As an architect you play a hugely important part in the construction industry.
This brings with it a lot of responsibility, which therefore adds risk and the need for insurance.
At Trade Risk we’ve been insuring businesses in the construction industry for over a decade, and can assist with all cover types required by an architecture firm.
To get started please call us on 1800 808 800 or hit the orange button below.
We’ve put together our ultimate guide on architects insurance.
Click below to just straight to the relevant section:
- Insurable risks faced by architects
- Types of architects insurance
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Public liability insurance
- Business insurance
- Architects insurance cost
- Why Trade Risk
If you require any further information, or would like to take the next step in your insurance journey with Trade Risk, please call our friendly team on 1800 808 800.
Insurable risks faced by architects
As an architect, or as an architecture firm, there are a number of key risks you face:
We’ll go into more detail in the sections below, but broadly you need to consider the following risks:
- You are sued due to negligent advice / design / specifications
- You are sued for some other breach of your professional duty
- A third party suffers an injury whilst on your premises
- Your property (buildings, contents or other assets) are stolen or damaged
These certainly aren’t the only risks for an architecture business that can be managed through insurance, but they are some of the most common ones.
Outside of these you have risks such as cyber risks, employment risks and others depending on the type of size of your business.
Types of architects insurance
The types of insurance that may be required by an architect are typically no different to any other professional services business.
These include:
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Public liability insurance
- Management liability
- Cyber insurance
- Property & equipment insurance
At Trade Risk we can assist with these and all other forms of business insurance, but in this guide we’ll focus on the most common forms of cover for architects.
Professional indemnity insurance
You’ll most likely already know that professional indemnity is the most important form of architects insurance.
This is the insurance that will cover you in the event that you are sued for an issue relating to your professional services.
If a client or some other related party believes that you have failed in delivering that service, in any way, they may seek to take legal action.
There’s no question that today’s society has become more litigious, and as a result the likelihood of an architect being dragged into legal proceedings has increased.
Such action could be a result of any of the following:
- Error or omission
- Breach of confidentiality
- Breach of contract
- Negligence
- Loss of data or documents
- Incorrect or inaccurate advice
- Design or specification errors
- Unintentional intellectual property infringement
Professional indemnity insurance can respond to any of these types of claims against you.
One of the most important parts of professional indemnity insurance is that is covers the defence costs relating to a claim.
Even if you are cleared of any wrongdoing in a case, you might still rack up tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs to get that outcome.
Your professional indemnity policy will cover those costs incurred in defending yourself and your architecture firm.
Public liability insurance
As a professional services firm you may have less exposure to a public liability claim than a business that is more likely to be ‘on the tools’ such as a builder or tradie.
But that’s not to say you have no exposure.
Public liability insurance will cover you architecture business in the event that a third party suffers property damage or personal injury as a result of your business activities, or at your business premises.
An example could be a client visiting your office, then tripping on a loose piece of carpet and suffering a serious wrist injury when falling.
You might think the risk of that happening is fairly low, and you’re probably correct, which is why public liability is generally quite inexpensive for professional services businesses.
Given the relatively low cost, it makes no sense to operate an architecture business without public liability insurance.
If your operating from rented office space, you’ll find that public liability insurance is requirement under the lease.
Business insurance
This is a bit of a catch-all for the other insurance types that may be important for an architecture business.
If you’re operating from rented or owned premises you’ll need to insure your contents, such as furniture and computer equipment.
If you own the premises you might also need to insure the building if it’s not insured through a strata policy or similar.
Cyber is an increasingly big issue amongst all professional services businesses, and an architecture business is no different.
For firms employing staff, especially larger numbers of staff, management liability insurance is an important way of insuring against a range of HR related risks.
At this point a good insurance broker becomes important, especially one who understands the construction industry and the needs of a professional services business.
They can make recommendations on exactly which forms of cover you do need, and which ones you might not need.
Architects insurance cost
The costs of architects insurance will vary greatly depending on a number of factors.
This can include the following:
- The size of your business by revenue
- The number of employees
- Types of projects (domestic/commercial/industrial)
- Your claims history
There can be other factors which will depend on the insurer and the policy type.
Other factors relating specifically to professional indemnity insurance for architects can include the experience and qualifications of the directors/partners of the firm.
Naturally the type and amount of cover will have a big impact. If you’re a sole trader operating from home, your assets to insure will be far lower than a business with multiple offices and dozens of staff.
Why Trade Risk
We’ve been operating in the construction space for over a decade, and have vast experience with businesses of all sizes.
Whether you’re designing it or building it, we have the team to assist with all of your business insurance needs.
Our brokers can talk you through the different covers available, and will ask the right questions about your business to enable them to make the right recommendations.
And of course we’ll be here at claim time to assist when you need us most.
We manage all claims in-house, so you’ll be dealing with your own dedicated broker rather than an outsourced claims service.
To get started please call our office on 1800 808 800 or complete our online quote request.
