Why choose Hensure for PI insurance
Personal Service
Our business is not a call centre, but instead provides a personal service and dedicated team to assist with your queries.
Experienced Team
Our team has a wealth of experience and knowledge to help you and your business get the most appropriate cover for your needs.
Online System
Our full 24/7 quote and buy facility allows you to run a personalised quotation, at a time that suits you and your business.
Why professional indemnity insurance for Design and Construct Professionals is needed.
Design & Construct (D&C) is the method in which the design and construction services are carried out by a single company known as the design builder or design build contractor. This D&C route provides the client with a single point of contact and responsibility and is used to minimise the risks for the project owner and to reduce the job time frame by overlapping the design phase and construction phase of a project. This means that the end client will often see the contractor as the first point of contact in the event of a design related problem.
No matter how experienced you are in your role, things can go wrong. An error that causes building delays can cause a whole chain of problems, and your client could file a claim of negligence against you. Professional indemnity insurance for Design and Construct professionals provides cover for your legal costs and any compensation that you are required to pay.
Even if it can be proved that ultimately the design related problem is the responsibility of another party, the costs involved in defending your position and redirecting liability can be astronomical.
It must be made clear that Professional Indemnity insurers are only looking to cover professional exposures and will be looking to exclude cover for poor workmanship. The policy wordings will make it clear that insurers are only looking to deal with claims made during the period of insurance that are due to:
- A negligent act, error or omission by the insured
- A negligent act, error or omission committed by any contractor or subcontractor for whose acts, errors or omissions you are legally liable.
Provided that the claim or any circumstance that could give rise to a claim arises out of the provision of professional services.
What counts as a professional service?
- Professional design and/or specification
- Supervision of construction or installation
- Inspection of construction or installation
- Feasibility study
- Technical information calculation
- Survey
- Other professional service declared to and accepted by the insurers in writing
Design and Construct Professional Indemnity insurance applicable for following trades:
- Air Conditioning Contractors
- Bathroom/Bedroom Designers/Installers
- Building Contractors
- Cavity Insultation Contractors
- Carpenters and Joiners
- Ceiling and Partitioning Contractors
- Central Heating Installers
- Damp Proofing Contractors
- Electrical Contractors
- Flooring Contractors
- Heating and Ventilation Contractors
- Kitchen Designers and Fitters
- Mechanical and Electrical Contractors
- Office fitters
- Plumbing and Heating Contractors
- Shop Fitters
What is the limit of indemnity for a Design and Construct policy?
It is important to note that the limit of indemnity for contractors will be "Aggregate", with legal costs included within the limit of indemnity. "Aggregate" cover means that each claim is paid out of the specified indemnity limit and this means that there is less money then left in the pot for subsequent claims.
It may be possible to change the "Aggregate" limit to 'any one claim' basis, as this gives you a much wider cover, as every single claim that you make during the insurance year is entitled to the full indemnity limit.
For further information on all aspects of PI insurance for design and construct, please contact us now.
Things we look for
- Company size – this is determined in two ways, by the gross annual income of the company and the number of partners/ directors/ employees.Qualifications and Experience – insurers will want to satisfy themselves that you are suitably qualified and/or experienced to carry out the work undertaken on behalf of their client.Contract sizes – there is a direct relationship between the size and complexity of the job and the exposure. Note that this is about the total contract values that you are involved in and not your own fee income for the job.
- Split of your income
- Design and Build – this is when the contractor does everything by using their own employees and not subcontractors. The professional exposures are the same as a consultant within the construction industry.
- Contingent design and build – this is when the contractor takes on the contractual responsibility for the design but does sub contract the work out to others i.e. construction and the building work. The design would be carried out by firms of architects and engineers who should carry their own professional indemnity insurance policies and it is vital that the contractor checks that all sub-contractors have this in place.
- Pure contracting – this is when the contractor purely builds from the designs and under the supervision of other contractors that the client has appointed themselves.
- Fees – the contractor might project manage jobs for other contractors or carry out other professional duties such as quantity surveying or design.
- Claims experience – the claims experience is an important factor in the assessment of a risk. This information reflects on the type of work carried out by a company. It also reflects the quality of the company’s work, experience, staff and internal risk management.
- Retroactive exposure – does the business have an exposure to claims arising from past work, whether in the current business or a previous company?
- Overseas exposure – does the practice carry out work for overseas clients? Work in the United States would be a particular problem due to the claims culture within that country.
Policy coverage
Your professional indemnity insurance for Design and Construct Professionals policy will cover the following areas:
- Negligent act, error or omission
- Unintentional intellectual property rights infringement (other than patents)
- Unintentional breach of confidentiality
- Unintentional defamation
- Loss of third-party documents or data
- Negligence of sub-contractors
- Collateral warranties (limited to 2 assignments)
- Adjudications under the housing grants construction & Regeneration Act
Your policy coverage may vary between insurer.
Insurance types
Professional Indemnity
- Professional Indemnity provides cover for claims that arise as a result of the work you have completed or advice you have given.
Public Liability
- Public Liability provides cover should members of the public receive an injury or property damage due to your work. This protects your business should a compensation claim be made, also covering any legal costs that result from this.
Employers’ Liability
- Employers’ Liability provides cover for compensation claims and associated legal costs, arising from employee injury or work-related illness.
Cyber Insurance
- Cyber Insurance provides support in the event of cyber-crime and unintentional data breaches, offering cover against the cost of revenue and fines.
Directors and Officers
- Directors and Officers insurance policies protect you financially against any claims that are made against you personally in your position as a director, partner or officer of your business.
Legal expenses insurance
- If you were involved in a legal battle, knowing that any money you spend on legal bills would be reimbursed could make all the difference. Legal expenses insurance does just that. It ensures that your business remains financially stable after a legal case by helping to compensate the business for incurred costs.
Contact us to find out more about the right cover for your business.
