Never understimate how important it is to have quality architects insurance. With the increase of lawsuits being filed in America, architects are as vulnerable as any other professional to being sued. And why not? Even the slightest mistake on building designs they have drawn up can have catastrophic consequences. What architect would claim to be so perfect that they would not accidentally commit an error that would later result in damages to a client or a third party? This is why architectural firms need to buy architects professional liability insurance. This type of insurance protects the architect against lawsuits claiming damages resulting from errors, omissions or negligent acts they have allegedly committed. But the coverage does not only cover these acts but also most of the professional services that architectural firms may offer. The policy will pay both for legal costs as well as any monetary damages rendered by the court; however, defense costs may make up the bulk of policy limits, leaving little if any to pay for damages. Policy deductibles are usually applied to each individual claim and may or may not apply to legal costs.
While many small firms working on low-risk projects may opt not to buy architects professional liability insurance, once they move on to bigger projects their clients will typically require them to get covered while working on the project and for some years afterwards, in order to ensure that they would have sufficient financial resources to compensate the client for any losses arising from lawsuits.
When buying a policy, architects should be careful to get the coverage that they need. If they get too much coverage, then they may end up paying higher premiums to be insured for risks they are unlikely to face. On the other hand, insufficient coverage may result in coverage gaps that will leave them vulnerable if they are ever sued. So they should consider carefully what coverage they need based on your firm’s specialization and the type of projects you typically accept.
Architects should also consider the inception date of the policy. The inception date is the date when the architect first bought the policy; as long as he keeps renewing the policy, he will be covered for lawsuits filed against projects completed since the inception date provided the policy has remained continuously in force without any gaps.