Professional liability insurance for consultants is the American name for what a UK consultant buys as professional indemnity. The cover is the same: financial loss caused to a client by negligent advice or work, plus the cost of defending it. What differs is the wording, and that difference matters when clients are in different markets.
The same cover under two names
A UK consultancy asked for professional liability should answer with professional indemnity, which satisfies the requirement in almost every case. Confirming that with the client takes one email and avoids a procurement team rejecting a certificate that says the wrong words.
When the wording matters
If clients are in the United States, check the territorial and jurisdiction clauses: a policy covering claims brought anywhere in the world but only in UK courts will not respond to a claim filed in an American one. That clause, not the product name, is what decides whether the cover reaches.
What a consultancy needs regardless
Every activity declared, including the ones done occasionally. A limit set from the client contract and from what a client could lose. Contract terms with a liability cap, a defined scope and a consequential loss exclusion. And clarity on whether associates are covered by your policy or must hold their own.
Keeping it continuous
The cover is claims made under either name. A consultancy that pauses between engagements, or that winds down, leaves completed work exposed unless the policy continues or run off is bought. That is the same rule in both markets and it catches people in both.
Questions people ask about professional liability insurance for consultants
Is professional liability different from professional indemnity?
The same cover under two names. Professional indemnity is the UK term.
Will a UK policy satisfy a US client?
Usually, but check the territorial and jurisdiction clauses if a claim could be brought in an American court.
Are my associates covered?
It depends on the wording. Some policies cover subcontracted associates and some require each to hold their own.