3 Ways Professional Liability Insurance For Architects & Engineers Protects You

As a building design professional, such as an architect or engineer who works on high-cost projects, you will want to make sure you have professional liability insurance, or errors and omissions insurance. This type of insurance can protect you against various charges that a client could bring against you. 

1. Protect Against Mistakes and Oversights

If you are accused of a professional mistake as a design professional, regardless of if the accusation is founded, it can be costly. If a client sues you because they think you made a mistake, the court and attorney fees alone can hurt cash flow before you even get to any settlements or judgments issued in the case.

While you make every effort to ensure that mistakes are not made and that nothing is overlooked in the design process, mistakes can happen. If you make a mistake with your design, you need professional liability insurance to deal with the financial costs.

2. Protect Against Failure to Deliver Services

As a design professional, when you start a design, the project often changes and evolves. Numerous factors can impact the start of a project, such as changes in legislation that impacts the designs, a change in locations, or a request to change the project's complexity. Issues with the location can also delay the delivery of designs.

A client can take you to court if you deliver blueprints after the deadline that was first established. In that case, your professional liability insurance can help cover the court costs. You can also avoid legal charges for delays in delivering blueprints by being open and honest with your clients and letting your clients know if there are any delays. Open communication can often avoid these types of lawsuits.

3. Protect Against Accusations of Negligence

Finally, as a design professional, if your design or structure fails, you could be sued for professional negligence. This is especially true if your client suffered financial damages and decides to pursue a lawsuit. Your errors and omissions insurance will cover your legal fees and any payouts that are issued to the client.

As a building design professional, always keep detailed records of your work and all communication with clients. That information can be crucial if you are against a mistake, oversight, professional negligence, or failure to deliver services. Professional liability insurance can help protect you from this type of situation and is something you should always have as a design professional. Contact a liability insurance service for more information. 

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