 
 
Compare Engineer Professional Indemnity Insurance
As an Engineer, you are the problem solvers, organisers, calculators and designers, often providing bespoke solutions – let us do the same for you and review your Professional Indemnity Insurance.
It’s a diverse industry, but our specialist account managers have experience dealing with structural, civil, mechanical, electrical and process design engineers.
Why Professional Indemnity Insurance?
Whichever engineering discipline you specialise in, the potential for making a mistake is always there. Unfortunately, we live in a blame culture. Professional indemnity Insurance covers a business for the cost of defending against allegations of professional negligence (such as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice) and if unsuccessful, the cost of damages awarded against you.
Many companies are now making Professional Indemnity Insurance a compulsory condition of their tendering process, and will not hire any engineer or consultant that does not have a Professional Indemnity policy in place.
We can provide cover limits ranging from £100 thousand to £10 million and we have access to the following extensions of cover:
- Negligence or breach of duty of care – making a mistake in your work or giving bad advice
- Disputes caused by your breach of a duty of care referred under the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996
- Loss of Documents
- Criminal defence costs relating to a regulation or statute which applies to your business, such as the CDM regulations
- Infringement of intellectual property rights – for example using content from a website or publication without permission
- Breach of confidence – sharing confidential or sensitive information without consent
- Negligent misstatement or misrepresentation – making a mistake or error when providing information
- Collateral warranty review services
- Mitigation Cover – costs incurred in remediating or mitigating a loss or potential loss that may otherwise result in a claim subject to specific requirements.
- Pollution Cover – claims arising out of the actual, alleged or threatened, sudden or accidental presence, discharge, dispersal, release, migration or escape of Pollutants other than asbestos, nuclear or radioactive material of any sort.
- Joint Ventures Cover – covers you against liability arising out of your professional services in respect of any joint venture, provided that you have previously declared to us all fees/turnover received from any joint venture subject to specific requirements
- Fraud & Dishonesty Cover
- Court Attendance Costs Cover
Not sure what else you need? The below guide should help.
Employers’ Liability Insurance is a legal requirement for all employers within the UK. The minimum required limit is £5,000,000 although most insurers give £10,000,000 as standard. The policy is designed to protect employees’ who sustain an injury or illness during their normal business activities by providing compensation.
Buildings & Contents Insurance. Cover your computers, equipment and other workplace property such as business records against fire, flood, theft and more so you can have peace of mind that you’re protected against the unexpected.
Business interruption Insurance. We can help you get back to work after a crisis. Business Interruption can insure you against lost business income and any additional expenditure that you might have incurred following a loss.
Call 01732 252 898 or email us today for a comprehensive insurance policy at a competitive price.
If you have already completed a proposal form, please feel free to send a copy to info@clarkewilliams.co.uk
Alternatively if you renewal is not due yet, register with us now so that we can contact you nearer the time.
Register your renewal date
Our account managers will arrange Professional Indemnity and Liability policies at a competitive price with comprehensive wordings which are acceptable to your clients or Professional Body.
Have confidence that Clarke Williams can help your business. Here are a few of trades we have helped provide Professional Indemnity Insurance for:
CAD/CAE Engineers
Building Services Engineers
Draughtsman
Project Managers
Test Engineers
Land Surveyors
Building Engineers
Mechanical Engineers
Construction Engineers
Electrical Engineers
Structural Engineers
Civil Engineers
Commissioning Engineers
Ventilation Engineers
Control Engineers
Field Engineers
Soil Engineers
Health & Safety Engineers
Transport Engineers
Aviation Engineers
Refrigeration Engineers
Process Engineers
Professional Bodies and Trade Associations
Professional bodies often provide guidelines on what levels of Insurance cover a company should hold.
Below is a list of some of main engineering bodies within the UK, it may be useful to consult with them if you do not know your requirements.
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT)
Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE)
Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM)
Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE)
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
Institute of Cast Metals Engineers (ICME)
Institution of Engineering Designers (IED)
Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE)
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM)
Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE)
Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (IHEEM)
Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP)
Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST)
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC)
Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE)
Institute of Acoustics (IOA)
Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)
Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE)
Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE)
Institute of Water Nuclear Institute (NI)
Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS)
Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA)
Society of Environmental Engineers (SEE)
The Society of Operations Engineers (SOE)
The Welding Institute (TWI)
Want to speak to one of our specialists?
Telephone: 01732 252898
or email us.
Know the risks.
How do insurers calculate an Engineers Professional Indemnity Insurance premium?
When looking at an engineer’s business, there are a number of factors that can affect the terms provided.
The fee income is an important rating factor when an underwriter is considering an insurance premium, as it is the one element that all companies can be judged on.
Project sizes
The size and complexity of past and present contracts are taken into consideration. The insurers proposal form will ask you for details of the work in which you are involved in. Small office projects can be considered lower risk, as opposed to large industrial complexes or manufacturing plants where you may be providing structural or mechanical designs.
Overseas Contracts
Does the business carry out work for overseas clients? Specialist engineers often find that their services are required on the other side of world, especially in developing countries where there can be a skills shortage. The legal requirements in other countries can also be very different to the UK, with countries such as US and Canada being more litigious, as a result this can affect the premium being offered.
Number of years trading and experience
Newly established businesses can be seen as an increased risk to insurers as there is a lack of trading history to confirm a good claims experience or ability within the organisation. When presenting a risk to an insurer, it can be beneficial if a copy of the director’s CV’s are provided, as this can present a better picture of the business or person being insured.
Activities Undertaken
Activities and sectors will have their own rating of risk, and insurers will be interested in the types of projects and discipline’s in which the engineer is involved in. For instance,an electrical or HVAC engineer working on low rise property, office or shops will be considered very low risk, compared to a process engineer working in a water processing plant or a structural engineer undertaking designs for super basements in London. The reason for these different ratings is due to risk and size of the potential claim.
"It will never happen to me". Still not convinced? Have a look at the below claims examples for Engineers: We hope it will never happen, but here are some claims examples from the real world.
Inaccurate specification for an electricity supply to a site, led to the need for alterations and a temporary generator so that work could continue.
Amount paid: £56,000.
Structural Engineers
A claim was brought alleging negligence in an extension of a private property. It was alleged that the structural calculations were not adequate following the collapse of a ceiling.
Amount paid: £45,000 plus costs.
Heating, Ventilating Engineers
The client alleged negligence in the design of a heating and ventilating system for a clean room which was not fit for purpose. Rectification costs were paid as well as payments for consequential losses following its loss of use at the manufacturing plant.
Amount paid: £560,000 plus costs.
Mechanical Engineers
The design of a machine at a bottling plant proved inadequate to cope with the weight of items being produced.
Amount paid: £860,000 plus costs
Allegation of Non-Compliant Designs
The insured designed the lighting for a factory unit. The client alleged that the lighting was inadequate and did not comply with relevant BSI regulations. The insurer successfully defended the claim on the client’s behalf with £25,000 of legal defence costs paid by the insurer.