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Looking for architects professional indemnity insurance in Gibraltar, as specialist liability insurance brokers we are ideally placed to obtain highly competitive terms for your architects insurance from our panel of leading insurance companies.
What is architects professional indemnity insurance?
The architects professional indemnity insurance policy protects the policyholder against claims made against them in respect of their legal liability for loss arising from a breach, or alleged breach of their professional duty.
The policy is designed to meet the costs of any legal damages made against the policyholder and perhaps as importantly the costs of mounting a defence in respect of any claims made against the policyholder whether they have virtue or not.
Why does an architect need professional indemnity insurance?
For all engaged in providing professional services for a fee there is always an exposure to claims being made against you in respect of the services your provide and allegations that you have failed to show the correct level of care in the delivery of your service which has resulted in a loss to your client or another party. In the case of the architect it is a requirement of the Architects Registration Board that you hold a current professional indemnity insurance policy and there is a recommended minimum limit of indemnity of £250,000.
What is the limit of indemnity under an architects professional indemnity insurance policy?
The limit of indemnity is the maximum liability of the insurance company in respect of any one claim under the policy. This limit can be expressed in different ways and care should be taken when reviewing limits.
- Costs Inclusive/ Costs in Addition ; costs inclusive means that the limit if indemnity is the maximum the insurer will pay including all defence costs, costs in addition means that the legal costs may be paid over and above the limit of indemnity.
- Each and Every Claim / Aggregate: If the limit of indemnity is expressed as each and every claim then the full limit of indemnity is avaiable in respect of every claim made during the policy year, if it is expressed as in the aggregate then the limit applies in respect of each and every claims and also to all claims in any policy year.
What is the claims made basis of settlement under professional indemnity insurance for architects?
This is an essential feature in the understanding of the policy. Any policy that is issued on a claims made basis differs fundamentally from most general insurance policies in so far as the policy will only respond to claims made against the policyholder whilst the policy is in force. Most general insurance policies respond to claims that occurred whilst the policy is in force. This has significant ramifications for architects and raises two important areas for consideration.
- Retroactive cover: As the policy meets only claims made against the policyholder during the policy term a retroactive date and clause on the policy must be present in order to provide cover in respect of claims made in respect of work undertaken prior to the current policy year. Retroactive dates can appear is different forms
- No retroactive date; no cover exists for work undertaken prior to the policy inception
- A retroactive date; a specific date after which claims made in respect of work undertaken will be handled under the policy
- A zero retroactive date; claims will be handled in respect of all work undertaken prior to the policy term.
- Architects run off professional indemnity insurance; as policies only meet claims made during the policy term this raises an issue for policyholders who cease trading, sell their practice or wish to cancel their insurance for any reason. There is no cover in place going forward for any claims made in respect of work undertaken in previous years. In this case the policyholder needs to consider a run off policy to meet these losses. The architects run off professional indemnity insurance policy can be purchased for a year or a number of years from the date of the expiring policy and the premium will be based upon a fraction of the expiring policy premium to reflect the reducing risk over time.
What is the policy excess under and architects professional indemnity insurance policy?
The policy excess is the amount that the policyholder is expected to bear in respect of each and every claim under the policy, it is the policyholder’s contribution to the cost of the claim and is designed to protect insurers from the costs of handling a large number of small claims. You can elect to take a larger excess under your policy in order to achieve premium savings and this can often product worthwhile savings.
How much does architects professional indemnity insurance cost?
As with other insurances the cost of the architects professional indemnity insurance policy is based upon a number of key underwriting factors and these include;
- The limit of indemnity you require under the policy
- The type and nature of work you are engaged in.
- The amount of work you undertake on an annual basis
- Your previous claim history
With the facilities we have in place with insurers we can provide you with a range of quotations for your architects professional indemnity insurance.
How do I buy architects professional indemnity insurance?
You can download our proposal form in Word format from the link above, complete it and return it to us either by email, post or by hand or alternatively you can call us directly to arrange a meeting to discuss your requirements.
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