Lost a client’s documents: what should you check in professional indemnity insurance?

A product reference does not replace the definition

AIG Portugal’s public professional liability page refers to consequences of lost, destroyed or damaged documents. This is an example of a risk presented in an offer, subject to conditions, limits and exclusions. It establishes neither eligibility for your profession nor cover for a particular folder or file type.

For the actual proposal, ask for the definition of a document and the applicable benefit. Check whether the wording distinguishes originals, copies, digital media or documents entrusted by third parties. The word documents in a summary cannot supply those details by assumption.

Sources: AIG Portugal — Professional liability, consequences of document loss, destruction or damage and limitations of public information; checked 29 October 2026 ↗

Ask three questions about the same loss

First: which costs of obtaining replacements or reconstructing content are considered, and on what conditions? Next: what specific consequential loss does the client claim? Finally: how are defence costs treated if a claim is made? Do not combine these questions into one supposedly confirmed benefit.

Portuguese insurance law defines liability insurance by reference to an obligation to compensate third parties on agreed terms. A quotation to copy a folder does not itself establish the client’s loss. An amount written in a document is not automatically the loss caused by that piece of paper disappearing.

Sources: Diário da República — Portuguese insurance contract regime, articles 137 and138; current consolidated text, checked 29 October 2026 ↗

Beatriz’s inventory starts with facts

Beatriz records when she received the folder, the task concerned, where it should have been and when she noticed it was missing. She separates missing originals from copies actually located. Finding an unsigned version does not mean every document has been recovered.

Clara suggests recording the project deadline and any complaint received, distinguishing facts from estimates. Repeating work can affect an independent worker’s income and schedule. Nevertheless, projected hours and an allegation of delay need explanation; they must not be presented as a loss already accepted by the insurer.

Report without promising compensation

Follow the policy’s reporting channel and deadlines, retain communications and ask for instructions about reconstruction expenses before assuming reimbursement. Record the steps actually taken to locate or preserve the content. Do not change dates, originals or versions to simplify the explanation.

Where documents contain personal data, data-protection assessment is a separate matter for the competent people. Reporting to the insurer does not replace it. For a future quotation, describe the document types and professional activity; do not send client folders or confidential contents with an initial enquiry.

What to do

1. Identify documents, medium, ownership and professional task without disclosing client contents.

2. Separate reconstruction, claimed loss and defence; ask for the provision and limits for each item.

3. Preserve the timeline and versions actually located, and report through the policy channel.

4. Request assessment of expenses and missing information without promising the client an insurance payment.