Professional indemnity insurance for architects and construction engineers helps you keep going when you make a mistake and cause financial damage to your clients.
Since ancient times, people have been concerned with building their homes as durable as possible, and it didn’t take long before they also wanted them to be as good-looking as possible. And this is how the professions of builder and the architect developed together, but separately… It is said that if only architects were involved in the construction of buildings, they would surely collapse, and if they were involved only the engineers, they would be demolished immediately, for aesthetic reasons. Joking aside, the rivalry between architects and construction engineers is proverbial and is one of those constructive rivalries, from which both the protagonists and the beneficiaries of the works benefit. We support their success through professional liability insurance dedicated to the two professions.
As the architect has the professional and civic responsibility for a sustainable architecture, for an architecture attentive to the requirements of the city, the community and the beneficiary, he must also find solutions for rethinking commercial spaces or living areas, so that they meet the present needs.
For sure, no one starts a project with the only goal of making an error that we’ll cause prejudice to its clients, but on the other hand errors are a job hazard, and in this case their impact is hard to predict and very often costly too, potentially risking the very existence of the business.
If you provide professional services related to: architecture, engineering, expertise and technical verification of projects, supervision, coordination or technical assistance, design, development of documentation, specifications, studies and solutions in the field of construction, you can insure yourself against possible monetary losses that you could incur them due to errors or professional mistakes. In this way you will be able to focus on what you have to do, leaving your worries to a reliable partner.
The insurance covers the damages that you have caused, through the exercise of your profession, to your clients with whom you have concluded a written contract for the provision of services, as a result of acts committed through fault, omission, negligence or error and for which you become liable based on that contract, the law and the Code of ethical and professional conduct. The benefits that such insurance offers are many, but perhaps the most important of them is continuity. In other words, insurance provides you with the necessary resources to ensure that your business does not suffer as a result of paying the amounts owed to the injured customer.
Professional civil liability for architects and construction engineers can be granted both for your client’s entire business and for individual projects. Groupama offers you the possibility of purchasing both types of insurance.
In addition, the insurance may also cover subcontractors carrying out activities in the field of architecture/design, involved in the insured projects, with whom you have concluded service contracts, but only if they work under your direct guidance and supervision.
We know that sometimes it’s good to learn from mistakes, but it would be even better to have the lesson already learned – the example below may help you:
After years of work, the project was ready, everything was going according to plan, until the company was sued by the client dissatisfied with the improper execution of the contractual obligations, respectively the non-compliance with the price in the offer. The object of the contract was assistance services, evaluation of work offers and verification of the project during the execution of a building intended for the industrial field. Long processes, technical and accounting expertise followed, but fortunately, the company being insured was able to recover the amount of approx. 900,000 lei, representing court costs and losses suffered by the architectural firm’s client. The insurance premium paid was 22,500 lei with a coverage limit of 2,250,000 lei.
Challenges and difficult times are part of any entrepreneur’s journey – you can’t avoid or predict them, but you can insure them with the right policy. We hope this material has helped you discover it and better understand what it can do for you.
Take the step towards an insured future and ask for an insurance quote.
For additional information, you can consult the virtual assistant Amelie (24/7) on groupama.ro, you can write to relatii.clienti@groupama.ro, you can call AloGroupama 0374.110.110 (Monday – Friday, between 8:00 – 18:00) or contact the Groupama network of sellers and partners.