Professional indemnity insurance. Compensation for errors, omissions and oversights…
For physical damage to the works, creating a delay in the hand-over of the project, not to mention countless other scenarios where a Professional Indemnity policy can provide you with valuable insurance cover.
This type of insurance is basically intended to fill in certain gaps in the Contractors All Risks policy.
The insurance cover under a Professional Indemnity policy for contractors can be problematic and partial. If it was really possible to arrange full cover, then a long list of construction risks could be insured against – and that’s not the case. The policy provides cover for losses arising from the profession of the insured as a contractor, however in the majority of cases there is an exclusion of re-performance of work, meaning that many possible claim scenarios are not covered.
Nonetheless in the majority of public tenders there is a demand to arrange Professional Indemnity insurance in addition to Contractors All Risks insurance as a precondition to participating in the tender.
The cover under the policy is for claims in accordance with the Torts Ordinance (New Version) - 1968 due to a breach of a professional duty including claims for pure financial loss (to differentiate from physical damage covered which is under the Contractors All Risks policy), as a result of an error or omission of the contractor or anyone acting on its behalf, however the cover is subject to certain fundamental exclusions and in many cases the policy does not provide a solution for the types of claims that can be expected due to these exclusions.
Certain damages can even be defined as “financial loss” under a Contractors All Risks policy such as: crooked construction, mistakes in calculations and measurements, construction in breach of the plans and the like.
Third party claims for damages of this type are not covered under a Contractors All Risks policy.Some of these claims can be covered under a Professional Indemnity policy covering consequential losses to third parties subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy.
Further useful reading concerning Products Liability and combined Professional Indemnity and Products Liability insurance
To obtain a quotation for insurance cover tailored to your needs
The definition of the insurance cover under a Professional Indemnity policy
The insurance cover is for legal liability due to an insured event which occurs after the retroactive date stated in the schedule and provided that the claim is brought against the insured and notified to the insurance company during the period of insurance.
The cover under a Professional Indemnity policy is on a “claims made” basis i.e. the claim “trigger” is based on the date of making the claim (to differentiate from insurance on “occurrence basis” such as Third Party Liability and Employers Liability insurance where the “trigger” is based on the date when the insured event actually occurred).
The insurance cover under the policy is therefore subject to two accumulative conditions that need to be met:
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The claim needs to be brought during the period when the policy is in force.
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The date of the negligent event needs to be after the retroactive date stated in the schedule.
Have you been requested to arrange Professional Indemnity for a principal?
Do you need a signed certificate of insurance including Professional Indemnity cover?
As a leading agent specialising in Professional Indemnity insurance for contractors we are well aware of the difficulties you may experience in obtaining Professional Indemnity insurance
Contact us to find a solution!
Arranging a Professional Indemnity policy is a challenging task!
Anyone who has tried to arrange a Professional Indemnity policy knows that it can be a difficult task. But that’s not the case when you’re in our hands!
This is all the more relevant in the case of turnkey contractors who, without an adequate insurance policy, cannot participate or win a tender, or contractors involved in National Outline Plan 38 projects or any other similar project that the insurance companies are not very keen on providing Professional Indemnity and Products Liability for due to the high level of risk.
Nonetheless, our word with the insurance companies can quite often lead to a different attitude. The willingness of the insurance companies to open doors for us is based on our experience, long-term experience and in-depth understanding of two sectors – insurance and construction.
Hence, as a client of ours, you benefit from tried and tests added value when arranging a Professional Indemnity insurance policy:
✔ Cost – Based on our professional standing with the insurance companies, our clients benefit, in many cases, from cost savings for various policies such as Contractors All Risks, Professional Indemnity or Products Liability which can reach significant amounts.
✔ The scope of cover – The scope of cover we can obtain is the result of 25 years’ accumulative experience as a specialist construction insurance agent. We know how to identify various problems that less experienced agents may be completely unaware of and we formulate creative solutions that satisfy the insurance companies on the one hand and provide the protection the client needs on the other hand. The bottom line is that you benefit from the optimal insurance cover.
No less important is the fact that everything is agreed on before the policy is signed-off in order to avoid disputes and unexpected situations in the unfortunate event of a claim.
✔ Support network – In the event that you need to make a claim under the policy you are no alone. We work with a team of experts we have known for many years comprised of insurance loss assessors, specialists and engineers and where necessary also specialist accident investigators and lawyers to assist you in the event of a major claim or serious accident and we work together to protect you, minimise losses and maximise your rights under the insurance policy
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Combined professional indemnity and products liability – useful reading
In many case I offer my clients the possibility of arranging a policy that combines two types of insurance under a single policy: Professional Indemnity insurance and Products Liability insurance. The major advantage of a combined policy is the potential saving in the cost of the insurance compared to arranging two separate policies. Other distinct advantages are the fact that combining both covers under a single policy streamlines matters: There is a single premium payment and a single period of insurance, giving you more financial control and making renewal much easier, together with various other advantages we offer.
Contractors all risks insurance with extended insurance cover
This is the basic policy for every construction project and includes three sections: Property Insurance, Third Party Liability and Employers Liability. Since each and every project has its own uniqueness, the need for various extensions to ensure you have the optimal cover also varies from project to project. For this reason it is clear why a Contractors All Risks policy needs to be formulated and individually tailored by an experience insurance agent who is familiar with the different between the widest covers available and the basic cover under a Contractors All Risks policy which might not address certain risks and the resultant damages and costs you would otherwise incur.
Combined products liability and professional indemnity insurance
Products Liability is designed to cover damages arising from defects in the “product” (the building) or any part of it after the project has been completed. Whilst the Contractors All Risks policy provides cover for the period in which the project is being constructed, a Products Liability policy provides long term cover after its completion and in some cases for up to 20 years.
In many cases we advise our clients, for cost / benefit reasons, to arrange a combined policy with a single limit of liability for both covers – Professional Indemnity and Products Liability.
You might expect that such cover, for such a long period, will be very expensive. This is where I come into the picture with surprisingly reasonable premiums…
Third party liability insurance
Third Party Liability insurance is intended to cover you against bodily injury or property damage due an accident or any other insurance at the construction site and in its immediately vicinity. Due to the complexity of the works, the dynamic nature of construction projects, the large number of contractors and subcontractors, the extensive and diverse equipment that varies from project to project, the insurance companies seek to limit their exposure by subjecting the policy to various exclusions and protection demands. As a leading specialist construction insurance agent we have the tools to obtain the optimal cover for you…
Turnkey contractors’ insurance
Arranging an insurance policy for turnkey contractors can be fraught with difficulties. Firstly, such a policy is a precondition to participating in any public or institutional tender. Secondly in most cases the tender is awarded only after signing an undertaking to arrange an insurance policy that complies with certain onerous insurance requirements immediately after the tender is awarded. Such demands can make the insurance much more costly and in certain cases the insurance company will refuse to comply with all of the demands laid out by the principal. For these reasons and many others it’s obvious that you need a top-notch insurance agent…