Surveyors professional indemnity insurance

Surveyors professional indemnity insurance from Hensure takes into account the specific role of a surveyor.

Those surveyors who are members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – The governing body which regulates & promotes the profession – receive information and guidance as a result and are required to be covered on a RICS approved professional indemnity wording. We recommend all surveyors ensure they have professional indemnity insurance even those surveyors who operate outside of the RICS. It might be more appropriate however, for these suveyors to be covered on a construction professionals wording or even a miscellaneous wording , but this will depend on the nature of the work that you are involved in.

What do underwriters look for when considering surveyors professional indemnity insurance?

Size of the practice – One of the major factors that determine insurers’ rating and underwriting criteria is the size of the business practice. This can be established in two ways, the gross annual income of the company & the number of partners/directors/employees.

Qualification and experience – In line with underwriting criteria, Insurers need to satisfy themselves that a surveyor is suitably qualified and/or experienced to carry out the work undertaken on behalf of their client.

Type of work – Insurers will want to know the split of annual income derived from each discipline. This following list covers most areas that a surveyor could get involved in and rates will vary from insurers depending on the amount of each discipline performed.

Quantity Surveying
Building Surveying
Residential Property Letting and Management
Commercial Property Management
Land Management
Rent Reviews/ Lease Reviews
Residential and Commercial Estate Agency
Planning and Development
Valuation Work
Architectural Work
Project Management/ Coordination

Contract sizes – There is a direct relationship between the size and complexity of the job and the exposure.

Environmental exposure – Does the firm knowingly get involved in the environmental field?

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?

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 & internal risk management.

Risks can be categorised as follows;

Low risk Activities