Professional indemnity insurance for architects

In case you’ve made a mistake in your work or provided a service that didn’t meet the expected standards.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Legal expenses and payouts relating to claims against your business for:

• architecture advice you’ve given that turns out to be incorrect
• professional negligence that causes your client to suffer financial loss
• errors in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

• you’re knocking through a client’s kitchen and dining room, but the additional beam you’re fitting is too small because you got your measurements wrong – so the construction work has to be put on hold, and you’re found liable for the delay to the project and the cost of a new beam
• you’ve submitted planning permission forms on behalf of a client (or advised them on how to do fill in the forms themselves), and the council judges the forms to be incorrect, so the client sues you for the costs of their resubmission
• a client has briefed you to design an extension to their house, and you’re working with an engineer as part of the project. But when you present your design, the client is unhappy and asks you to redo it, so you need to extend your contract with the engineer – your client then takes you to court for delaying the project

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Public liability insurance for architects

In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your architecture business.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Legal and medical expenses and payouts relating to claims against your business for:

• damage caused by you to someone else’s property over the course of your work as an architect
• injury caused by you to someone else over the course of your work as an architect
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you must have employers’ liability insurance – it’s a legal requirement)

For example:

• a client is visiting your office to look at your architecture designs, but as they enter the room, your drawing tubes fall across the floor and the client trips over them
• you’re measuring a room in a client’s house when you stumble backwards into their TV, breaking the screen
• your assistant is taking pictures of a client’s property and they accidentally drop the tablet they’re using, which cracks a glass table

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.

Legal and medical expenses and payouts relating to claims against your business for:

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Legal and medical expenses and payouts relating to claims against your business for:

• an employee suing you for damages because they’ve fallen ill as a result of working for your architecture business
• an employee suing you for damages because they’ve suffered an injury while carrying out their work for you

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

• you send an employee into a high-risk environment to take some measurements, but you haven’t given them the necessary safety gear (such as steel cap boots, gloves and a helmet), so they end up getting hurt

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

• theft of the specialist tools you use to carry out your architectural work, whether on site or stored at your business premises
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your tools

For example:

• there’s a fire in your office building, so you need to replace all your drawing equipment, modelling equipment and measuring tools

Read more about tools insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like laptops or office filing cabinets are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• the equipment you use in the running of your business (operational equipment rather than specialist architectural tools) while stored at your premises or out and about
• theft of your equipment
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your equipment

For example:

• a leak from the office upstairs causes water damage to your 3D printer, which costs a lot for you to replace
• several laptops and phones are stolen in an overnight break-in at your office

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs as the owner of your architecture business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• the cost of resolving legal issues you’d be responsible for as the owner of your business, including tax and compliance problems and disputes with your employees
• helplines for tax advice, 24/7 confidential legal advice, and crisis PR guidance – providing a quick and reliable source of support over the phone, right when you need it
• legal claims and associated expenses to do with property damage, nuisance, or trespass

For example:

• your architecture firm’s tax affairs are being looked into by HMRC, and you’re unable to field all the enquiries by yourself, so you need an accountant to give you a hand
• you’ve let an employee go on the grounds of poor performance and they accuse you of unfair dismissal, so you need to pay for a lawyer

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit due to injury or death – whether at work or elsewhere – for anybody you’ve named in your policy

For example:

• you fracture your spine in a car accident and your treatment involves wearing a back brace, so you’re unable to work for four months, and you want to pay for private physiotherapy afterwards
• your assistant accidentally swallows a shard of glass at an industry event and spends a week recovering in hospital

Read more about personal accident insurance

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does architects insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider builders insurance or interior design insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Surveyor insurance
• Project management insurance
• Draughtsman
• Landscape architect insurance
• Garden design insurance
• Kitchen fitter insurance
• Engineers – structural

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.