business.gov.au: Professional indemnity insurance

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Written by

Alex Reid

Expert

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Alex Reid is Finder’s business insurance cadet. He has a Master of Marketing from the University of Technology Sydney, with a background in business and sales. When not writing about business insurance for Finder he's a keen scuba diver, recently completed his 200th hour underwater and his PADI Divemaster certification. Before working at Finder he lived in Hangzhou China, where he studied Mandarin and Chinese culture. See full bio

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34 Responses

MichaelMay 6, 2015

I an a financial planner and have just resigned from the licensee. I was paying the annual PI Insurance by six monthly installments with two remaining. They are asking me to pay the full years amount. As I have only worked 121 days out of a possible 365 with the licensee, am I entitled to a refund on a pro rata basis or do I have to pay the outstanding amount?

Finder

RichardMay 12, 2015Finder

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your question. Most policies don’t work a pro-rata but you may want to contact your insurer for clarification. If you would like to speak with one of the insurance consultants in the panel about options available to you, please complete the contact form at the top of the page.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

PeterDecember 7, 2014

Does a professional relocation agent need professional indemnity insurance?

Finder

RichardDecember 8, 2014Finder

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your question. Any professionals that provide advice or service should consider PI insurance. If you would like to speak with an insurance consultant, please consult experts and a broker will be in touch to provide you with a free personalized quote.

I hope this was helpful,
Richard

RogerMarch 3, 2014

Hi,
Could you please give me the typical costs of PI for a Registered Migration Agent who will basically be a sole trader.
Other factors are that they will be basically doing Pro Bono work and probably only a couple of cases every now and again. (PI is a requirement by the professional body.)
Do you also give a list of the PI providers?
Thanks,
Roger

Finder

WilliamMarch 5, 2014Finder

Hi Roger,

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately at this stage Finder does not have an arrangement in place with a Professional Indemnity Broker to provide you with a price estimate for this type of cover. A broker will require more information from you to provide this.

If you would like to continue your enquiry, we can recommend austbrokers.com.au as one of Australia’s leading insurance brokers.

Apologies for not being able to provide further assistance at this stage and all the best with your enquiry.

GraemeFebruary 18, 2014

What are typical costs of PI for licensed aircraft maintenance engineer who subcontracts part time (average 10 hrs per week) to a large general aviation maintenance organisation

Finder

WilliamFebruary 19, 2014Finder

Hi Graeme,

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, finder.com.au is not currently able to provide quotes for users looking to take out Professional Indemnity. You may wish to contact an insurance specialist from austbrokers.com.au to receive a quote for Professional Indemnity.

Thanks again for your enquiry and all the best.

Will

LindaFebruary 16, 2014

If you are unable to work for a period of time – 6 to 8 weeks, are you able to get a refund of your professional indemnity cost, pro rata, for that period where you did not work? (Much as you can with boat insurance where the boat is laid up for a nominated period of months)

Finder

WilliamFebruary 17, 2014Finder

Hi Linda,

Thank you for your enquiry. In the event that you are not actually cancelling your policy and wish to resume cover at the end of the 6-8 week period, I have not been able to find a cover option that provides a “premium holiday”. This option is certainly available on other types of cover but I have not seen a professional indemnity option offering this. If you are enquiring about an existing policy, it would be best to contact your insurance provider directly to discuss if this is possible. If you are enquiring about a new policy to take out, it would be best to discuss this with the provider prior to taking out cover.

If the policy is cancelled, the insurer will provide a refund of a portion of the premium pro rata for the unexpired period of insurance.

All the best,

Will

Professional Indemnity Insurance in Australia

Protect your business from potential legal costs and claims with professional indemnity insurance.

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