What`s the difference between “any one claim” and “in the aggregate” cover?

At Kingsbridge, we’ve recently made some changes for the better to give contractors even more comprehensive insurance cover.

Previously, our Professional Indemnity cover was offered in the aggregate. However, for policies starting from 1st July onwards we have now improved this by changing the basis of cover to ‘any one claim’. This is great news for contractors, but what does this mean to those not fluent in insurance-ese?

Here, we outline the difference between ‘in the aggregate’ and ‘any one claim’ when it comes to our contractor insurance in order to make a clear distinction between the two.

In the aggregate

So, you’re a contractor and you have professional indemnity cover for up to £1 million in the aggregate. This means you are only covered for an accumulated total of £1 million across the whole policy year.

This is fine if your claims are, altogether, worth less than that amount. Say you make three claims during your policy year, with each individual one amounting to £300,000. That’s a total of £900,000, leaving £100,000 ‘in the pot’ should you need to make another claim.

Do bear in mind, however, that claiming those amounts would technically leave you in breach of your contract given that you need £1 million in professional indemnity cover.

An even worse scenario – imagine you then have a fourth claim worth another £300,000 in the same policy year. That’s an accumulated total of £1.2 million, leaving you with a shortfall of £200,000. That’s £200,000 you would have to find yourself.

To find that kind of money, many contractors would need to take extreme action such as selling their house or destroying any savings they may have, severely disrupting their and their family’s financial stability – if they have that kind of money at all, of course.

However, this isn’t the issue with any one claim.

Any one claim

If your policy is any one claim, this means your level of cover applies to each and every claim. So, let’s take the same example as before. You have professional indemnity cover for up to £1 million. As your policy is any one claim, £1 million is the maximum you can be paid for each individual claim in a particular policy year.

So, say you had three claims in one policy year – one for £300,000, one for £200,000 and one for £700,000. These would all be settled and paid out with no shortfall as each one amounts to less than the £1 million limit.

This means that any one claim actually gives you, as a contractor, more protection than in the aggregate since there is no risk of you using up your ‘pot’ of cover in any one policy year and ending up with a shortfall. It’ll also ensure that you remain contractually compliant. Just ensure your level of PI any one claim cover is adequate based on your role and industry.

At Kingsbridge, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve our contractor insurance offering to ensure you have the best cover possible. If you’d like to speak to us about our any one claim cover – or any other insurance enquiries – contact our friendly team on 01242 808740. Alternatively, you can take a look at our website or get in touch with us over on our Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages.