Whether you’re an architect, building designer, or landscape designer, your creativity and passion for design is what drives you in your field. But even on your most creative days, there is always a likelihood of unexpected events occurring. Architects and other designers may need several types of insurances to protect their practice if something goes wrong. Let’s look at some of the covers available and how you can work out which one you might need.

When dealing with big or small projects like the ones you work on, sometimes it doesn’t take a lot for things to go wrong, and even small mistakes can end up costing you big. Having appropriate insurance can help prevent you from incurring huge out of pocket expenses if something does go wrong. It’s not just mistakes in your work either, events like storm or theft can also have a big impact on your practice’s operations if they lead to you being out of work, and insurance can help ease the financial burden in these instances as well.

Professional Indemnity

Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) is one of the most fundamental covers you might need to consider as an architect or designer. It is designed to help cover your business if a client alleges your advice or service caused them a financial loss. It can help cover legal fees to defend you, as well as compensation you might be required to pay. Examples of claims which might come about under PI for architects & designers include design errors, failure to comply with council regulations and insufficient details in design documents. While PI may not be a legal requirement for all professions, some clients may require you hold this cover before working with you or engaging your services.

Public Liability

Public Liability Insurance (PL) is another important cover you may need to consider as an architect or designer. This is designed to cover you and your business if you’re held legally liable for personal injury to a third party, or damage to their property. The most common example of this is if a client comes into your office, trips over and suffers an injury. The policy also provides cover for things like defamation, infringement of intellectual property rights, or a breach of consumer protection legislation. Similar to PI, PL is also intended to cover your legal fees and compensation costs in the event of a claim. While PL mostly applies to businesses that operate out of a physical office, if you run your practice from home, you may still need to consider this cover if you are meeting with clients or other members of the public in person (for example, if you meet clients at their homes or on site).

Business Insurance Pack

A Business Insurance pack is designed to cover your business’s physical assets if they’re stolen or damaged by events such as fire or storm. It is a packaged policy containing various sections of cover which you can select based on your business’s needs. For example, if you rent a small office space, you can just choose Theft cover for your contents, in which case the cost to repair or replace your contents would be covered if they were stolen. A key cover under Business Insurance packs is Business Interruption. This is designed to cover your business’s lost revenue if it is unable to operate due to an insured event. For example, if your office premises are damaged by a fire, and you are unable to service clients as usual while repairs are being carried out, Business Interruption may help cover your lost revenue during this time.

Cyber Insurance

If you use the internet to operate any part of your business, Cyber Insurance is worth considering. It helps cover certain financial losses if your business falls victim to a cyber attack. With cyber crime on the rise, it is an important cover for any business to consider with a digital footprint. Learn more about Cyber Insurance in our guide by clicking on the link here

Once you’ve understood the various cover options available to you, its also important to carefully select your insurance provider. Choosing a broker that has a deep understanding of your industry as well as a strong insurance knowledge is a good place to start. Not only will this make sure your cover is in line with the risks of your industry, but it will help to ensure you stay informed of emerging insurance risks.

Once you’ve taken out insurance, remember its not enough to simply take out a policy and file it away for the year. Ongoing insurance housekeeping is an important step in making sure your cover continues to stay relevant as your business goes through changes. At least once a year, its worth reviewing your insurance documents and making sure all the details are still correct. In addition, when there are changes to your business, such as if you hire a contractor or move locations, it is important to contact your broker and inform them of any changes or updates to your business. Staying on top of your insurance and keeping it all up to date can help prevent surprises at claim time.