If your BS wont give you a copy, I wouldnt engage him. An honest perosn would be happy to show you, considering the premiums they pay. Think about it, only someone who wants to short cut you and not get caught, would object.
Correct. Personal Indemnity insurance is insurance for the person taking it out, it is nobody elses business. It comes into play by you bringing a claim against the policy holder, whose PI insurance will cover him for his expenses in any losses he sustains in meeting that claim.
In Qld it is illegal (under Fair Trading laws I think) for certain occupations to conduct business without an appropriate level of indemnity. A council recently refused to allow me to have a concretor perform crossover work on my footpath unless he had some humungous level of insurance.
As part of the mistrustful attitude one must show when engaging contractors, one should ask for a copy of the PI,and then check its details with the insurance Co. They should be able to confirm the Document No and the level of insurance, and that it is current, without transgressing any privacy bounds. Mind you , the contractor gives you atittude when you demand it. All part of the nightmare in the Clayton's nanny state.(the nanny state that doesn't actually look after you)