Professional Indemnity and Optional Public Liability Insurance for BAS Agents and Bookkeepers
We are committed to supporting the insurance requirements of BAS Agents and Bookkeeper, and providing a professional and accessible service. To obtain a professional indemnity and optional public liability insurance quotation, please click below.
Focus Insurance Brokers can arrange on behalf of BAS Agents and Bookkeepers, the following insurance cover:
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Public Liability Insurance
- Property / Contents Insurance
- Management Liability Insurance
- Personal Accident and Sickness Insurance
- Travel Insurance
- Cyber Liability Insurance
Professional Indemnity Insurance
BAS Agents that provide a fee for service must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board.
BAS Agents must comply with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct (Code) and civil penalties provisions.
A requirement under TASA is professional indemnity (PI) insurance. PI insurance provides cover for agents against claims made by their clients who suffer loss due to negligence by an agent in providing a BAS service. The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) views this as a strong consumer protection measure that ensures that there is some mechanism to compensate clients.
The TPB has issued an explanatory paper that details their requirements for PI insurance. This can be viewed here:
Explanatory Paper TPB(EP) 03/2010 Professional indemnity (PI) insurance
To download a summary [wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=2 linktext=’ Click here’ /].
[wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=5 linktext=’ Product Brochure’ /]
The policy has been specifically designed to cover the risk exposure of a BAS Agent and bookkeeper.
The policy will cover claims arising from the following professional services:
- BAS services;
- Bookkeeping services, including payroll processing and record-keeping services;
- Payroll consultancy services, including non-legal advice on award wages, individual contracts and EBA’s, provided always that such advice is given by a duly registered and qualified BAS Agent;
- Training and education on accounting software packages.
Policy benefits / highlights include:
- Strong insurer security (AIG Insurance Limited)
- Professional Indemnity limit options starting from $1,000,000 up to $20,000,000
- Legal Defence Costs are paid in addition to the Indemnity limit
- Competitive premiums
- Low excess in the event of a claim ($250)
- Unlimited retroactive cover (this means that the policy will cover all new claims arising from all past BAS agent / bookkeeping services)
- Cover for claims arising from breach of privacy / confidentially
- Cover for loss of documents, including electronic data
- Free Run-off cover for three years from date of retirement
- Cover may be extended to cover other activities that fall outside BAS agent / bookkeeping service. Cover is subject to application and approval by the insurer
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability Insurance is designed to cover claims as a result of injury or property damage caused by your business activities. It also covers any related legal fees, costs and expenses.
Public Liability is offered as a separate policy. Sum Insured options are $5M, $10M and $20M.
Many businesses that you are providing your services to may require you to carry this cover if you are entering their premises especially if you are contracting your services to them.
Members who operate their business from a home office should also consider taking up this cover. Many domestic/residential insurance policies will not cover claims arising in the course of providing business services.
Property Insurance
We can also assit with your property insurance requirements. This may include static office content,glass, money, theft and portable equipment (ie. laptop computers).